Ft Ancient Village Site #2-Lawrence County Ohio

[The Grim Reaper]

Everything you see here is a personal find from this Village site located in Hamilton Township in Lawrence county Ohio on the old Goldcamp Farm situated right long the banks of the Ohio River. I was only able to hunt this site from 1996 to 2012 when it was bought by the Hecla Water Company and they shut down all hunting, fishing, and artifact hunting on the property. It is posted and they enforce it strongly. I haven't been back there since it was made off limits but I know of several people getting tickets for trespassing.

This site is also Ft Ancient in culture and though no excavations have even been dug we figure it dates from around 1400 AD to contact because of the Point types. There are Glass Beads and Shell Buttons found there and there was an old Trading Post there in the mid 1700's. A large quantity of the Points are Serrated which came later in the culture. The first site I posted also produces quite a few Serrated Triangle Points and this site produces the Bone and Shell Beads, Pendants, Flutes, Pipes, lots of Pottery etc of a typical Ft Ancient Village site. I have never dug here since it was a plowed corn field and as far as I know a professional dig has never been done here.

So let's post some pictures of what I have from here and if you any questions feel free to ask.

 

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[sandchip]

Christ! What must lie below the plow line. That is really something else, Grim.

 

[1320]

This thread is going good with my first cup of coffee...nice. Thanks again Grim!

 

[Ici]

I like what you did with making the face in the last picture. I personally dont think the 1600 or 1700's era gets enough attention. What wonderful collection you have. Thanks for sharing

 

[theviking]

Killer finds and great display, thanks for the show.

 

[fishstick]

This thread is going good with my first cup of coffee...nice. Thanks again Grim!

Doing and thgt the same thing brother!!!!

 

[fishstick]

Once again Grim what a BEAUTIFUL display!!!!! Such a shame sites like those are being LOST forever.... I can't get enuff of the canal coal pieces..

 

[newnan man]

Super finds! Are the narrow black pendants Cannel Coal?
The mussel shell gorget is killer! Again thanks.

 

[The Grim Reaper]

Super finds! Are the narrow black pendants Cannel Coal?
The mussel shell gorget is killer! Again thanks.

Yes, the black Pendants are Cannel Coal. We find a lot of them here on the Ft Ancient sites we hunted. Lots of broken pieces too.

Also, I was told by Paul Fritch that that shell is most likely Abalone. He surmised it was probably traded here to the Hopewell and the Ft Ancient culture found a piece later on and made a Gorget from it. It's possible I suppose.

 

[Timbermusic27891]

Yes, the black Pendants are Cannel Coal. We find a lot of them here on the Ft Ancient sites we hunted. Lots of broken pieces too.

Also, I was told by Paul Fritch that that shell is most likely Abalone. He surmised it was probably traded here to the Hopewell and the Ft Ancient culture found a piece later on and made a Gorget from it. It's possible I suppose.

What do you mean when you describe the site as "Ft Ancient" ? Thanks,

 

[fishstick]

Yes, the black Pendants are Cannel Coal. We find a lot of them here on the Ft Ancient sites we hunted. Lots of broken pieces too.

Also, I was told by Paul Fritch that that shell is most likely Abalone. He surmised it was probably traded here to the Hopewell and the Ft Ancient culture found a piece later on and made a Gorget from it. It's possible I suppose.

Paul was a close and dear friend of mine and I miss him deeply... I have many fond memories with him sitting on the dirt pile next to the sifter. A wealth of knowledge was lost when he passed. Just seeing his name in your post put a smile on my face and made my day.. Thank you for that Grim!!!!

 

[GaRebel1861]

Very impressive collection!

 

[captain redbeard]

That really is a great display and variety of artifacts. Have yet to find anything but flint and a handful of hardstone artifacts so I really enjoy seeing posts like this, thanks!

 

[tnmudman]

what a collection you can really kind of get a glimse into their lives by seeing all of that together i bet you have a whole lot more of the more crude tools they used in daily life is the blue bead a trade bead from europe

 

[Kray Gelder]

Fantastic collection, and really cool displays. Are these surface finds, or did you screen some dirt?

 

[The Grim Reaper]

Paul was a close and dear friend of mine and I miss him deeply... I have many fond memories with him sitting on the dirt pile next to the sifter. A wealth of knowledge was lost when he passed. Just seeing his name in your post put a smile on my face and made my day.. Thank you for that Grim!!!!

I met Paul at the Portsmouth Ohio show years ago and just a few years after I really got into hunting Ft Ancient sites. He was a wealth of knowledge and I soaked it up like a sponge. He helped ID pieces and told me what the best books were to buy and just generally told me what signs to look for to find the best spots. He was one of the best people I ever met and I too miss him. His wife had some of Paul's collection at the Ripley show. It was good to see those cases with the gold striped corners that form a diamond when laid out together.

 

[The Grim Reaper]

What do you mean when you describe the site as "Ft Ancient" ? Thanks,

Ft Ancient is a culture very similar in age and artifact styles to the Mississippian Cultures of the south. They ranged from around 950/1000 to the 1600's AD and some actually had white contact. We have one where Brass Trinkets are found and they were made from old Buckets.

Ohio Prehistory

 

[The Grim Reaper]

what a collection you can really kind of get a glimse into their lives by seeing all of that together i bet you have a whole lot more of the more crude tools they used in daily life is the blue bead a trade bead from europe

I have boxes of Pottery and crude or broken Points and Tools, plus lots of Bone.

The Blue Bead is most likely from the old Trading Post or Hotel that was there but I found it right in the middle of the site so it goes in a tray. lol

It could be from Europe. Is there a type like that from Europe?

 

[The Grim Reaper]

Fantastic collection, and really cool displays. Are these surface finds, or did you screen some dirt?

These are all surface finds. Lots of walking and crawling through the fields for these.

 

[The Grim Reaper]

I just want to say thank you to everyone for the kind words. I am really proud of my Ft Ancient collections since they are all pretty much all personal finds and I love showing them off. At least 99% I found myself. There are a few that were given to me by the finders.