Summer Field School Students Study Fort Ancient & Pickawillany

The Ohio State Historical Society has written an interesting article about the summer archaeological field school results at Fort Ancient and at Pickawillany. 

Fort Ancient

"For the eighth consecutive summer, Dr. Robert Riordan of Wright State University directed a field school of students in investigating the construction methods used to build the Moorehead Circle, a feature of Fort Ancient. The Moorehead Circle is a ceremonial plaza of interlocking limestone pavements once surrounded by a woodhenge, or circle, of very large wooden posts. The entire structure was more than 200 feet in diameter." 

Pickawillany

"Pickawillany was a Miami Indian town located along the Great Miami River north of Piqua from 1748–1752 that included an English traders’ compound. In 1752, French forces attacked Pickawillany, destroying it and driving away the English traders.

This summer, Hocking College students under direction of Dr. Annette Ericksen investigated two large features there, Features 60 and 61. Both appear to have been storage pits that eventually became refuse dumps related to the English traders’ occupation at the site. Both contained mostly animal bone fragments and a few European trade items. Interestingly, Feature 61 also contained a large fragment of a decorated stone pipe bowl, possibly the unfinished work of a Miami Indian resident of Pickawillany." 

For the full text, click here.