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CHAPTER 7. Excavations [Includes Image Plates]
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CHAPTER 7 Excavations The Fort Apalachicola site is now a flat, rectangular mound, surrounded by a shallow ditch. Trianguloid projections, immediately reminiscent of the bastions shown in Quiroga's map of the fort (see Figure 88), are found at each corner. The shape and size of the site are indicated on the contour map, Figure 81. Two trenches were excavated at the site. The largest of these, extending from the interior of the fort to its approximate center and crossing the outside earth embankment and moat, was located near the middle of the eastern side of the fort. This first trench was enlarged to examine various structural features. The second trench consisted of five squares excavated just outside the palisade wall in the center area of the northerly side of the site. All excavation was done by 5-foot horizontal units and 6-inch levels. Natural stratigraphy was utilized in the structural features, which are described below. STRUCTURAL FEATURES The Trace. The fort trace, complete to the corner bastions, was visible on the ground surface and outlined by the slight moat depression. Angulo's letter to Quiroga listed the dimensions of the fort as 22 varas north-south, 19 varas east-west. The vara, equivalent of the English yard, varied in length from approximately 30 to 35 inches. Fretwell (1956) gives these lengths as 61.16 feet northsouth and 52.82 feet east-west. The dimensions probably indicate the size of the rectangle formed by the palisade walls. The remains of the palisade, described below, were located inside the moat. A projected outline of the fort based on Angulo's dimensions and the configurations of the early plans will, when aligned with the uncovered 15 feet of the palisade, fit within the moat as it appears on the present contour map. Small discrepancies can be attributed to the indeterminate length of the vara. The Moat. Angulo recorded the size of the moat surrounding the fort as 4 varas Excavations IRUIOI ~ ~O.5' Figure 81 I / 1 Ru 101General Map 205 [18.209.209.246] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 17:46 GMT) 206 The Spanish Fort 8 ~ ~ t:: .S ~ ...... ... "" > "" u >< c ~ a] "'" i 0 t:: i "" ~ I ... .... 0 0 u: - ...... 0 J ;::l I ~ c:=::::: N 00 I n.lIIoI (]) .... III ;::l 00 ... ii: , • 0 • 12 ... • ! i... Excavations 207 Figure 83 Excavations at 1 Ru 101 Figure 84 1 Ru 101, Trenches 100 L 70, 100 L 75, 110 L 80, and 110 L 85 [18.209.209.246] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 17:46 GMT) 208 The Spanish Fort Figure 85 Site 1 Ru 101, Squares 110 L 50, 110 L 55, 100 L 50, and 100 L 55 Figure 86 Site 1 Ru 101, Looking Southwest in Trenches 100 L 85, 100 L 80, 100 L 75, and 100 L 70 Excavations 209 across, translated as 11.12 feet. The profile drawing (Figure 87, Profile A) shows a cross section of the moat, which was fIlled with clay, charcoal, and fired daub. The fired daub consisted of large, burned, clay fragments, often a foot or more in diameter and usually containing some vegetable material. The top layer of the moat was composed of soil that might have been washed into the depression, but the soil layer is consonant with Bolton's suggestion that the moat was fIlled in when Fort Apalachicola was abandoned. Areas of what seemed to be finished surface appeared on some of the daub fragments, and the impressions of posts appeared on others. Large pieces of charred wood were particularly numerous near the base of the daub layer. Angulo's description of the palisade indicates that it was of wattle and daub construction, reinforced by an exterior half wall of clay. After the fort was destroyed to prevent use by the English, the remains of the parapet must have fallen. Earth Embankment. Outside the moat, the remains of an earth embankment were evident on the surface and in the profIle of the excavation. The surface in the area of this embankment was occasionally higher than the surface in the interior area of the fort, indicating that the embankment may have lost much of its height when the moat was filled. Remains of the Stockade Wall on the North Side of the Fort. Evidence of a footing trench for a stockade wall was clearly visible in the area excavated inside the moat along the edge of the fort (Figure 87, Profile A). The footing trench exhibited vertical sides and a relatively flat bottom. It measured a foot in thickness . The limited excavations along the exterior edge of the fort on the north side revealed a fired daub layer that seemed to be the remains of the fallen stockade wall. Its situation is shown on the profIle drawing (Figure 87, ProfIle B). ARTIFACTS OF EUROPEAN ORIGIN Two groups of artifacts made by Europeans were collected in the fort. The first group, consisting of majolica sherds and olive jar fragments, was the only set of objects that could definitely be classified as Spanish. One of the majolica sherds was of the type San Luis Blue on White (Goggin, Ms., 1957). This type dates from a period overlapping the period of occupation of Fort Apalachicola. Because of damage (apparently the result of fire) to their finish; the rest of the majolica sherds were not classifiable. According to John Goggin, who examined the specimen, the olive jar sherds were made from a gritty paste fitting the description of a ware used during the "Middle Period" (about 1580 to 1780). The few large body sherds appeared to be from "shape B" vessels (Goggin, 1961). The second group of European artifacts appeared to date from the latter part of the eighteenth century. All of the wine bottle fragments, including a bottle [18.209.209.246] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 17:46 GMT) 210 The Spanish Fort seal, were classified into this category. The bottle seal, 1.2 inches in diameter, was impressed on light green glass and bore the name "Lafitte Medoc." The seal was identified by Paul Hudson (July, 1960) as definitely dating from the late eighteenth to early nineteenth century. ARTIFACTS OF INDIAN MANUFACTURE Pottery. Many sherds were found in all areas of the fort. (Even unusually large vessel fragments were not uncommon.) One almost restorable vessel, illustrated in Figure 91, was also collected. The frequencies of the various pottery types are shown in Table 30. Sherds from the site were classified according to the following ceramic types and sorting categories. Ocmulgee Fields Incised (Jennings and Fairbanks, 1939). Both forms of this ware-casuela bowls incised on the exterior of the vessel above the shoulder, and plates incised on the interior side of the flaring rim-were present. Numerous incised, rectilinear and curvilinear motifs, which sometimes enclosed rows of punctations, were present. The thin incision lines associated with this type of pottery were present, and many sherds found at the site showed smoothed-over incising. A few sherds classified as plate fragments suggested round-bodied bowls with incised, flaring rims. Extruded or thickened lips were present on the rims of casuela bowls; infrequently, the extrusions were notched or underlined by a row of punctations. Notched or punctated decorations along the shoulder of casuela bowls were present but rare; a notched fold under the rim on the exterior of the plates was more common. Almost all of the Ocmulgee Fields Incised sherds were tempered with fine shell and grit, and could be graded from sherds with large amounts of finely crushed shell to sherds having little or no shell in the paste (however, shell was visible in most of the pottery fragments). The ware characteristics of most of the Ocmulgee Fields Incised sherds differed from characteristics of sherds classified in the brushed types. Few of the basal portions of these incised vessels were brushed or roughened. Incised Round-Bodied Bowls. Several rim sherds and the nearly complete vessel illustrated in Figure 91 were parts of plain or brushed, round-bodied vessels decorated with a crudely incised band just below the rim. The lips of these vessels were often adorned by a small, pinched or notched, rim fold. All of the sherds in this group were tempered with large amounts of coarse, crushed shell. Walnut Roughened (Anon. 1940a). The brushed and cobmarked sherds tempered with coarse shell were round-bodied vessels that usually displayed unroughened areas adjacent to the rim. A few fine shell tempered, brushed sherds were collected; most of them were lightly brushed. Chattahoochee Brushed (Bullen 1950). A few brushed, coarse grit tempered body sherds were classified Chattahoochee Brushed. PROFILE 8 BETWEEN SfATIONS i!SIIlllO ANO I45lllO 145'-10 .J,;;;::~ PROFILE A BETWEElI STATIONS 1OOL2O /IH) 1001.70 IRUIOI PROFILES SPAIllSH FORT SITE SCALE o 10 FEET ~---------.-.-.... VERTICAl AND HQRflONTAl SCAlES ARE EQUAl Figure 87 1 Ru 101 Profiles, Spanish Fort Site ~ ~ ...0" ;:s '" N - - [18.209.209.246] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 17:46 GMT) 212 The Spanish Fort Figure 88 Map of Fort Apalachicola Excavations 213 Figure 89 Later Map of Fort Apalachicola [18.209.209.246] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 17:46 GMT) 214 The Spanish Fort Kasita Red Filmed (Haag 1940b). A few small sherds of this type were present. The red filming was found in zones that were often outlined by incised lines. All of the sherds suggested a shallow plate form with decorations on the interior. One example of annular ring at the base of a plate was found. The rims of the vessels were slightly folded or extruded on the exterior. The sherds were tempered with fine shell and grit. McKee Island Cord Marked (Heimlich 1952). A single, shell tempered body sherd, roughened by the random application of a paddle wrapped with fine cord, was collected. McKee Island Cord Marked is an important McKee Island complex type; its contemporaneity with historic European trade materials and other McKee Island pottery types is demonstrated by burial associations. Lamar Complicated Stamped (Jennings and Fairbanks 1939). A few coarse grit tempered, complicated stamped sherds were collected. Coarse Shell Tempered Plainware. Most of the sherds from this category were parts of plain, round-bodied, utilitarian vessels or were the plain parts of brushed vessels. Rims of this ware were usually slightly flaring with small, pinched or notched, exterior folds. Several examples of strap handles were noted. The very few vessels of this type that were decorated by crude, incised designs just below the rim, were classified in the Incised Round-Bodied Bowl category. Coarse Grit Tempered Plainware. A few coarse grit tempered sherds were found, but yielded no information as to vessel form. Fine Shell and Grit Tempered Plainware. Sherds classified in this group included half of the entire ceramic collection from the site. Most of the sherds were undecorated fragments of incised, casuela bowls and plates; however, a few casuela bowl rim sherds were present. Fiber Plain (Sears and Griffin 1950a). A single, fiber tempered body sherd was collected. SUMMARY Three vessel forms were used by the Indian potters supplying the fort: casuela bowls, plates, and round-bodied (globular) bowls. Most of the casuelas were incised above the shoulder and undecorated below. Shallow Kasita Red Filmed plates with annular basal rings were made, as well as the deeper Ocmulgee Fields Incised plates. A few undecorated examples of both plates and casuelas were also collected. The round-bodied (globular) bowls possessing slightly flaring rims decorated with pinched rim folds or appliqued strips seem to have been made of an inferior, coarser ware. Most of these pots were plain, brushed, or cob marked. A few examples of similar vessels with incised designs in a band Excavations A SCALE INCH 1"",,I RulOI D i2CM A-D - SPAMSH OLIVE JAR, MIDDLE PERIOD , SHAPE B VESSEL FRAGMENTS (GOGGIN,1960) Figure 90 1 Ru 101 Spanish Olive Jar Sherds 215 [18.209.209.246] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 17:46 GMT) 216 TABLE 29 Artifacts of European Origin, 1 Ru 101 Artifacts of Spanish Origin Olive jar sherds San Luis Blue on White Majolica sherd Re-fired Majolica sherds Late 18th - Early 19th Century Objects (Probably Anglo-American) Green glass wine bottle fragments Bottle seal Ironstone sherds Blue Feather Edge sherd White Chinaware sherds Brick fragments Miscellaneous European Artifacts Ichtucknee Blue beads Georgia Milk Pentagonal bead Brass spangles Wrought iron nails Iron hinge fragments Ox shoe (?) Miscellaneous met-al fragments below the rim were noted, however. The Spanish Fort 7 3 6 1 2 1 2 2 5 2 1 6 Sherds from the round-bodied, coarse shell tempered, "utilitarian" vessels were relatively few in number, composing about a third of the entire ceramic collection . The ratio of incised sherds identified as casuela fragments to those identified as plates is approximately four to one. If most of the fine shell and grit tempered sherds are considered body fragments from the incised vessels, this ratio indicates that over half of the total pottery vessels made by Indians were casuela bowls. The incised plates constituted a tenth of the vessels. The Kasita Red Filmed plates were minor in proportion. Ceramic Pipes. Fourteen pottery pipe fragments were found at the site. Two of these are illustrated in Figure 93. Excavations 217 SCALE INCH1 ___- 2CM Figure 91 1 Ru 101 McKee Island Incised Vessel [18.209.209.246] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 17:46 GMT) 218 TABLE 30 1 Ru 101 ~ Sherd Type Ocmulgee Fields Incised Casuela form Plate form Form not identified Total Walnut Roughened Coarse shell tempered, brushed Coarse shell tempered, cob marked Fine shell and grit tempered, brushed Chattahoochee Brushed Lamar Complicated Stamped Kasita Red Filmed Fiber Plain McKee Island Cord Marked Incised Round Bodied Bowl Total Fine Shell and Grit Tempered Plainware Coarse Shell Tempered Plainware Coarse Grit Tempered Plainware Fine Sand Tempered Plainware Site Total Projectile Points. Count Percent Type 70.06 13.27 14.67 74.37 24.37 1.27 The Spanish Fort Num- Percent ber Total 468 9.62 102 2.10 98 2.01 668 13.73 235 4.83 77 1.58 4 .08 316 6.49 15 .31 1 .02 18 .37 .02 1 .02 7 .14 2,443 50.21 1,298 26.68 90 1.85 8 .16 4,866 100.00 Seven projectile points, five of them small and triangular, were collected at the site. The sixth was a thick, trianguloid projectile point; the seventh was a large, stemmed, serrated point. In addition, the midsection of a large projectile point was found. Miscellaneous. Two small scrapers, a steatite sherd, a polishing stone, and a sandstone athitl weight were collected in the excavation. Most of these objects were not associat- Excavations 219 ed with the activity at the fort and represented earlier components in the area. They indicate clearly an aboriginal occupation not only prehistoric but preceramic . FAUNAL REMAINS AND ETHNOBOTANICAL SPECIMENS A considerable amount of animal bone was present at the site. Most of this material represents the remains of large mammals (most of them probably deer). Drumfish teeth were present as well as several mussel shells. Two varieties of seeds were identified in the field : charred peach pits (I2 whole and fragmentary pits were collected) and several pieces of charred corncob . c SCALE IHCtfI~__ ~2CN IRu lOt A-C - OQoU.OEE FElOS tiCISED CASUELA ~"g;:s~~r~S~~:gD H Figure 92 1 Ru 101Miscellaneous Decorated Pottery Types [18.209.209.246] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 17:46 GMT) 220 The Spanish Fort I , I J I C o E SCALE INCH I ·-2OM I RUIOI A,S - ABORIGINAL TOBACCO PIPES C-MISSISSiPPIAN LANCEOLATE PROJECnLE POINT 0-UNIFACE SCRAPER E- FRENCH WINE 8OTTLE SEAL Figure 93 1 Ru 101 Miscellaneous Artifacts ...