Archaeology at Fort Amanda - GPR Scans

Fort Amanda - Below The Surface 
and 
A Suggestion for Amateur Archaeologists

In 2013, I contacted Dr. Jarrod Burks, of the Ohio Valley Archaeology, Inc. (OVAI) in Columbus, Oh. to discuss the possibility of conducting geophysical surveys (ground penetrating radar and magnetic) in the field adjacent to the grassy area surrounding the monument at Fort Amanda. Dr. Burks said he was interested in the project so I arranged for a meeting with him, David Kriegel, the owner of the property and myself to discuss the project and get permission to do the scans in his field. The first thing that struck me during our meeting was Mr. Kriegel's enthusiasm, not only about this project, but his passions for local history in general. In the years since its become obvious that David shares the same passions for the Fort Amanda site as I. Not only did he give us permission to do the work in the field, the Kriegel family generously offered to fund the work, without which the project would never have been possible.

Below the Surface

Since the scanning equipment would already be available on site,  Dr. Burks suggested that the grassy area around the monument should be scanned as well.  That was pretty exciting because of all the years I'd hunted the adjacent fields with a metal detector, I'd never detected in the grassy area because it was state property.  This would be the first time that any type of survey of this type had ever been done at the site.  Dr. Burks contacted the Ohio Historical Connection and obtained permission to do the scans in the grassy area with this caveat; there were to be no excavations.  I was disappointed at first but I was soon to learn why.

The Scans

The pictures below show the crew from O.V.A.I. doing ground penetrating radar and magnetic scans of the grassy area and the adjacent field.

I don't remember how times they had to walk the length of the field and grassed area but it took 2 days of almost non-stop walking. Each time they made a pass, they had to move the guide tapes over the width of the machine in order to ensure they were going in a straight line. Below are Google Earth overlays of the archaeology field survey at Fort Amanda.

Mystery Solved?

While the straight lines running the length of the field are probably field drainage tiles the V shaped feature at the top center of the picture remains a mystery.

The scans were completed on April 18, 2013 with varying results.
OVAI says the circled area at the right side is a "Probable Fort Feature" That doesn't mean it may have been part of the fort, but perhaps something associated with it. I've heard stories of pits full of animal bones nearby so its possible this could have been a building associated with the butchering of meat. Another thought was that it could have been a "sink" area (latrines) but because of its proximity to the fort that remains doubtful at the moment.
We know the general locations of the 5 blockhouses and the areas where cabins sat and because humans lose things, who knows what treasures lie beneath the ground's surface? Because there are so many interesting features, OVAI recommends that more work be done and that would include a geophysical survey, a metal detector survey and exploratory trenching, all of which cost money. Their greatest expense is housing since they have to travel from Columbus and stay near the site for a few days.

Artifacts Found At The Site (or nearby)

Misc. pieces of glass and kettle brass

Musket balls of various calibers
and part of a pewter plate

  Assortment of Knives

 Buckles 

 Buttons 

  Bit for horse or oxen, bell, Jews harp, horseshoe, belt ax

Suggestion For Amateur Archaeologists

Archaeology involves much much more than just digging up artifacts. Sometimes it takes months or even years to prepare for a site dig. In 1922 Howard Carter (an amateur archaeologist), discovered the steps leading down to the famous King Tut's tomb in Egypt. It took many months just to remove the contents of the tomb; not because there were so many, but because Carter knew that it was important to catalog and map everything he found so as not to destroy any part of the story. It would be yet another 3 years (1925) before he actually opened Tut's sarcophagus for the same reason.

Time, Patience and Mutual Respect

Before I go any further, let me say that in my view, the Ohio Historical Connection (the old Ohio Historical Society) in Columbus and their professional staff is one of the best in the business. Whenever I'd find an artifact I couldn't identify, I'd ask someone at there what they thought it was. While they were always helpful, I rarely got the impression that they were as impressed about my finds as I was. I brushed it off thinking that perhaps to them it was "just another gun part, or just another piece of a kettle, or just another button so I accepted that. At one point I even began to feel that their "under-excitement" was perhaps from professional jealousy. My teachable moment came in 2013 when we received permission to scan the area around the monument. They specifically noted that there was to be no excavations. As I mentioned earlier, I was a bit disappointed at first that we couldn't at least dig something up, after all, I'd found things in the surrounding fields so there had to be something in the grassy area.
Then it dawned on me.

The Analogy of the Missing Puzzle Piece 

There are probably dozens of people like myself who have hunted the fields in the area over the years and most, again, probably like me, have our own little collections of "treasures" we've dug up. The problem is each of us have walked away with our own little pieces of the Fort Amanda puzzle, so in reality we could have walked away with some of the major pieces. At one time I'd given thought to the idea of forming a club where we all combine our collections and donate it to a local museum. Perhaps one day.

So my point to all this is while I always enjoyed finding my "treasures" I never realized that I could have been destroying a major piece of the overall story. For example if I dug up an old door hinge, that hinge could actually have been from a blockhouse that sat in the exact spot where I found it. Digging up buckles could mean that I was digging in the forts trash pit or a site with a lot of musket balls could have been where the men were making cartridges.

One of the Best in the Business

While doing a book signing in Greenville, Ohio last Fall, I met a group of individuals who like me, love area history and who also look for artifacts at various sites around the state. They have taken the term "amateur archaeologist" to a whole new level. I won't mention their names here because I haven't gotten their permission but lets just say that those guys are so good they should be paid for their work. If and when I get permission I'll post their names here because some are on FB and they often post pictures of their findings there. I would compare their fieldwork with any professional archaeologist site dig I've ever witnessed. Again, those guys are that good. They found blockhouses in fields where no one ever thought of looking. They found a large number of Wayne's Frog Legged Eagle buttons close together near a river. What they concluded was that the buttons as well as some other findings this was very likely the spot where the men did their laundry. Who would have guessed.   

 Conclusion

Years ago I was told by one of the archaeologists at the OHS that they depended on amateurs like myself to provide them with what we were learning and/or finding in the field. My hope is one day amateurs and professional archaeologists can collaborate on projects where both groups share their knowledge and their expertise. After all, we don't know what we don't know so by working together and sharing what we know with what they know, who knows what new and exciting things we can find together.