The Isles of Shoals in the News:

Dr. Nathan Hamilton Reports on the 2009 Smuttynose Archeological Dig

During June of 2009, the Shoals Marine Laboratory ( Cornell University and the University of New Hampshire ) offered a two week course titled Island Archaeology. Eleven students participated along with three instructors. Excavations took place primarily on Smuttynose Island , Maine , continuing archaeological work begun in August of 2008 by the previous SML archaeology class.

In 2009, a total of ten square meters were excavated. Excavation units were placed as extensions of productive test pits (50 cm2), which were excavated at systematic five meter intervals along three transects on the southwest portion of the island. Excavation unit areas were near (south) the flagpole, in front of the Hontvet House, south of the granite steps leading to the Haley House, and on the lower terrace just behind the Smuttynose Island welcome sign.

Historic period artifacts recovered from the excavations document some 350 years of occupation and use.  The earliest deposit (“Period 1”) is near the shore behind the welcome sign: a 40-50 cm thick deposit dating between AD 1650-1700 which produced numerous fragments of ceramics and smoking pipes (both of which are diagnostic of the age of the component) as well as numerous fish, mammal, and bird bones and other artifacts. Nearly 300 smoking pipe stem and bowl fragments were found in a two meter square area. North Devon Gravel Tempered pottery; North Devon Scrafitto Ware and Delft Ware were recovered from deposits dating AD1640-1680. Several Rhennish Stoneware “Bellarmine” bottle fragments were also found.

The second oldest deposit (“Period 2”) was located a few meters south of the flagpole. The numerous ceramics, glass, and smoking pipes provide dates of 1700-1746, which was confirmed with a lead bale seal with an inscribed name and date of 1729. Abundant samples of cod and haddock bone were associated with this unit.

In 2008 our excavations identified a deposit dating AD 1770-1820 (“Period 3”), associated with the Haley family businesses. This year we opened a two meter square area and identified a buried stone wall observable in an 1870 photo of the Mid Ocean House Hotel, Houses and Warehouse. The wall was built over deposits dating ca. 1800. A rich sample of marine gastropods was obtained from a fill deposit above the wall, dating to ca. 1880-1900. This is a biologically and historically significant deposit of shell, useful for understanding the natural history of the intertidal relative to the arrival of the invasive gastropod Littorina littorea (the common periwinkle).

In front of the Hontvet House a two meter square unit produced significant late 19th century deposits (“Period 4”), dating ca. 1830-1890. Some of the materials relate to household activities and others to the adjacent fish warehouses.  Interesting that no notable burned materials related to the house fire in the 1880’s were recovered so near the location of the structure.

Overall, we excavated reasonable artifact and bone samples from the major occupation periods on the Southwest portion of Smuttynose Island . The sample of bone includes significant numbers of fish, birds, and mammals and will be processed and analyzed at the University of Southern Maine Archaeology Laboratory . Specialist analysis of bone collagen d13C and d15N stable isotopes from fish bones will be conducted at the Bates College Environmental Chemistry Laboratory by USM , UK students and staff under the supervision of Dr. Beverly Johnson. This analysis will provide a finely resolved chronology of the impact of over harvesting of key fish species on the local marine trophic structure.

Of special significance, this year’s excavations resulted in the discovery of prehistoric deposits. Several stone tools including arrow points, knives, and scrapers were recovered along with stone flakes from tool manufacture, ceramics and fire-cracked rock. These artifacts represent a substantial activity area that appears to date to AD 800-1200 on the basis of artifact styles which include a Levanna point, a side-notched point and a stemmed point. Several prehistoric artifacts were recovered near the flagpole below the historic components, although a majority was found on the lower terrace near the welcome sign. In 1982, Dr. David Yesner of USM reported a Late Woodland sherd of prehistoric pottery eroding from the shoreline of Appledore Island , although this alone was not sufficient evidence to assign a prehistoric site designation. Excavations during 2009 produced evidence sufficient to designate a prehistoric site number, and an application will be filed with Maine Historic Preservation Commission in coming months. The site will be known as the Hubbard-Oberlander Site, an archaeological tradition of naming sites after the land owners.

A substantial amount of work remains to clean and sort this summer’s excavation. Final counts will be available after University of Southern Maine students in the Environmental Archaeology class complete this laboratory work in the fall semester.

Nathan D. Hamilton, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Archaeology, USM

Ingrid B. Brack, MSc., Doctoral Program, University of Reading , UK

Robin Hadlock-Seeley, Shoals Marine Lab., Cornell University

See also:  Prehistoric Artifacts Discovered at Isles of Shoals by Dennis Robinson <click here>