Posted on 12/10/2005 5:29:36 PM PST by xcamel
FORT DRUM, N.Y. -- Building for the future at the U.S. Army's Fort Drum is helping unveil the past. The newest discovery at the northern New York Army post is a prehistoric boat-building site near what would have been the shoreline of Glacial Lake Iroquois.
A team of Fort Drum archaeologists surveying a wooded hillside near where the Army is putting a new National Guard training site unearthed an unusual looking stone tool. With the help of a U.S. Marine archaeologist, the team was able to identify it as a triangular-pointed reamer, a typical prehistoric boat-building tool. They also found a punch and other three-dimensional blade tools.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsday.com ...
Excellent post.
There goes training...again...
Great timing. A couple of days ago, while digging in lower Manhattan, in the Fort George area, they unearthed a wall that was left over from the original fort (which was originally built by the Dutch, who quickly fell to the British).
Got that post - the "original battery" - only down 10', I was amazed they hadn't found it before.
I spent 4 years in the north country attending college, so I appreciate reading this. Thanks for posting.
Those neolithic folk were pretty handy...
I guess this area is now off limits for training. Before you know it 10th MTN will be looking for a new place to live.
I wasn't aware the marines had archeologists also. kinda hard to dig with a rifle in your hands!
Artifacts ping.
Me either. I thought they used to do archeology digs with 155mm howitzers!
He did Army Reserve summer camp there one year. They had a real blizzard the first week - six inches of snow on his jeep, which fortunately he and his driver had covered with a "borrowed" tarp the night before. The second week, they had Category Four heat conditions. They went to Montreal one evening and wound up in a gay leather bar. And somebody threw a grenade simulator under the evaluator's jeep.
All in all, an interesting two week stay in scenic Ft. Drum.
ping
bump
It's always something -- inside the "pink zone" on the Range Control map of the Ft. Drum impact area there is a small "no fire area" about 100m square -- it is an Italian Navy cemetery from WW2 when "Pine Camp" (as Drum was known then) was a POW compound. Location from memory follows: From MP6: Az 5000m, Rg 2500M.
I understand that a delegation used to (and still may) lay wreaths there annually on Italian Memorial Day. Any Freepers know more about this? Those poor swabs ought to be dug up and moved somewhere sunny.
Indeed! Thanks for the post.
Climb to Glory!
btt
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I have been one of the Staff Archaeologists at Fort Stewart and a contract archeaologist at camp Lejuene. Basically the Military has to have land cleared of cultural concerns before any training or building can occur. Cemetaries also fall under the category of Cultural resources (and some can be moved if the army want them moved). Basically the legal reasoning behind preserving Historic resources is certainly not a liberal conspiracy to prevent training (I'm hoping no one thinks that). In fact most archeaologists on bases work hard to clear land for training and I know the army at least was very thankful for our support. At least i have several plaques thanking me for my work.
As a conservative I think that preserving our Nation's history and heritage is very important and most others would seem to think that also, as historic preservation activities are often spearheaded by Republican congressmen and senators. Be it a native american site or a Civil war battle field on government property, preserving certain areas is a good idea as these areas do not get preserved on private property. Unless the land owner wishes. In fact most sites are cleared to be destroyed if no unique cultural resource is discovered. For instance this area of boat building may be the only example in that area and is worth preserving but if there were another example already preserved it probably would have been bulldozed.
On Ft Stewart for instance there are probably about 10-20 acres of preserved archaeological resources not including cemetaries. The Fort itself is over a 270 thousand acres. To match that against "Natural Resources" one woodpecker preserve (There are hundreds of them) on a base probably take that many acres. Thats one species and one preserve.
So before people start and I know its coming consider what I just said.
Whoops! Thanks also to you for your ping.
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