Loui Norris, Pat Cates, and David Bush map the site.
The field season is winding down, but we still have many questions about the area in which we have been working. We have now mapped in all the exposed features, giving us some details about the ground disturbances. The pictures to the left are of us conducting the mapping.
A volunteer helps with the mapping.
The exposure of a trench running somewhat parallel to the front wall of Block 4 is quite interesting. The trench is over 40 feet from the front wall trench, thus it seems as though the back trench is not related to the building construction itself. However, we haven’t excavated into the trench to discovered its contents yet. We plan to do that this month.
As you might notice on the map, there is a large feature starting by N154E124-126. We found a hard rubber pipe, an inkwell, and several large animal bones here. The excavation of this feature has only just begun, so we should have more information on it by the end of October.
The one-meter square hole in the site (see below) was dug early in the season to act as a pump area. This was necessary early in the season when rain waters were flooding us every day.
Overall photograph of the excavations
Future Field Work at Johnson’s Island
The Friends and Descendants of Johnson’s Island is continuing with fundraising efforts for the purchase of the major portion of the prison compound and Fort Johnson. We are within days of closing with the bank for financing of the purchase. With this accomplished, we will begin our second phase of fundraising.
Classes have started at Heidelberg College, so there are new opportunities to introduce students to the thrill of excavation. We will be continuing our excavations until the end of October, but only every other weekend. There are so many unanswered questions this field season, we truly need the extra time to explore the exposed features!
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