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Lake Champlain bridge work reveals old treasures

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Thursday, 15 July 2010

Lake Champlain bridge work reveals old treasures By Molly Walsh Free Press Staff Writer Thursday, July 15, 2010 ADDISON — Just ahead of a backhoe preparing for construction of the new Lake Champlain Bridge, workers with trowels and brushes are tackling a different job: They’re pulling pieces of history from the dirt before concrete and steel cover them up. The failure and demolition of the original 1929 bridge connecting Vermont and New York over a narrow stretch of Lake Champlain has been understandably bemoaned as an expensive inconvenience. It forced the creation of temporary ferry service and construction this summer of a new span at an estimated cost of $75 million. But the project has brought an interesting side effect in the form of a $500,000 archaeological study of the scenic bluff on the Vermont side known as Chimney Point. During the past 10 weeks, a team of archaeological field workers have made important discoveries. They’ve confirmed the location of a 1731 French fort long thought, but unproved until now, to be at the site, and they have uncovered extensive new evidence of the spot’s rich history. That history spans centuries, from the Revolutionary War to the French and Indian Wars to the Paleo-Indian era 9,000 years ago. The latest finds include American Indian spearheads and stone tools, post holes and an interior stone wall from the fort, early American redware pottery, musket balls, copper buttons, pig’s teeth and seamless glass bottles that could have been emptied of wine by Revolutionary War veterans. The study, triggered by a provision in the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 designed to protect historic sites in the face of construction, has provided an exceptional opportunity to look at the full story of human history in Vermont, said John Crock, director of the consulting archaeology program at the University of Vermont. “It’s all kind of visible at this one site,” he said. Preliminary work was done last year, and as many as 15 workers have been digging under Crock’s direction since May. In driving rain and sweltering heat, his team, working under contract for the state, has been racing the bulldozers to pull treasures from the soil. The work is included in the total bridge price tag and paid for by federal and state money. Rewarding work Earlier this week, four field workers stared into a rectangular hole they had dug where supports from the old bridge formerly stood. The exposed layers of earth helped guide their study. Closest to the surface, the dirt was the grayish color of construction fill — a layer unlikely to yield much. Next was the plow zone, a dark, thick layer of earth churned up during an era when the acreage was farmed. This layer can be unpredictable and sometimes yield historic artifacts. Beneath the plow zone, a layer of undisturbed earth had the potential to yield particularly old objects and hints of where structures might have stood. Workers brushed away at a heavy, deeply indented glass bottle bottom in one trench, while nearby others sifted dirt through a wood-framed screen searching for signs of the past amid the dirt and pebbles. Keith Williams, who graduated from the University of Vermont recently with an anthropology degree, is on the field-work team. He’s grown adept at spotting the porous surface and hollow insides of old animal bone fragments, and the flakes of American Indian arrowheads made from chert, a dense quartz. Detective work is only part of the job. “It takes quite a bit of patience, willingness to get a little dirty and work in the sun,” Williams said. Sometimes the digging leads to treasure, sometimes only sweat. The pursuit of physical history doesn’t call everyone, he said, “but it certainly has its rewards.” This week the grassy Chimney Point perch and the shore down the hill were bustling with activity. Big red cranes pointed skyward, and construction vehicles cluttered the area. Ferries plied the waters below, and on the nearby western side of the Lake Champlain, the foothills of the Adirondacks rose in green splendor. Physical evidence suggests human presence at the site dates back 9,000 years, shortly after the inland sea that covered Vermont receded. American Indians lived and traveled through Chimney Point, Samuel de Champlain floated by in 1609, and later the British and the French occupied the spot in their quest to control the Lake Champlain waterway and surrounding territory. During the Revolutionary War, British General John Burgoyne’s troops stopped over as they headed south from Canada to Mount Independence and the battles of Hubbardton and Bennington. Geography explains a lot of what kept bringing people to the spot. “You’ve got well-drained soils; you’ve got the lake for transportation and trade,” said Jeannine Russell, archaeology officer for the Vermont Transportation Agency. “All those components come together to produce this lengthy occupation period.” Science supports history Chimney Point is on the National Register of Historic Places, and the circa 1780s tavern at the site is a museum operated by the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation. The tavern is closed during the bridge construction, set for completion in fall 2011. The new bridge will be built close to the tavern but not as close as the original span. The new structure will have fewer pillars around the site of the old French fort and will stretch over some of the significant areas, leaving them relatively undisturbed. However, the construction will disturb other parts of the site, just as the prior bridge did. This week, a backhoe dug an enormous hole in the earth shortly after the archaeology team surveyed the area. Whatever they didn’t find will be covered up for a long time. Artifacts that have been found are being placed in bubble wrap and carefully labeled bags so they can be cleaned and studied. Some will be displayed at the tavern museum. The verification of the French fort is a major development, Russell said. Although written records pointed to its location at Chimney Point, the exact spot is now clear, which should be an incentive for people to visit such a special place, Russell said: “It’s nice when the archaeology backs up the historic documentation.” http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20100715/NEWS02/100714018/Lake-Champlain-bridge-work-reveals-old-treasures

 

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