ArchaeoBlog

Errrr, no.

Archaeologist has found evidence of De Soto’s expedition

Ever since De Soto’s 600 men set foot on the shores of Tampa Bay, arriving from Cuba almost 500 years ago, historians have debated the exact direction of his failed treasure-hunting expeditions as far north as Tennessee and North Carolina.

But in north Marion County, an archaeologist has found what his contemporaries deem rarer than the gold De Soto was seeking — physical evidence of the explorer’s precise journey through Marion County and enough information to redraw Florida De Soto maps and fuel many more archaeological digs based on his findings.

I dunno, seems fairly secure in the identification. Lots of pages to go through though.

Archaeologists, volunteers work to solve Nez Perce trail mystery

Back in 1877, at a point not far from here, a band of Nez Perce Indians slipped from the Absaroka Mountains onto the prairie, eluding the U.S. Army’s 7th Cavalry in hot pursuit.

The Nez Perce ran their horses in circles to confuse Army scouts before moving onto the Wyoming flatland and making a run north into Montana.

While the Nez Perce managed to confuse the Army commanders that September, they also succeeded in confusing historians. The exact route of their great escape remains a mystery 135 years later.

Kind of a crap shoot, IMO, but more power to them.

Unearthing Ocala’s past

The ground opened up in Ocala’s downtown and Willet Boyer III stepped in, accompanied by a group of archaeology students and volunteers.

“This is the oldest part of the city of Ocala,” said Boyer, an archaeologist and adjunct professor at The College of Central Florida, as he shoveled dirt Thursday from the construction site in front of City Hall onto a screen being shaken by student Joe Snyder.

“This is the area originally platted in 1846 when the city was first built,” Boyer said.

Some of the artifacts being unearthed are from that period.

This seems like a pretty neat project. It seems like this wasn’t any sort of required construction monitoring or anything, the archaeologist just requested permission to screen from of the excavated materials, and things went from there. Interesting that they’re using a big tripod screen; I’ve never seen them used here though we used them in Egypt most of the time.

Archaeologists dig for more history at historic St. Simons school

Before he turned the first shovelful of earth at historic Harrington Graded School Friday morning, archaeologist Fred Cook spoke what seemed to be dim expectations.

“We may not find anything,’’ he said, “but, by golly, it needs to be done.’’

What he and a team of volunteers thought they needed to do was sample the grounds of the one-room schoolhouse that dates to the 1920s and that was the only place on St. Simons that African-American children could go to school.

I don’t have much to say on it, I just thought it was a nice story.

Shoes, flattened toad and other ritual marks found at Dritt Mansion

n the Dritt Mansion, which dates to the mid-1700s, local archaeologist Jan Klinedinst discovered a “W” — similar to the Volkswagen “W” — carved in a wall leading to the attic.

Research showed it was a ritual mark, a symbol for the Virgin Mary, Klinedinst said. It was intended to protect the house against witches.

That symbol, she said, was found in a cave in Skipton, England — where Col. Thomas Cresap hailed from. In the early 1700s, he owned the property called “Pleasant Garden” where the house sits at Long Level.

Also this: “I threw away a lot of stuff, because I thought they didn’t mean anything,” Klinedinst said.

Remember that next time archaeologists are bitching about amateurs.

Marsden excavation reveals history of first school

“Gold” discovered in the Bay or Islands won’t start a gold rush, but the precious find has archaeologists excited.

An archaeological dig at the site of New Zealand’s first permanent European settlement site at Marsden Cross in the Bay of Islands has exposed some archaeological “gold”.

The New Zealand Historic Places Trust said remnants uncovered from the original 1814 Oihi Mission Station include the site of New Zealand’s first school – actually a modest-sized classroom – and other features, including a Maori-style whare, and the remains of what is likely to have been the house of missionary Thomas Kendall and his family.

Interesting observations on the quality of the workmanship and also a Maori-style building from either during or after the date of the school.