Roles of Historical Archaeology in the Interpretation of Our  Historic Past, Part III

        by John Nass, Jr., Editor, President of Mon Yough Chapter 3

Stabilizing of existing structural remains with little to no additional reconstruction

     The focus of this role is to present to the visitor an image of what had existed at a particular site through the use of signage, landscaping as a means to outline architectural features, the stabilization of extant remains, and the usage of stone and wood to outline the location of once extant buildings. Two such examples are Fort Frederica in Georgia and Tellico Blockhouse in Tennessee.

     The Fort Frederica settlement on St. Simons Island was built by James Oglethorpe in 1736, to serve as a buffer to help protect the city of Savannah, itself established in 1732 by Oglethorpe, from the Spanish colony in Florida. Oglethorpe also planned a community around the fort. The settlement on St. Simons Island, however, slipped into obscurity once the threat from Florida was alleviated and the garrison abandoned the fort. By 1800, little remained of the the settlement except foundations and structure depressions. 

     Excavations were undertaken in the 1950s, with the usage of historical records, were able to relocate structures and homes within the settlement. The locations of government building the homes of artisans and other prominent members of the colony along Broad Street, the main roadway through the community, are denoted by the cleaver usage of rebuilt foundations and basements with signage, while house depressions are delineated using  stone and wooden outlines around the house depressions.  

Diagram of the fortified Frederica settlement showing Fort Frederica along the river at the top of the diagram.

Reconstructed power magazine in the background. South storehouse foundation in the foreground.

Foundation of the home of Francis Moore, James Oglethorpe's secretary.

Home site of candlemaker John Calwell.

     The second example is Tellico Blockhouse, built by the government in Tennessee in 1794. The outpost operated until 1807. Its purpose was to help maintain good relation with the nearby Overhill Cherokee towns even as settlers encroached upon Cherokee lands. Over its history, the Tellico Blockhouse served as the site of several treaties with the Cherokee.

     In 1975, congress passed the Factory Act, with the intent to maintain good relations with the Cherokee and other Native nations in the southeast by establishing trading posts and to help the Native Americans adopt certain Euromerican trades, as well as acquiring finished goods and agricultural tools through the exchange of furs. As a result of the Factory Act, Tellico was expanded to incorporate a civilian staff to achieve these goals.  

Excavations were conducted at the Blockhouse site in the 1970s in response to the building of the Tellico Dam by the TVA.  The footprint of the fort's buildings were located. However, the lack of records prevented any reconstruction of the fort. Instead, the foundations were rebuilt and wooden posts used to show the position of the blockhouse walls so visitors could see the fort's layout. Interpretative signage was also used to identify the building foundations and explain the fort's history.

   

Google Earth image of Blockhouse outline.

     What I find interesting is the clever usage of rebuilt foundations, gravel, sand, and wooden posts to delineate the foot print of the buildings and fortifications at both Frederica and Tellico. When done correctly, the visitor is presented with all the relevant information regarding the location of buildings, structure footprints, the and the length of grass to locate fortifications, and the layout of the site with only minimal reconstruction.