A Report on Archaeological Investigations Within the Grand Portage Depot (21CK6), Grand Portage National Monument, Minnesota: The Kitchen Drainage Project

During late September, 1989, and again in mid-October, personnel from the Midwest Archeological Center conducted archeological investigations at Grand Portage National Monument. Those efforts were precipitated by the planned installation of a new drainage system within the reconstructed fur trade Depot. That drain would function to remove ground water from two replicated structures inside the Depot, namely, the Kitchen and the Great Hall. Prior to installation of the drain, seven test units were excavated in a controlled manner along the proposed alignment. Investigations at that time concentrated on an area presumed to be the location of an eighteenth century structure that was partially excavated in 1936. Other excavations were carried out in areas that were then archeologically unknown in order to determine whether any intact cultural resources might be present at those locations. The efforts of late September failed to find any surviving evidence of a fur trade structure, or any other significant resources, within the drainage path. Deposits were found, however, that represent a circa 1920 fox farm that is known to have operated on this land before the Depot was reconstructed. Although potentially of interest, the archeological integrity of those deposits is dubious. Later, during the week of October 16, the author monitored actual installation of the drainage line. All excavation related to that development was observed in order to guard against any possible damage to cultural resources in areas not examined prior to construction. No intact deposits were encountered in the course of those activities.1989年9月下旬及10月中旬，中西部考古中心（Midwest Archeological Center）的工作人员于大港口国家纪念地（Grand Portage National Monument）开展考古调查工作。本次调查的动因是重建毛皮贸易仓库内计划安装全新排水系统的工程，该系统将用于排出仓库内两处复刻建筑——厨房（Kitchen）与大礼堂（Great Hall）下方的地下水。在排水系统安装施工前，工作人员沿规划线路以受控开挖方式布设了7个测试单元。彼时的调查重点为一处疑似18世纪建筑的区域，该区域曾于1936年开展过部分考古发掘。此外，工作人员还在当时尚无考古记录的区域开展发掘作业，以探查这些地点是否存在未受扰动的文化遗存。1989年9月下旬的考古工作未在规划排水路径范围内发现任何毛皮贸易建筑或其他重要文化遗存的残存痕迹。但现场发现了可追溯至约20世纪20年代的狐场堆积层，据史料记载，该狐场曾在毛皮贸易仓库重建前运营于此片土地。尽管此类堆积或具备一定研究价值，但其考古完整性存疑。随后在10月16日当周，笔者全程监督了排水管线的实际安装作业。所有与该工程相关的开挖作业均被纳入监测范围，以防范施工对施工前未勘查区域内的文化遗存造成破坏。本次施工过程中未发现任何未受扰动的文化堆积层。