Archaeological excavations at Fort Vancouver National Historic Site 1999: New office, waterline, and stockade investigations

Wilson, Douglas

Between October 18, 1999, and November 23, 1999, Archaeology Consulting conducted excavations at Fort Vancouver National Historic Site in three separate investigations. The New Office Investigation consisted of six 5 x 5-ft. data recovery units and two exploratory test excavations in the interior of the fort stockade at the location of the 1845 ''New Office." The Waterline Investigation consisted of one 5 x 5-ft. unit excavated to mitigate the effects of a proposed waterline immediately behind the Bakehouse and outside the stockade wall. In the Stockade Investigation, two 5 x 5-ft. units were excavated at the northeast comer of the stockade wall to determine the extent of the concrete footing that reinforces the stockade pickets. A total of 275 ft2 (25.5 m2) was excavated during the three investigations. Nine features were recorded, including the remaining portions of three Hudson's Bay Company footing features associated with the New Office, two refuse features dating to the period of occupation of the New Office, various U.S. Army period features, including remnants of the 1918 Spruce Mill slash burner, and trenches and units associated with previous archaeological excavations. A total of 5,587 artifacts were recovered, including numerous fragments of ceramic and glass vessels, flat glass, nails, bricks, and wood. The results of the analysis of architectural remains suggest that between two and four windows were present on the north wall of the New Office. There is no evidence for a door. Sheet trash and a secondary refuse dump were identified on the edges of the building. The largest numbers of artifacts were recovered in the dump area, located in the east-central portion of the north wall of the New Office. This dump contained a variety of materials, some of which may derive from the use of the New Office. Combined with the previous excavations, the entire area of the New Office site and the utility corridor for the proposed reconstruction have been archaeologically excavated. Portions of the eastern part of the utility corridor defined by Ross should be avoided, as intact archaeological deposits are probably still located there. The location of the New Office site and previous archaeological excavations has been field-verified and the northeast and southeast comers have been relocated. The excavations have mitigated the proposed expansion of the water box and have defined the construction trench associated with the 1966 reconstruction in the northeast comer of the stockade. This trench extends 2ft. (61 cm) east of the concrete footing in Unit 2, but only about 0.5 ft. (15 cm) west of the concrete footing in Unit 3. Substantial numbers of artifacts were recovered from the Stockade Investigation units. The amount of materials and the significance of the materials, suggest that monitoring of trenching across previously disturbed areas, including archaeologically excavated areas, may yield valuable artifacts of interest to researchers.