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 State of Alaska > Natural Resources > Parks and Outdoor Recreation > History and Archaeology |
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J. David McMahan During the summers of 1995, 1997, and 1998, the Alaska Office of History and Archaeology (OHA) conducted phased field investigations at Baranof Castle State Historic Site, commonly called Castle Hill, in Sitka, Alaska (Figure 1). Castle Hill, known to the Sitka Tlingit as Noow Tlein, is one of Alaska's most important historical sites because it is identified with events significant in national, state, and local history. In 1962, the site was designated a National Historic Landmark (NHL).
Through a Reimbursable Services Agreement (RSA), the ADOT&PF partnered with OHA, within the Alaska Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation (DPOR), to address cultural resources under the NHPA. Inasmuch as Castle Hill is under the management of DPOR as a state park, the ADOT&PF executed a concurrent RSA with the DPOR Design and Construction Section to perform construction design and engineering for the project.
Aside from a few small test pits excavated by OHA in 1985 in disturbed deposits, no archaeological work had taken place at Castle Hill prior to this project. The investigations were progressively phased so that larger areas were opened with each successive field season. Work in 1995 consisted of subsurface testing of the proposed construction area to locate and evaluate buried deposits. The need to excavate large (2 m x 1 m) pits to penetrate a thick mantle of disturbed soil on top of the hill precluded excavation of a more widespread array of smaller pits, as would have been preferable. As a result of the 1995 field program, Castle Hill was determined eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) under 36 CFR 60.4 Criterion D, due to its potential to yield important archaeological data (Ballard 1996; McMahan 1996). This was in addition to the qualities for which the site had already been designated a National Historic Landmark. In assessing the effect of the proposed construction on the Criterion D qualities of the site (i.e., its scientific value), the State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) concurred with ADOT&PF and FHWA in a finding of "conditional no adverse effect," provided that a data recovery program be conducted (Bittner 1996). A draft data recovery plan (McMahan 1996) was prepared, and the comments of a broad array of interested parties were taken into account prior to finalization (McMahan 1997). As required under Section 106, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) was given an opportunity to review this document. The ACHP chose not to comment, accepting the data recovery plan and allowing work to proceed as planned. In the spring of 1997, OHA archaeologists began data recovery in the proposed footprint of the trail system and equipment staging area. Due to the discovery of extensive undisturbed archaeological deposits in 1997, and with overwhelming support from the community of Sitka, a 1998 field season was added. Excluding backhoe tests and excavations done in association with construction monitoring, a total of 172 square meters were excavated to an average depth of about 50 centimeters. This produced a collection of 19th century Russian-American artifacts unprecedented in size and diversity. |
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Office of History and Archaeology (OHA) Heritage Newsletter OHA and SHPO Staff Alaska Historical Commission Alaska Geographic Names Program Alaska Gold Rush Centennials Alaska Archaeological Survey Alaska State Historical Parks Alaska OHA Photo Galleries Cultural Resource Management Plan for the Denali Highway Lands Frequently Used Resources Alaska Heritage Resources Survey Report Submittal Checklist and Cover Sheet Permits for Investigations on State Lands OHA Projects Castle Hill Archaeological Project Broken Mammoth Archaeological Project The Wreck of the Kad'yak Southeast Alaska Historic Shipwrecks Alaska State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) SHPO Main Page Alaska's Historic Preservation Plan National Register of Historic Places Section 106 Review Process Rehabilitation Tax Credit Certified Local Government Program Education (Project Archaeology) HPF Development Program Historic Preservation Links Historic Preservation Series National Historic Preservation Act Unalaska South Channel (Amaknak) Bridge Project Special Announcements New Hours Set for AHRS Research |
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Last updated on Tuesday, March 2, 2010.
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