Archaeologists digging for clues about Battle of Bunker Hill fortification find key, gun flint
Nearly 251 years after the Battle of Bunker Hill, archaeologists are searching beneath Charlestown's Breed's Hill for new clues about one of the most significant sites of the American Revolution.
The excavation is focused on locating and learning more about the earthen fortification known as the redoubt, which colonial soldiers hastily hand-constructed overnight leading up to the June 17, 1775 battle.
Searching for location of redoubt
"Many maps [of the redoubt] have been drawn, but they all disagree with each other. So, we're really hoping to lock in exactly where it was located. And if we can figure out exactly what it looked like, that's an added bonus," said Joe Bagley, the City of Boston's Archaeologist.
Right now, crews are digging two different trenches, identified through ground radar as potential locations of where the redoubt once stood. The project marks one of the first archaeological surveys conducted on that portion of Breed's Hill.
The crew consists of the City of Boston Archaeology program and several military veterans with the organization American Veterans Archaeological Recovery. The Pennsylvania-based group was started to help veterans transition into civilian life and find careers in archaeology. Much of their work is focused on historic battlegrounds and national parks.
"I think as a veteran, you do draw a family connection to the individuals who fought and in a lot of cases died on sites like this," said Stephen Humphreys, CEO of AVAR. "What we really try to do with the archeology is make it less about kind of that huge picture and more about those individual stories that archeology can really tell based off those artifacts that we're finding in the grounds."
Artifact gave Boston archaeologist "chills"
Just two days into the two-week-long dig, archaeologists say they have already uncovered several notable artifacts.
Among the finds are a 400-year-old stone tool believed to have been used by a member of the Massachusett Tribe, a fragment of a 19th-century Victorian doll, and a mysterious key.
Though the most significant discovery so far may be a gun flint connected to the Revolutionary War battle itself.
"This is a gun spall, or a gun flint, that was used in a musket. This is from the Battle of Bunker Hill. So, this would have actually been here during the battle," Bagley explained. "This one gave me chills when it came out."
The excavation is expected to continue for two weeks as researchers search for additional evidence of the redoubt and the people who lived, fought and worked on the hill over centuries of history.
"We're really excited to actually see so many pieces of history, kind of connecting all of those stories beyond just the battlefield, which is incredibly important," Bagley said.
