Archeological Survey

Digging into Indiana’s past

Photo by Eugene Harding
Buckets of dirt are screened by volunteers to sift out artifacts.

Photo by Eugene Harding
A tray containing artifacts from the Strawtown enclosure waiting to be catalogued.

Photo by Eugene Harding
Photo courtesy IPFW-AS
The pottery fragment (above) from the Strawtown enclosure in Hamilton County dates back to 1200-1290.

Strawtown, said McCullough, “is a ditch encircling an intensively occupied 13th- to 14th-century village, possibly with a central plaza.”

The village had been referred to in many 19th-century documents, but its actual existence was confirmed only a couple of years ago. McCullough said the former landowner hadn’t let anyone on the property to investigate the presence of the village since the 1930s, but his will allowed the Hamilton County Parks Department the option of buying the land after his death. The parks department bought the land with the assistance of the Indiana Heritage Trust and the onsite research and excavations began last year.

McCullough said the Archaeological Survey is trying to determine just who lived at the site and how long ago.

“These ongoing investigations hope to clarify the interactions among several farming communities known to be present in central Indiana during the late prehistoric period: the Oliver peoples of central and southern Indiana, Fisher-Huber groups from northern Illinois and Western Basin people from northern Ohio.”

So far, some pieces of pottery recovered at the site indicate that at least one group of people lived there in the 13th century.

The IPFW Archaeological Survey, along with staff from the Indiana State Museum, Hamilton County Parks, volunteers and other institutions, spent most of the month of September digging at the Strawtown enclosure. McCullough said one of the more exciting finds was the confirmation of the existence of a wooden stockade wall at the site. After completing the month-long dig, McCullough and other members of the survey didn’t think they’d be able to do more digging until next year. But an unexpected donation allowed them to return to Strawtown for a short time in October. McCullough said he already has submitted the paperwork for another grant in hopes that the survey can return to its work in Hamilton County again next year.

The project has been funded in part by a grant from the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service Historic Preservation fund, administered by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology.

http://www.ipfw.edu/soca/Anthhome.htm