What do Buttons and Cannons Have in Common? . . . October 31, 2009

By David Stone, Volunteer

I am writing this blog on day five of the survey from the comfort of my hotel suite in Provo. The other team members are slaving away in the hot sun while my wife and I had to take a day off and recuperate. Reality is slowly setting in and the heat and humidity are taking their toll.  Not that the work is particularly arduous, in fact, it is incredibly interesting as we are learning new things almost by the minute. And it is especially gratifying and rewarding from an inner sense and perspective.

On the third day of the project, and our first in the water, I was able to see very clearly the five submerged cannons. Now this is getting exciting! I imagined troops standing behind the cannons loading them and firing them at the enemy out on the reef. If I were a button that's where I'd fall off - right behind a cannon. And one of my hopes for this project was that I would find a button that could help to fill in the story of the fort and its soldiers.

One of the more common items we are finding on land and in the water are pieces of shot, bits of iron and other metal fragments, often concreted together. So when my detector beeped yet again behind one of the partially buried cannons it was nothing special. I figured it was probably just another chunk of shot.

For some unexplained reason I happened to look in my sand scoop. Caught between the two screens I spied what I thought was a nickel. It was about the right size but appeared a bit curved and devoid of any writing. Closer examination revealed I had found my button! Neal Hitch told me that only a few of these buttons were found previously, but only on land. The ocean has taken its toll on this button and a bit of the detail is worn off from being submerged for some 200 years.

That afternoon back at Pine Cay, Neal and I found a British website with over 100 British regimental uniform buttons on display. The new button matched one on the website perfectly, although not in as good a condition and it is dated 1795. He pointed out that we don't know what that means exactly. Was the button made only in 1795? Was the first appearance of the button in 1795 and how long was it made?  A few answers and lots more questions. But from now on I can say that the best button from Ft St George was found under what is -- in my opinion -- the best cannon.

Then and Now: The Trials and Tribulations of the Tropics! . . . October 30,2009

By Elizabeth Stone, Volunteer

Day 1

Today we went out to the Cay and met our fellow adventurists...a really fascinating bunch from all over...3 Phd's, a professional underwater photographer, a doctor, a couple of year-rounders, and, of course, us. Armed with machetes, metal detectors, saws and the like...today's focus was on clearing brush around the remnants of a visible structure and looking for artifacts that might indicate its purpose. We did find some shot, pottery shards, some pieces from a musket, and mapped out the original footprint of one of the buildings. My time was spent doing field photography ... shooting people doing whatever they were doing as well as amateur photos of what we found. It was sunny, HOT and buggy (no surprise). There were tons of hermit crabs scuttling everywhere...probably wondering what all the commotion was about...and fire ants (yikes!), that we managed to avoid. This is going to be a LOT of fun. I love meeting new people and, of course, anyone who is interested in history. Funnily enough, the head of the project does sort of look like Indiana Jones. 

The thing that amazes me is the resilience of the soldiers who were stationed here. These Cays are scrubby (not much shade) and I can only imagine their reaction, being dumped here. How did they get water? How did they spend their days? What tools did they have to construct these structures? The boredom, bugs, inhospitable environment, and unrelenting sun....just fires my imagination....and certainly elicits my sympathy. Early to bed tonight because 5:30 a.m. is going to come too quickly. I'm blessing air conditioning right now and the thought of soft sheets...I wouldn't have made a very good colonist.

Day 4

Every day that we are out on the Cay, I compare the obstacles that we face with what the soldiers faced 200 years ago.  While we brought coolers with food and water, metal detectors and machetes, compasses and protractors, cell phones and walkie-talkies, bug spray and sunscreen, the soldiers must have carried little more than basic tools with which to construct buildings, hard tack, water collection implements, and clothing.  But, being English, they also brought dishes and even teacups, according to our finds!  While we have cold water on hand, they had to fetch it and it was never better than tepid.  There is little wildlife on island, so any food they ate, had to come from the sea, the air, or what they grew. When I compare their fortitude and dedication to ours, I feel that we come up short.  They too had to hack through the brush as we are doing...but their intent was to build living quarters and fortifications, while ours is to merely uncover those endeavors.  The brush that thwarts them also thwarts us.

Yet in my view, we don't always come up short.  In watching Don, Neal and Toni I am amazed at their fortitude and dedication and, yes, reverence and respect, for what we are discovering.  They are patient and methodical often seeing a small artifact that is camouflaged by the overgrowth that I would have missed entirely. And when the sun goes down, when the soldiers would have been sleeping, our team is at their maps and computers: measuring, documenting, sourcing and referencing the finds.  So our modern perseverance and diligence is of a different variety and no less impressive.

The Trouble with Archaeology is . . . October 29, 2009

By Toni Carrell, Ships of Discovery

I discovered early in my career that archaeologists have this love-hate relationship with artifacts. Or at least I have a love-hate relationship with them. It would be so much fun to just go out and dig up “stuff” and then go back to camp and take a shower and enjoy the evening with a cool drink.  But nooooo.

Hold that thought.

If you’ve been reading the blogs you will know by now that we are dividing the work up into several different tasks. The first task, and one that is ongoing, was to clear away the bush around the known structures on Ft St George Cay.  For the most part all of them were found (and even measured) by the true pioneer explorers of the island:  Brooke Foxe, Jack McWilliams, Walt Brewer, Terry Smith and Lee Smith. In the process we are cutting branches, raking leaf cover, snipping roots, and generally getting hot, sweaty, mosquito bitten and really dirty.

The second task is to connect the various structures – so far we have three distinct locales and a fourth possible.  To do that we have cut what Robert calls “elephant trails” between them.  Our elephants are of the miniature variety and the trail is more a track, but that is another story.  Randy, Will, and Robert have been doing a stellar job on that score.

The third task is to go out and locate previously unknown structures.  That is how Neal managed to get into the Poison Wood.  We are starting a bigger push on that task tomorrow.

The fourth task is to clean up the exposed structures and to begin their documentation. That is where I come in. My job is to draw and measure. But in the process of cleaning up the leaf litter and then exposing the foundations, invariably artifacts show up.  Randy already mentioned the musket furniture we found.  When we find anything, we immediately put in a pin flag – a thin plastic stick with an orange flag. We’ve been very surprised at how many small finds have surfaced in this process.

And here is where my love-hate relationship with artifacts comes in.  Each of these artifacts, the ones that are diagnostic (that is, will tell us something important) and even those that are not (but will give us an idea of general activity areas) must be recorded.  Not just photographed, but their exact location noted. This entails taking measurements from each find to a baseline or other known point. You can think about it almost like a spider web – with all of the lines radiating out from the center to the artifacts at the ends and then connecting to the centers of other spider webs. Each artifact that is collected also gets a number and a little plastic tag so that it can be cross-referenced to the list of measurements.

Other team members are finding artifacts, not just me. So at the end of the day, or whenever I can pry them away from bushwhacking and exploring, I am tracking them down and making sure I can find all of their pin flags. Then Elizabeth and I crawl around on our hands and knees through the bush to get the measurements before the mosquitoes eat us alive or we inhale one that gets too close.  When that happens I am reminded that, “The trouble with archaeology is . . .  the artifacts!”

Trail Blazing . . . October 28, 2009

By Neal Hitch

For the last five days we have been cutting paths through the bush on Pine Cay. The first paths are cut with a machete as you try and work your way into the areas that have not been explored. You have to keep your eyes open for the small things. A brick, a small ceramic fragment, or occasionally a cut foundation stone, all are indicators that this area might have been a building within the fort. When small things are found, the area is investigated. If it is determined that the area is a possible building site, a larger trail is cut back to it so that it can be measured from another known location.

Many of the sites that have been located and documented were recorded by individuals in the 1990s. They were the real trail blazers, exploring and documenting foundations on Pine Cay in the 1990s. We have come to call them the Ft. Georgians. Their records allow us a baseline to assess both erosion and degradation of the site. Locating the known sites on Ft. George was the first priority. We are now beginning to explore for unknown sites.

Yesterday, I came across a tree that had been blown over during the September Hurricanes. There was a piece of copper stuck in the roots. As I worked to remove the copper object I found fragments of glazed storage containers. I brought the metal detector back to the site and located several iron artifacts like brackets and nails. I then came across a pewter button with a crown in the center. Ah, a button from the coat of a regular British infantry uniform. I think I have found a building site, one that has not been located before. I cut my way out in two different directions so that we can link back to where others were working.

Today, I returned to Grand Turk to produce some maps of the areas we have been documenting. I woke up this morning with a new surprise from my trail blazing efforts yesterday. My arms are covered with Poison Wood burns. Poison Wood is a tree that is like poison ivy on steroids. Its leaves are covered with a oil produces a chemical burn when you touch it. We have been warned to look out for it. I guess I was so focused on the small stuff I neglected to look out for the big stuff. It is miserable, I must say, and I am glad I am not in the bush today.

When the going gets tough . . . October 27, 2009

By Donald H Keith

We knew before we started that Ft St George has an underwater component as well as the walls and foundations that we are uncovering on land. People have been finding artifacts on the beach for decades and literally thousands of snorkelers have seen the cannons lying in shallow water, half buried in sand. So yesterday most of us spent 5 hours in the water combing the shallows West of Ft. George looking for clues to how much of the island—and the fort itself—have eroded into the sea. While one group concentrated on the cannons, now 50 meters offshore, Toni and Randy moved farther to the North where they bumped into a strange submerged wooden structure about 10 meters long by 6 meters wide. We still don’t know what it is: a dock? A quay of some kind? But it does seem to belong to the fort.

Being primarily an underwater archaeologist, I can’t help but wistfully reflect on how much easier it is to work underwater than on land. Underwater you never sweat. You don’t have to wear a hat and smear your body with sun block to keep skin cancer at bay. You don’t get that raging thirst that invariably accompanies hard work. There are no annoying mosquitoes or gnats hovering around your head like a curse. Your feet don’t get tired because you are essentially weightless. Not only weightless, but your buoyancy control device enables you to lift gigantic weights effortlessly. Water gives every diver super-human powers. That’s why everyone was so delighted to have a day in the water yesterday.

We are making wonderful progress in spite of the heat, humidity, and complicated logistics. I just hope we can keep it up. Yesterday morning we had an impromptu “my insect bites, coral scrapes, plant burns, scratches and rashes are worse than yours!” comparison on the beach. It was a draw between Will’s ankles and Toni’s arms.

For the last three days we’ve been trying to connect three structures by clearing straight lines through the undergrowth so we can measure the exact distances between them. You can’t clear dense bush in shorts and flip-flops. The more clothes you wear the better protected you are--but it can get pretty hot and sweaty. The real, ever-present danger is dehydration and heat-related injury. We picked this time of year because it usually starts to cool off in October, but it now seems that we may have started a little too early. Yesterday it was 95 degrees and it always feels like 90 percent humidity.

One of our biggest concerns is avoiding “Poison Wood” trees that grow all over the island. Robert showed us some photos he found on the internet of a poor soul who tangled with one on Grand Turk. It didn’t say whether he survived. The problem for us as we’re trying to clear tunnels through the dense bush is that they are a little tricky to identify. So far no one has encountered one (or started to show symptoms yet!), but it remains a constant source of concern. It reminds Toni and I of a plant they warned us about when we worked in Panama – “tu toca tu mata” “you touch it you die” … or wish you did.

JFK's Golf Clubs . . . October 26, 2009

By Randy Davis, Ships of Discovery

Many people ask me what archeologists do. “Are you a treasure hunter?” Yes I am but not like most people think. My treasure and what gives the value to any object, be it a car or a piece of furniture, is the story.

Think of it like this. The treasure hunter goes down to the beach where he heard there were some golf clubs spotted. He quickly scours the area and finds 3 -- a 9 iron, a 6 iron, and a 3 iron from 1954. He calls a club dealer and finds out these are worth $29 a piece—great. The archeologist, however, goes back to the site and carefully excavates the area and eventually finds a bag with several other clubs in it. He notices that the monogram on the bag is JFK. In this example, now we have a story; the real treasure and what gives value to the objects.

Today in the overgrowth of the original fort we found 2 pieces of what we thought were musket furniture (see image at left) —the parts of metal on the gun (see image below). At first we were not sure about them, but it had markings that if deciphered could help tell the story of Fort St. George. Now the detective work begins. It is a 200 year old CSI case.

As soon as we got back to our quarters I reexamined the piece to see if there were any clues we overlooked in the field. Then I began a search that 30 years ago when I started in archeology could have taken 6 months. By the time you called a few people and found out who to send a picture to, developed your pictures, sent them, and they responded with a call or letter that they had no idea but they sent them to another museum curator and he would call me, it could easily be months. Today, however, with the internet, databases, E-mail, and cell phones, this process is shortened so that many of these searches can begin in the field.

The internet search was of no help. There was nothing under musket images or general information on the web. Thankfully, an article we have from the Parks Canada was a winner. I was able to pull up weapons from a shipwreck done several decades ago that had the exact same object—a wrist escutcheon from a musket. Great! Part of the story was answered. But what did those letters and numbers mean that were on the piece? In the Canadian report it was thought that these symbols were to identify where the musket was stored. We hope there is more to it than that. An E-mail was sent to an associate that is an expert on small arms. We will continue to investigate the site and other objects until we can tell the story of Fort St. George.

Meanwhile the search continues…

Andrea to the Rescue . . . October 25, 2009

By Robert Krieble, Ships of Discovery

As a kid I remember a dinner time conversation between my Father and Grandfather discussing the cannons off Fort George. I couldn't believe that "real cannons" could be right there in the water across from Pine Cay and nobody had gone and taken them away. Since then I have continued to find Fort George and its famous cannons fascinating and hope in the future I will be able to show my children the cannons and fort I found so impressive as a child. The urgent need to document and preserve this site as it literally erodes in front of our eyes is why I am very excited to be invited back to work with the museum after my initiation into archaeology on the 2008 Trouvadore expedition. With Fort George dominating the view from our house on Pine Cay, this project is truly right in my backyard. As a result of my proximity and familiarity with the island and the responsibility of arranging for transportation to the job site I have not been able to spend as much time as everyone else on Ft. George.

Instead I have had the jobs of water taxi driver, marine mechanic, carpenter and general gofer (go for this...go for that...).

Trying to do multiple things at once makes it very easy to forget something important. We have had problems with our smaller Boston Whaler since the beginning of the trip. When cold it’s very difficult to start. As a result we drained the battery multiple times trying to start the boat. Each time we killed the battery it would go on the charger for a few hours and we would try again. Eventually the boat is started and off we go to the site. We finish the day and I swim out to the boat and expect it will start up perfectly. Instead the battery explodes the instant I touch the key, the team on shore hears the loud bang and smoke pours out of the central console. Luckily there was no fire and nobody was injured. We are now stranded, tired and dehydrated. The marine staff on Pine Cay was gone as was their boat. Fortunately my wife Andrea who is four months pregnant had a set of keys for the 27' Whaler and the skill to drive it to Fort George and quickly rescue us. Our hero quickly arrives and casually tows us back home. So, from the whole team, THANKS ANDREA!

I on the other hand feel a little stupid because if I had checked the water level in the battery after charging it could have avoided the entire problem.