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Excavations
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Excavations conducted in the 2001 and 2002
field seasons aimed at two primary goals:
learning more about how the earthwork
was constructed, and investigating anomalies,
or inconsistencies, in geophysical readings
generated during surveys across large portions
of the site.
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Backhoe starting exploratory trench
across Earthwork wall
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Wall
constcution
Large-scale, machine-assisted excavation
data informed extensively on earthwork
wall construction. During the 2001
and 2002 seasons, backhoes were used
in a careful, controlled manner to
expose long (40 - 50 meters) trenches,
perpendicular to the walls of the
square. Trench #1 was excavated across
the center segment of the southern
wall of the square, Trench #2 intersected
the west wall, near its southern end
and Trench #3 was located near the
end of a another west wall segment.
All of these indicate a general construction
sequence. First, all topsoil was removed
from the area, exposing sterile subsoil.
Then two to three additional layers
of other soil were brought in and
piled up to form a low wall. |
Kinds of soil found
in these layers
across the sampled area varied from
yellow clay loam, to red-brown clay
loam, to yellow loamy clay, to dark
organic soil. The final step in wall
construction appears to have been
the capping of these intermediate
soil layers with organic topsoil,
on both the sides and top of the constructed
wall. Thus far, each wall segment
that has been examined was built somewhat
differently.
Several features found during trench
excavation appear to have been created
in association with the wall construction.
Burned logs found in Trench
1 are clearly related to the initial
construction of this wall segment,
and yielded an uncorrected Radiocarbon
date of 1740 +/- 50 BP (Beta-159033).
Excavation in Trench 2 encountered
two small burned features at the contact
between two different soil zones.
They appear to be burned
matting. Burned soil surrounding
the organic material suggests the
burning episode occurred at this location,
and may represent a ritual associated
with wall construction.
Just as observed in the other two
trenches, features associated with
stages of wall construction were recorded
in Trench #3. Feature #17 was a small
area of burned
soil, burned bone and burned plant
material with flecks of mica on top
of the dark organic soil that formed
the first stage in wall construction.
The feature was covered by the red-brown
soil zone, and seems to be another
product of ritual associated with
wall construction.
Overall, trench excavation and detailed
investigation shed much light on the
general sequence and manner of wall
construction. It also revealed information
about wall morphology that is no longer
available from the surface -- soil
strata indicate that the walls were
sloping, toward the inside, outside
and on the ends. Finally, excavation
has yielded information on intra-wall
features; much work remains to understand
what they represent, but their presence
supports other indications that creating
this earthwork was an intricate process.
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Testing Anomalies
Another main
goal of excavation was to test
anomalies in geophysical survey
results; several areas were
opened up in response to inconsistencies
in the larger scale survey data.
Some excavations revealed recent
debris, such as horseshoes,
and evidence of recent activity,
including a large posthole.
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Prepared and baked clay basin
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However,
several anomalies
were associated with
Hopewellian features and artifacts.Test
excavations conducted in 2001
over one anomaly revealed a
prepared clay basin that has
been baked very hard by fire.
The basin contained burned wood,
burned soil and ash and is located
adjacent to one of the gateways
in the southern wall.
Another test unit started in
2001 revealed a large, deeply
buried pit just outside the
another gateway in the southern
wall. The feature fill was very
similar in color to the subsoil
and the boundaries of the pit
were very hard to discern. The
team was unable to fully expose
the feature in 2001, so the
unit was backfilled and re-opened
in 2002. The pit contained abundant
quantities of ceramic sherds
and mica. These occur in definite
pockets within the pit fill,
and were separated by relatively
sterile soil. These appear to
reflect individual episodes
of deposition, probably from
production of ritual objects.
Near the top of the pit, excavators
also encountered numerous whole
and fragmentary bladelets, and
a heavily used stone axe. Rolfe
Mandel and Rinita Dalan are
conducting soil micromorphology
and magnetic susceptibility
studies to determine whether
the deposition in the feature
represents a single season of
activities, or if this pit was
reused over a longer period
of time.
The 2002 field season
also included test
excavations to examine magnetic
anomalies. Four test units were
placed inside the square, and
a post hole and two features
were exposed. One of these was
a concentration of river rocks
and gravel, the other was a
deep pit with organic fill.
Test units on the west exterior
of the square revealed another
baked clay feature, and a series
of postholes. The baked clay
feature is similar in form to
the one excavated in 2001, but
it is less well preserved. The
post hole pattern seems to be
part of a structure, but further
work in 2003 is needed to determine
the nature and size of the structure.
It is impossible at this point
to determine how these features
relate to each other or to the
earthwork as a whole, and is
obvious that so much is left
to learn about Hopeton. These
investigations have just opened
the door to understanding how
this structure was used. Analyses
of recovered materials, as well
additional field investigation
are necessary if researchers
are to walk through. NEXT
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