Lone Star Stalag: German Prisoners of War at Camp Hearne

6. Fountains, Statues, and Buildings

CHAPTER 6 Fountains, Statues, and Buildings THE FIRST PART OF THIS CHAPTERdescribes the fountains, basins, statues, gardens, and other features built by the POWs during their internment at Camp Hearne (fig. ). Many of these fountains were found during the survey and subsequently excavated and recorded. Others, however, are known only from period photographs. The latter were either destroyed by later land use at the site or lie undiscovered in the extensive vegetation covering it. The second part of this chapter describes the buildings and remaining foundations at the camp. Fountains Three large fountains were found during the archaeological investigation of Camp Hearne. These fountains were a communal effort and required concrete , piping, access to water and electricity, and pumps. They were located in common areas of the camp for everyone to enjoy. The Kneeling Woman This fountain is located in the southwest portion of Compound , in Company ’s area, just outside the southwest corner of the mess hall (fig. ). It has a .meter -diameter circular concrete basin (figs.  and ). The edge of the basin is raised approximately fifteen centimeters above the ground surface. The maximum depth of the fountain basin is eighty-four centimeters. A square, bevelededge , tapered pedestal extends upward from the central base of the fountain. The pedestal is hollow and is capped by a removable beveled concrete lid. The sides of the pedestal are oriented with the cardinal directions. The pedestal cap was decorated with a concrete statue of a nude woman with shoulder-length hair. The woman held a platter and was kneeling and leaning back on her heels. The statue is no longer associated with the fountain and its whereabouts is unknown. Only concrete scars remain on the pedestal top to indicate where her knees and feet were attached to the pedestal surface. Three concrete frogs, seated on semicircular pedestals, are located at equal intervals around the perimeter of the fountain (figs.  and ). The frogs faced inward toward the center pedestal. Each concrete frog was formed around a tapered , nineteen-centimeter-long iron pipe that was angled toward the center of the feature. Water shot out of their mouths and collected in the statue’s platter and cascaded into the fountain’s basin. The frogs were broken away from their pedestals after the camp was abandoned and two were later recovered. The frogs are constructed of the same high-quality concrete as that of the pedestal and the surface layer of the basin. Pipes extending from the feature to its water source were not found during excavation;however, it is thought that water was routed from the nearby mess hall. The fountain’s basin was constructed in three layers. After the pit had been F, S,  B  Fig. . Map showing the location of fountains, basins, statue platforms, and other features built by the POWs at Camp Hearne. Camp Hearne Collection, Texas A&M University.  L S S Fig. . The kneeling woman fountain in Compound . Camp Hearne Collection, Texas A&M University. Fig. . The kneeling woman fountain today. Camp Hearne Collection, Texas A&M University. dug into the ground and shaped, large rocks and river cobbles were laid on the ground surface to serve as a foundation. This layer was then covered with a relatively poor-quality concrete that had many inclusions. Finally, a surface layer of high-quality concrete measuring about . centimeters thick was smoothed over the base layer. The feature basin’s basal concrete layer is divided into sixteen sections that vary in size between sixty and eighty centimeters at the perimeter of the feature. Prominent seams divide each section, which appear to have been poured individually . After all the sections were poured and set, a thin layer of high-quality concrete was smoothed over each seam and the entire basin to make a continuous , watertight surface. The majority of the dividing lines extend toward the center of the feature but do not meet. Photographs taken during the camp’s operation show that the fountain was able to hold water at a level close to its ground surface level. A three-centimeterdiameter drainpipe that extends five centimeters above the concrete near the edge of the basin maintained a maximum water level in the feature basin. The Devil Fountain This fountain was constructed between two mess hall buildings in Company ’s area, Compound  (fig. ). The feature was demolished and the debris dumped nearby after the camp was abandoned. F, S,  B  Fig. . The devil fountain outside the mess...