A goal of two archaeological digs conducted this summer by the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians is to find evidence from the 1700s, when the tribe lived in a Christian community with white colonists. But the first of the digs in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, has turned up artifacts and other features that could be much older.
Beneath a 19th-century bell tower, archaeological teams measured, dug and sifted in a quest for the exact location of the community’s first meetinghouse, built in the 18th century.
“I think you can start to see it right in here,” said archaeologist Nathan Allison as he scraped some dirt away with his trowel. Allison also serves as the tribe’s historic preservation officer.
“Yeah, it looks like an edge right in there,” said Ann Morton, the archaeologist leading this dig.
Sifting through dirt, looking for artifacts at an archaeological dig in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. (Nancy Eve Cohen/NEPM)
This might be a typical archaeological moment, full of uncertainty — and hope.
“It could be a builder’s trench for a larger building,” Morton said. “And the only larger building that we know about in this area is the meetinghouse.”
A builder’s trench is dug when a foundation is made.
This did not turn out to be the trench. But they did find it the next day — a straight sided, flat-bottomed trench, near where a survey shows the meetinghouse would have stood.
The 1739 meetinghouse was the place where tribal members and colonists worshipped, and where they governed the township together. The community was first known as “Indian Town,” and later Stockbridge.
Tribal Historic Preservation Manager Bonney Hartley said the meetinghouse is where sachems, or tribal leaders, advocated for her people.
“So many petitions, really eloquent letters and things… that…
Fire in a garage at 2 Mohican TrailHouse fire: On July 10, a Mohican Trail house caught fire. Firefighters arrived and observed smoke pushing out from second floor eaves, with the main body of the fire appearing to be located in the garage. Police notified the homeowner who said he was out of town with his family, and no one was in the house. Firefighters used a hose line to attack the fire with water. They forced open the front door and found no one inside. They searched the house for extension and found a second-floor room above the garage to be affected by the fire. A second hose line was stretched for use fighting the fire in this area. Volunteer firefighters were dispatched for help. Greenville and Hartsdale fire departments also assisted until the fire was out. The fire investigator noted that the house was under construction, and the garage seemed to be the place where work materials were being stored. The cause of the fire could not be specifically determined. A contractor arrived on scene to board up the house during the homeowner’s absence.