Another Update on the Lead Seal found during the 2011 Field Season

Arguably the most talked about and debated artifact recovered during the 2011 field season was the small lead seal found in unit at N25 W9 reading “ORAINE DE LILLE”. The seal was first believed to have read “GRAINE DE LILLE”; however Dr. David MacDonald of Illinois State University has provided us with the likeliest interpretation. He has read it as:

B(ureau)

FORAINE

DE LILLE

The Bureau Foraine was a taxing authority in eighteenth-century France which issued lead seals and its form is typical of customs seals of the time. Dr. MacDonald also believes that the back of the seal will bear the arms of the city of Lille. We noticed a fleur de lis on the reverse of the seal; this may not be incompatible. We are looking forward to a closer examination of the seal for a decisive interpretation. Some quick searching brought up La Porte de Paris at the Place Simon Vallant. La Porte is an arch constructed between 1685 and 1692 and is decorated with the Coat of Arms of Lille (a single Lilly) as well as the Coat of Arms of France (which has three Lillies) The FSJ archaeologists thank Dr. McDonald for this information.

-Erica D'Elia

The Best Day Ever!!!

An exciting find: a lead bale seal!

Enjoying the food and company.

I am Xiaomeng Bu, an international graduate student from China. I was so delighted to join this Archaeological Field School and enjoy daily excavations in the dirt. Archaeology is amazing because we never know what will happen as we trowel for artifacts that have not been touched for hundreds of years. My pit partners and I have uncovered many interesting artifacts in our excavation unit. What excited me today was the bale seal found during wet screening of soil excavated at the depth of 45-50cm. We can read some numbers on it, possibly "23." Wet-screening soil from our unit is difficult because of the abundance of naturally occurring gray clay; however, it is amazing that awesome artifacts are hidden in the mud!

Another amazing aspect of this field school is that I have learned not only about American history through excavation, but about American culture from fellow archaeologists, campers, and the community. They are so nice to me. They cook American food, explain cultural phenomena, and introduce American songs. I feel so upset that my vocabulary is rather limited to express my gratefulness. In addition, I have to say thanks to everyone who sponsor awesome food which make me feel that I will miss American food after this field school. :D

Thank you all!
Xiaomeng Bu












Photo credits Cathrine Davis

Hi all,

I hope it has been a restful weekend for everyone, especially the hardworking campers and students. To begin today's post let's hear some more from our campers. One writes:

Dedicated campers!

"As first time archaeological campers this was a week of new experiences for many of us. From shoveling thick alluvial soil to gently troweling around sherds of bone, we all got down and dirty (literally!). Our days generally begin with history lessons. Tim, our coordinator, was a wealth of information who obviously loves his work.

Later, in the afternoons, we joined the students on site for lunch and then toured their units to hear about their progress. The campers had three units of our own that were rotated between us. We found areas of ash/charcoal, bones, beads, and some metal. Our time was also spent helping the students with wet-screening and cleaning artifacts."



Another camper, Therese, adds:

Pit tours.

"What we learned at camp was how to look at things differently. When we first opened the pits they didn't look very interesting, but after we learned how to look and what to look for suddenly each unit became fascinating with many stories to tell. It's pretty exciting to be the first person to see these things in 250 years. Archaeology camp was dirty but fun. It will be great to come back next year and see what else shows up."

It is great to hear that I am not alone in the thrill of finding bits and pieces from Fort St. Joesph!

The screening brigade.

Onto an update about one artifact in particular. Some of our wonderful public has come forward with suggestions to deciphering the lead bale seal I wrote about last weekend. The 18th century French word "graine" does not necessarily mean seeds of a plant but could refer to a type of fabric with a bumpy surface or items that could have been referred to as coming in the form of a grain such as beads. Also the word is related to the word "grenette" which could mean "seeds of Avignon" and was a name for buckthorn berries dyers. These berries were used to produce particular colors of dye and, while it may be a bit of a stretch, we do know that vermilion, a bright red/orange pigment, was a trade item desired by Native Americans. Vermilion does not come from buckthorn, but we should not overlook the possibility that this lead seal marks dye products. We still are leaning towards the idea that this was a particular type of fabric given Lille's notoriety as a place of textile manufacture, but archaeologists must entertain all the possibilities!

The shirts look even better in person!
Click for a close-up.

Finally, exciting news! The new Fort St. Joseph t-shirts have arrived and are lookin' good. They are available in sizes S-XXL and come in four colors: glamorous gold, colonial blue, sage green, and charming charcoal (okay, I may be exaggerating with those descriptors, but they are lovely colors!). We will have them for sale at the lecture this Wednesday, French Market on Thursday, and at our upcoming events. Thanks to Alyssa who did  the design for the shirts this year which features the French flag and a pair of voyageurs in a Montreal canoe...perfect for our Fur Trade theme.

Artifacts fresh from the wet screen.

Well, that is about all for this weekend. We are getting down to occupation-level layers in the units which means lots of artifacts, careful mapping, and hope for foundation features. Remember, if you are interested in chatting with any of the students of checking out some of our finds from the excavation we have several opportunities throughout the week. We will have our third lecture of our Summer Speaker Series this Wednesday at 7:30 in the Niles Library, a table with information and some of our artifacts at French Market from 9-2 in downtown Niles on Thursday, and a site tour at 2:00 on Friday. Come to one or all, we look forward to meeting you!

Hope to see you out there,
Kelley












Photo credits Erica D'Elia, Cathrine Davis, and Kelley Walter

Archaeology is a Battlefield

What’s happening, dedicated Fort St. Joseph followers,

Blogging tonight is your one and only FSJ resident funny man, The Lance Meister. Many of you may know me better as the hand holding projectile points and the beautifully preserved lead seal. This also could constitute me as the official hand model of the Fort, with a little luck that hand will keep popping up on the blog holding more of Nile’s great history.

Hanging by the lake at a volunteer's home.

Before getting into my finds and experiences working as a small cog in the FSJ machine, I would like to personally thank everyone involved in the project that goes unnoticed. A special thanks goes out to the sponsors for the amazing food and hospitality shown to our staff and students during our first weeks in Niles. We also appreciate the time and effort donated by our friends affiliated with Support the Fort, along with those hard working individuals there is you. Yes you…without you coming to our lectures, open house, site tours (Fridays at 2:00, if you’re not there you’re square) and following this blog, we wouldn’t have much of a reason to be here digging in the first place. The interest shown in the Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Field School and the open house that coincides with it is amazing and will only get better with your word of mouth. So while we are toiling in the mud and muck of the Fort site, we need you to spread the word, so get excited Niles and greater West Michigan, this is your history.

Explaining the unit.

Alright on to my side of this romance novel we are living out involving the dirty sweaty ladies and gents of the field school. Our love affair with the alluvium layers that represent the first 20-30 centimeters of shovel skimming and hand toweling, seemed to melt away like our Popsicle during last week’s heat wave. The heavy hand of last week’s heat was not an enemy left at the side of the river after site clean up, but a shadowy figure following us back to the hot box also known as Niles High School. It seems the only weapon we had to fend off this dastardly creature was the excitement of putting our dirty hands on incredible artifacts.

Ear bob!

Our weapon of choice was unearthed last Friday, an unbelievably well preserved lead bale seal that seemed to breathe new life into our collective lungs. After a short weekend the weather decided that intense heat would not bring us to our knees; Mother Nature opened up the clouds and brought rain upon us students. Ericka and I would need to reveal an artifact that could squelch the storms that were brewing; our comrades in digging would not be disappointed. An elegant and interestingly decorated ear bob, used for native adornment, would come to our defense and strike the sense of despair from our hearts. For this artifact would inspire and continue to drive us students to press on and laugh in the face of a few rain drops. So as a group we say not this time weather, with your wet and rainy clouds and sweat sapping heat, you will not slow down the progress of our group of archaeologists. We are simply too strong, too dedicated, and too darn good at what we do to allow Mother Nature to muck with our affection of uncovering New France’s secrets.

Stay Classy Niles
The Lance Meister

Photo credits Cathrine Davis

Gettin Down and Dirty

“What on earth is that creature?!” “Was that bigfoot?” “Are they the muddied descendants of some lost tribe emerging from the forest?”

Visitors to the Fort St. Joseph archaeological site likely uttered similar musings amongst each other when they discovered mud covered students mucking out a trench Tuesday afternoon rather than pristine and professional looking excavators. Contrary to popular belief archaeology is not some romantic Indiana Jones movie complete with danger, drama, and romance. While there is the danger of stabbing yourself with sharp object in the wet screen, and the drama of uncovering a long hidden artifact is plenty to get your pulse pumping, archaeology is messy and hard work. In my personal opinion however, the sweat and the mud of real archaeology are BETTER than any silly Hollywood film (still many of us females wouldn’t say no to having Harrison Ford around at the site).

Just a little messy...

Some of you may be surprised to know that those of us who worked to muck out the trench belonging to the wet screens this past Tuesday afternoon jumped at the opportunity. What real archaeologist doesn’t love the feel of mud squishing between their toes and the opportunity to sling a wad or two at friends working nearby? Fun and games aside, the real reward in archaeology is emerging from the field, sweating, filthy, and knowing that you found something important that will help our generation better understand those generations past. In the unit I work in, N25W9, with my pit partner The Lance Meister, we have discovered numerous interesting artifacts that are helping us discover the lives of those who once resided at Fort St. Joseph.


Most notable are a lead seal, wonderfully preserved with French writing still legible on the surface, and the first tinkling cone of the season! The lead seal read “Graine de Lille”. Our resident seal expert happily informed us that this likely translates to seeds from Lille, Lille being a region in France. This was an important find because it says a lot about what kinds of supplies the fort residents were bringing in from France and clues us in to their ability to access materials from distant places. Remember guys these people did not have UPS!

First tinkling cone of the season!

Being the individual who holds a mud covered artifact for the first time in 100 years does not make you the sole winner in our game of hide and discover. Those who take care of all the jobs in between, like mucking out the trench, cooking dinner, supplying tarps for shade and saws for root cutting, share in the triumph of an archaeological discovery. That being said I’d like to give a special shout out to those community members who cook us dinner, kill poison ivy, help us dig, and most importantly give us the time of day when we are covered in filth and smelling not quite fresh. We would not be here without your support and so you should take the most pride in every muddy, rusted, or decaying artifact we pull from the ground.

YOU ROCK!
Erika :)

Photo credits Cathrine Davis

Lead seals and some history

Hi all,

I spy an artifact! Looks like part of a bone.

For this weekend update I wanted to keep everyone posted on our latest finds especially now that the students are getting down into layers dating to the occupation of the fort, but also spend some time summarizing the history of Fort St. Joseph for our readers that are less familiar with the site.

Yesterday our week ended early when a fast-moving storm swept into Niles, but the day was not without success. One of the most exciting finds came out of Lance and Erika's unit--a lead bale seal! These seals were used to identify and regulate the quality of merchandise, typically cloth. Seals found in this region typically date to the eighteenth century, matching with the time period of French presence at Fort St. Joseph! The impression on the seal would have been made when one disc was folded over to overlap with the other and then stamped closed. The impressions left would typically designate the place of the goods' origin as well as the quantity or quality.

"B GRAINE DE LILLE"

This particular seal is unlike any other found at Fort St. Joseph to date. The first line appears to be a "B" followed by a fleur de lis; the remainder looks as though it reads "GRAINE DE LILLE." Lille is a city in the north of France that specialized in textile production, which would lead us to think that this seal was used for cloth. Further evidence that this was connected to goods from Lille is the fleur de lis, the city's traditional coat of arms. What is puzzling is the actual translation of the writing, which is "seed/grain of Lille." Could this seal have been used for a shipment of B-grade wheat or other type of grain, or is it simply a way of saying that the seal marked a product from Lille? In some instances Jesuit priests attempted to have Native Americans adopt more intensive farming. Is it possible that seed from France was imported to Fort St. Joseph for this purpose? This may be a single artifact, but it certainly raises a lot of questions! If you have any ideas or thought please feel free to share them!

We have been finding a lot of beads that would have
been used for trade with Native Americans.

Jesuit priests were actually some of the earliest Europeans in the Fort St. Joseph area, arriving in the 1680s to establish a mission in hopes of converting the Native Americans that had been living in the area for thousands of years. In the 1700s the fort developed as a military and trading post for the French, supporting as many as fifteen households and potentially more depending on the season. The fort was particularly important in France's network of posts in the Great Lakes region, and saw a significant amount of trade between the French and the Miami and Potowatomi Native Americans.

Most artifacts are found when wet-screening.

The British gained control over the fort in 1761 during the French and Indian War; however, the British attitude of suppressing and dominating the Native Americans was very different from that of the French which consisted of intermarriage, gift-giving, and a mutual trade relationship. Thus in 1763 the Ottawa leader Pontiac lead a rebellion to drive the British from the region. The fort was briefly reoccupied by the British in 1779, but the presence in the region was not persistent unlike that of French traders that remained in the region until the 1780s, some possibly longer.

The reason the Spanish flag also flew over Fort St. Joseph is that a group of French and Native American men were sent to the fort by the Spanish governor of St. Louis in 1781, though the group remained at the site for less than a day. After that date the site of the fort was largely abandoned, though trade between Europeans and Native Americans likely continued in the area. This specific timeline makes the site excellent for archaeological excavations as there are no 19th and 20th-century occupations to obscure the dates of deposits.

If you have any questions about the fort's history or our ongoing excavations please do not hesitate to leave a question or comment! We will do our best to answer it or point you towards sources that may help.

Have a great weekend!

Kelley

Photo credits Cathrine Davis