Fabulous Features

Hey Fort Followers,

This field season has brought countless findings, including two new features identified in me and my unit partner’s very own unit! A feature is an immovable “artifact” that indicates human activity. For example, a feature can be a wall, hearth, post, and more. Our unit was located the farthest west of the season. We chose the spot for our unit because we wanted to see if we could find evidence of a boundary of the fort. For many weeks, we were not turning up as many artifacts as the other units were. Many of us, including some instructors, began to worry that our unit would not have an occupation zone, but instead only have what we call a B Horizon. This is the dirt that would have been underneath the fort at the time of occupation without any cultural activity. At around 40 centimeters below datum, we noticed something odd. In the ground, an unusually large stone appeared, and this stone grew increasingly in diameter every time we troweled away more dirt. Officially, this collection of large stones, mortared rocks, and gravel fill is called Feature 30. 

After the fun ands excitement of finding evidence of a structure after long weeks with low artifact density, we noticed some suspicious circular dirt spots. To investigate if they could be posts, we first bisected the spot located in the northeast of the unit. With the top of the possible post at 40 centimeters below datum, we trowelled a rectangular area, bisecting half, down to 55 centimeters below datum, revealing a cone-shaped mold on the profile. Within the darker soil of the possible post, we found a few pieces of wood. All of the dirt from the possible post was removed and placed in a bag to be later floated in the lab. This float sample would allow us to recover any material light enough to float on water such as wood or seeds. Ultimately, we decided it was not an intact post, but a post mold. This would be named Feature 31.

In the image above, we can see the final plan view of our unit. In the left part of the image, we see Feature 30, a large stone surrounded by many smaller rocks. Note the large mortared stone near the center of the unit. In the upper right, we see the rectangular area that was used to identify Feature 31. In the upper middle, that was an area we used to inspect another possible post/mold, but it turned out to be a bioturbation. Feature 30 appears to be structural, especially because it has very large stones and some with mortar. Its exact function at this time is unknown, so it merits further excavation in the future. For now, it would be interesting to compare it with other features found at the fort.  

The top left photograph is from a different unit which shows evidence of a wall. The stones are all lined up and some have mortar on them. Walls usually have a distinct line shape, which is a lot different from Feature 30. Another difference is that this wall does not have many small gravel rocks surrounding it. The bottom left photograph shows a fireplace from the fort. It is distinct because the stones are placed in a circular pattern, there is ash in the center, and there is red dirt. Dirt turns red with burning because it changes the chemical structures in the dirt. Our unit shows no evidence of burning, nor do we see a certain pattern with our stones.

Analysis by comparison for Feature 30 leaves us with more questions than answers. At least we know what it’s not! Even though we may not know its function, we know it indicates human activity. These rocks and stones did not end up there by mistake. Could this be a collapsed wall, a floor, or maybe even a structural marker of the boundaries of Fort St. Joseph? More excavations in the area may give us some answers to these puzzling questions about the fabulous Features 30 and 31.

- Adyn Hallahan