Archaeology

A recent blog post from the Washington Department of Transportation illustrated the important connections between the sciences of archeology and transportation infrastructure construction.

[Above photo of Jason Cooper by WSDOT]

Federal and state laws mandate that all transportation projects, particularly ones that disturb the ground, be evaluated for their effects on cultural resources. WSDOT goes a step further with a policy commitment to avoid, minimize or mitigate its adverse impacts on “cultural resources” – which include areas, structures, and objects that are at least 50 years old – and help preserve such historical finds as well.

Enter Jason Cooper, WSDOT cultural resources lead. A veteran archeologist with 32 years of experience, Cooper has spent the last six working for WSDOT and leads a team that studies human history and pre-history on and below state roads and waterways, helping WSDOT construction and environmental teams preserve culturally important places.

WSDOT’s cultural resources team also works closely with tribes in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, along with cities and counties across the state to preserve things like historic bridges and landmarks, archeologically and anthropologically sensitive sites and spaces/things of cultural significance. WSDOT noted that they research, for example, whether a highway project might trample on old tribal burial grounds or anything else of historical value.

Cooper explained in the blog post that he is “driven by the belief” that every artifact, no matter the size or shape, has a story to tell and that his team’s cultural resources work provides valuable insights into the lives of “those who came before us.”

After getting a bachelor of arts in history and minor in anthropology at San Diego State University – and later a master’s in anthropology from the University of Nevada-Las Vegas – Cooper worked on archeological excavations in the U.S. and worldwide spending time in in Jordan and Cyprus studying the Neolithic period (some 6,000 years before today) and, in Egypt, focused on old stone age, early “hominid” survey work. Hominids are all modern and extinct Great Apes, Cooper noted – that is, modern humans, chimpanzees, gorillas, etc., plus all their immediate ancestors.

Cooper noted that the WSDOT cultural resources team operates on a three-part system as part of the pre-planning process for transportation construction work. The work entailed by those steps includes: 

• Identification: Before any large-scale ground disturbance is planned, Cooper and his team identify areas with possible archeological significance through desktop research (checking maps, combing through archives, reading books, scanning online records, etc.) and surveying (digging holes or test probes to examine a site). Frequently, Cooper and a team of subcontractors will do several shovel probes of the ground. Sometimes only a few dozen probes are dug, other times there can be hundreds or thousands.
• Evaluate: Next, WSDOT archeologists and subcontractors evaluate by screening the soils removed from these test probes or holes to see if they find anything historical or “pre-contact” – a term used to describe times before Europeans arrived and contacted Native Americans already living in North America.
• Determine for Eligibility: Cooper and his team determine if any items found during the digging process are eligible as an archeological finding. If so, he writes reports on which the culture the artifact/object belongs to and next steps, such as returning it to the ground, relocating the construction project or finding a new home for the object.

WSDOT noted that while this three-step system typically takes place before ground is disturbed, it can take place at any time, particularly if something unusual is discovered by our crews during excavation.

As an aside, WSDOT’s Cooper has written more than 150 cultural resources reports for Washington State alone and has come across “numerous” interesting archeological discoveries, such as:

• In 2022, as part of a debris flow project on SR 410 near Crystal Mountain Resort where the washed-out road was repaired, Cooper and his team studied if the temporary repairs would affect cultural resources after the Nisqually Tribe requested a survey. During the work, Jason’s team found pre-contact impacts (such as a piece of a stone tool), culturally modified trees (a tree Native Americans had removed bark from) and a segment of the old McLellan Highway, which was the old state route to Crystal Mountain.
• While new culverts were being installed under SR 169 between Renton and Maple Valley in 2021, Cooper was brought in after on-site crews discovered a long section of buried wood planks. He determined the planks belong to an original road built by King County in the 1920s between Renton and Maple Valley.
• Recently, at the I-90/SR 18 Deep Creek Interchange Improvements project work site near Snoqualmie, a bone was discovered by work crews. Cooper was able to determine the bone likely came from a quadruped/ungulate (likely elk) and was not human – and that quick determination helped keep the project on schedule, WSDOT added.
• While the tree is no longer there as of July 2023, five years ago Cooper determined that a willow tree on Seattle Housing Authority land near I-5 and James Street was a cloned descendant of a willow tree that is near the French dictator Napoleon’s grave site at St. Helena’s Island.
• Historical records determined the site of SR 92 roadwork near Granite Falls likely had archeological sites, so the road was routed around the city instead through those sites. Cooper – at the time still an on-call consultant – and his team found thousands of human-made artifacts – human manufactured stone tools, arrow heads, cutting devices, etc. – many of them thousands of years old. The sites were part of the Olcott archeological sites, which predates the first known pyramids in Egypt.

Other state departments of transportation are engaged in a variety of archeological endeavors as well.

For example, in October 2022, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet helped establish a new website highlighting more than 100 prehistoric and historic archaeological sites across the state’s 64 counties. KYTC launched the new website – Discover Kentucky Archaeology – in collaboration with the Kentucky Heritage Council-State Historic Preservation Office, an agency of the Kentucky Tourism, Arts, and Heritage Cabinet.

And in January 2022, the Colorado Department of Transportation debuted a documentary called “Durango 550 – Path of the Ancestral Puebloans” to show how the agency worked with archaeologists and regional Native American tribes to document, study, and ultimately share the discoveries unearthed near Durango in southwest Colorado. That archaeological excavation took place in 2018 and 2019 ahead of construction on the US 550-US 160 Connection South project in 2020.

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet recently helped establish a new website highlighting more than 100 prehistoric and historic archaeological sites across the state’s 64 counties.

[Above photo by the Kentucky Heritage Council]

KYTC launched the new website – Discover Kentucky Archaeology – in collaboration with the Kentucky Heritage Council-State Historic Preservation Office, a Kentucky Tourism, Arts, and Heritage Cabinet agency. The website documents the “diversity and richness” of Kentucky’s archaeological record and the scientific documentation and research undertaken by more than 100 archaeologists who have and continue to contribute a “shared understanding” of the past.

Examples of “prehistoric” times covered by the website begin with Paleoindian-era sites (prior to 8000 B.C.) and range from Grizzly Newt – an Early Archaic (8000 to 6000 B.C.) Native American rock shelter located within the Daniel Boone National Forest – to McGilligan Creek, a Late Woodland (A.D. 500 to 1000) village in Livingston County.

Meanwhile “historic” time period examples include Saltpeter Cave, a Frontier era (A.D. 1750 to 1820) niter mine in Carter County, through sites like Peanickle; a Postbellum and Industrialization (A.D. 1865 to 1914) African American community on a ridgetop just outside Lawrenceburg.

Every profile of an archaeological dig on the new website – created by the Kentucky Archaeological Survey – includes a summary, findings, a focus on “what’s cool,” and links to related materials. Other sections include opportunities for public education, outreach, and discovery. Additional features and content for the website – designed by Kentucky Interactive LLC – will come as research and funding allow, KYTC said.

The new website received its funding via an alternative mitigation agreement for bridge projects, financed by the federal government. Through a consultation process, outlined by federal statute and supported by the Federal Highway Administration, consulting parties agreed to create a publicly available guide to Kentucky archaeological sites.

“While we are dedicated to preserving significant archaeological resources, sometimes damage from construction projects to cultural resources can’t be avoided,” said Craig Potts, executive director of the Kentucky Heritage Council and state historic preservation officer, in a statement.

“In this instance, we worked with partner agencies and consulting parties to develop a way to offset these damages by investing in public outreach to increase understanding of the importance of these sites and what they have yet to tell us about Kentucky’s heritage,” he said.

“As we build a better Kentucky that meets the needs of the future, [we are] committed to protecting and preserving Kentucky’s past,” added KYTC Secretary Jim Gray. “This initiative makes historical information accessible and enjoyable to discover across multiple periods and parts of the state.”

State departments of transportation across the country are involved in a variety of archaeological support efforts.

For example, in August, archaeologists from the Maryland Department of Transportation began helping excavate two small Colonial-era cabins near the historic Elkridge Furnace in Howard County, MD, located on land originally purchased for a highway project.

This effort follows a previous dig conducted by Maryland DOT’s archeological team in 2021 that helped discover a historic home site once owned by the father of famed abolitionist Harriet Tubman, who helped slaves escape north via the Underground Railroad.

Meanwhile, in February, the Nevada Department of Transportation and contractor Mead & Hunt began collaborating on an effort to develop a “multiple property documentation form” or MPDF to help preserve Latino-related properties statewide, with a primary focus on the cities of Las Vegas and Reno.

In addition, in January, the Colorado Department of Transportation debuted a documentary called “Durango 550 – Path of the Ancestral Puebloans” to show how the agency worked with archaeologists and regional Native American tribes to document, study, and ultimately share the discoveries unearthed near Durango in southwest Colorado.

Archaeologists from the Maryland Department of Transportation are helping excavate two small Colonial-era cabins near the historic Elkridge Furnace in Howard County, MD, located on land originally purchased for a highway project.

[Above photo by the Maryland DOT]

In the 18th and 19th centuries, the Elkridge iron furnace –– used enslaved, indentured, and convict labor. Its use of slave labor is why it is now part of the U.S. National Park Service’s “Underground Railroad Network to Freedom,” which chronicles the history of slavery in the United States.

Iron furnaces used intense heat to convert iron ore into “pig iron” which could then be made into tools, wagon wheels, and other iron-based products. The white-hot fires required for this conversion made them labor-intensive and dangerous places to work.

This $50,000 archaeological project is a partnership between Maryland DOT and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources or DNR. The Maryland DOT’s State Highway Administration originally owned the land in conjunction with its construction of nearby I-195 but later conveyed it to DNR to save the historic complex.

The excavation team – led by Dr. Julie Schablitsky, Maryland DOT’s chief of cultural resources – uncovered brick floors, stone foundations, and various artifacts. Archaeologists hope to determine the age of the buildings and their relationship to the historic iron furnace.

“Archaeology is our last chance to understand the lives of these iron furnace workers who endured horrific conditions,” said Dr. Schablitsky in a statement. “We are piecing together their life one ceramic sherd and lost button at a time.”

“This latest partnership between MDOT and DNR shows our shared commitment to collaborate with fellow agencies and the community to discover and preserve one of Maryland’s greatest assets: our history,” added MDOT Secretary James F. Ports Jr.

The agency said any archaeological findings found at the site would become part of “interpretive materials” used by DNR, with the investigation also helping guide DNR’s work to restore the buildings. In the future, DNR and an on-site restaurant – Elkridge Furnace Inn – hope to use the archaeological discoveries to share the history of the site and the lives of the ironworkers with the public.

“As stewards of Maryland’s natural and cultural resources, we are proud to partner with MDOT and support this archaeological work,” DNR Secretary Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio said. “Having this information on the Elk Ridge Furnace site is invaluable as we work to interpret the important history of the Underground Railroad and convey what life was like during our nation’s early Industrial Revolution.”

This effort follows a previous dig conducted by Maryland DOT’s archeological team in 2021 that helped discover a historic home site once owned by the father of famed abolitionist Harriet Tubman, who helped slaves escape north via the Underground Railroad.

The agency’s team discovered the former home of Harriet Tubman’s father, Ben Ross, on property acquired in 2020 by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or USFWA as an addition to Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Dorchester County, MD.

The Colorado Department of Transportation recently debuted a documentary called “Durango 550 – Path of the Ancestral Puebloans” to show how the agency worked with archaeologists and regional Native American tribes to document, study, and ultimately share the discoveries unearthed near Durango in southwest Colorado.

[Above photo by the Colorado DOT]

The archaeological excavation took place in 2018 and 2019 ahead of construction on the US 550-US 160 Connection South project in 2020.

“This documentary shows the unique collaboration of all entities involved, laying the groundwork for a new approach to archaeology, blending western science with traditional cultural beliefs,” explained Greg Wolff, a Colorado DOT archaeologist, in a statement. “Tribal members frequently visited the project area during the excavations. Tribal elders contributed traditional knowledge, experience, and spiritual guidance to the archaeologists and other project staff members.”

The documentary features several tribal representatives involved in the project and other tribal members who worked and trained as paid interns, participating in both the excavations and educational outreach. The documentary also touched upon tribal youth groups involved with the excavation.

The 30-minute documentary – created by the Grit and Thistle Film Company – aired on the Rocky Mountain PBS station on January 16 and will air again on March 17. It is also available for viewing on the television station’s website and mobile app.

“Trying and laborious” perhaps best describes the months-long research and digging conducted in search of the home of a young Harriett Tubman by the Maryland Department of Transportation’s State Highway Administration in the Blackwater Wildlife Refuge on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.

[Above photo by the Maryland DOT]

In 2019, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) purchased the 2,600-acre Peter’s Neck site within that refuge for $6 million – an area where historians thought Tubman’s childhood home might be located. That is why a year later, Marcia Pradines – the Chesapeake Marshlands National Wildlife Refuge complex project leader for the USFWS – asked the Maryland DOT for archeological help in potentially uncovering the young Tubman’s home.

“I asked the state for assistance when I learned they had the interest and capacity to do so,” Pradines said. “It’s been a wonderful partnership.”

Tubman – born in 1822 and originally named Araminta Ross – was an escaped slaved who became one of the most famous American abolitionists and political activists. She used a network of antislavery activists and safe houses known as the Underground Railroad to transport freed slaves to Northern states and served as an armed scout and spy for the Union Army during the American Civil War.

While Tubman’s years as an abolitionist, spy, and later as a women’s suffrage activist are well known, relatively little is about her childhood.

That all changed in November 2020 due to the persistent efforts of a Maryland DOT SHA research team.

The extensive digging in the muck by the Maryland DOT SHA crew at the Peter’s Neck site turned up a coin from 1808; specifically a 50-cent “Liberty” coin. Then the archelogy crew discovered a chip from a broken ceramic piece, soon followed by other small artifacts.

After a lull in the project, Maryland DOT SHA researchers returned to the site – a one-time timber farm that had now become marshlands – in March 2021 to continue digging, finally striking pay dirt: the remains of the Ben Ross home, so named for Tubman’s father, still relatively intact. Tubman lived on the site with her family; a place where she began learning how to navigate what became known as the Underground Railroad.

Julie Schablitsky, chief of the Cultural Resources Division for Maryland DOT, explained during a recent press event that she and her crew heard about the potential location of the Ross cabin at the Peter Neck’s site just before COVID-19 hit. After the USFWS asked for their assistance, her team got busy: donning mosquito netting and rubber boots to dig away in the swampland to see if remains of Tubman’s home could be found.

“It was very wet, very foggy and very muddy” digging the five-foot-by-five-foot holes, Schablitsky explained – all in an effort to find what turned out to be archeological gold.

This chapter of Tubman’s story began with plantation owner Anthony Thompson leaving the enslaved Ross 10 acres (known as “Ben’s 10”) in his will. That act gave the Maryland DOT SHA team some idea where the house was.

The team dug “hole and hole after hole,” said Schablitsky, and eventually found that coin from 1808 – the approximate year “when Tubman’s parents were married,” she noted. “Then we found the bits of ceramics.”

When the Maryland DOT SHA crew returned in early spring this year, they resumed digging and found more artifacts, including furniture and other housewares. While small, those bits and pieces equate to the bigger story, Schablitsky pointed out that the real question is, “How do we learn more? Sometimes the answer is archaeology.”

Her team continues learning more of the cabin site, which “about 20 to 25 percent” excavated, she said. It lies in a scenic area near Harrisville Road, an area today surrounded by woods and extensive waterfalls. Historically, it would have been in a wooded area not accessible by water.

With the refocus on Tubman heightening the public’s interest, the current state of the site makes for what Schablitsky termed “a treacherous journey,” including about a one-mile walk through knee-deep water to reach the site. However, there are “creative ways” to make it accessible for pedestrians. “We have a trail laid out and are looking for funding,” she said.

The descendants of the Tubman family are equally excited about the findings and what the future may hold for them.

Tina Wyatt, Tubman’s great-great-great-grandniece and Ross’ great-great-great-great-granddaughter, spoke for the family at the press event.

“[The news] brings enlightenment, revealing how [Ross] lived his daily life, making it a real-life connection to and for me,” Wyatt said. “The world benefits also from the study of these artifacts concerning objects used by the enslaved; are they common to this plantation, to his position or to this region? It gives us so much more to explore, explain and exhibit.”

As for the site and the artifacts, she added that what has been found looks “Pretty much untouched from when the family was there,” Wyatt noted, emphasizing that Tubman “embraced not the circumstances, but the environment.

“For something so horrific [as slavery to happen] to her people,” Wyatt said. “It’s great to be there now.”

Plans for tourists and historians who want to visit the site are being discussed, said USFWS’s Pradines, as Maryland DOT archeologists plan to return to the dig for further excavation in late fall or spring 2022.

Establishing a timeline for the preservation of the property is critical as well, for the Ross cabin resides in an area predicted to naturally convert to marsh with parts remaining forested into the year 2100.

With the cost to open the approach and the site to the public hovering around an estimated at $200,000 – getting tour buses in could make it a multi-million dollar job – Pradines spoke of establishing a trail system with Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources and the National Park Service.

“We want to honor those stories and create new ones for birders, hunters and tourists,” she noted.

“This land has rich stories to tell,” Pradines pointed out, from the days of the Native Americans to the Ross family to the first state forester. “We want people to visit [and] we also want to preserve to the integrity of the site,” she said.

The Virginia Department of Transportation recently made a major historical discovery at an old Civil War fort uncovered in the median of Interstate 64 near Williamsburg: A “witch bottle.” The superstition surrounding this rare artifact dates back hundreds of years to 17^th century England when such “counter magical devices” served as “protection” against witchcraft and evocation.

[Photo courtesy of the Virginia Department of Transportation.]