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Lead archaeologist says stockade trench identified at Camp Security site
Summary
After a decade of volunteer-driven excavation, the team reports discovery of a stockade trench and associated post molds at Camp Security; geophysical surveys funded by a National Park Service grant guided recent targeted testing.
John, lead archaeologist for the Friends of Camp Security and a staff archaeologist at George Washington’s Mount Vernon, told a township history-night audience that recent open-area excavation expanded earlier trenching successes and ‘‘in the process of chasing posts, we stumbled across the sought after stockade.’’ He said the feature appears as a trench filled with redeposited subsoil and faint post molds consistent with 18th-century stockade construction.
The discovery follows a methodological progression from shovel test pits to linear trenches and, since 2022, open-area excavation. John described the stockade trench as roughly two acres in scope when combined with other intercepted features and noted the trench’s location aligns with historical accounts describing the stockade as about 200 yards from the Camp Indulgence occupied area. He cautioned that interpretation remains preliminary and that targeted ground-truthing and careful recording are needed because excavation is destructive by nature. "Once we dig this thing out, it's gone forever," he said.
Provenance: topicintro — SEG 774–SEG 782 evidence_excerpt: "in the process of chasing posts, we stumbled across the sought after stockade." reason_code: topicintro; topicfinish — SEG 780–SEG 786 evidence_excerpt: "so great, we found the thing. Uh, it's located around 175 yards downhill from the camp indulgence site." reason_code: topicfinish
