Above: A video from the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation about the discovery of an 18th-century fort at the Schoharie Crossing State Historical Site.
The Irene floods swept away a lot of local history, including the 156-year-old Blenheim covered bridge. But the so-called "500-year flood" brought some much older layers of history to light for the first time in centuries.
In today's Times-Union: Reporter Bob Gardinier writes that the Irene flooding has led to the discovery of many new historical artifacts in the Schoharie Valley, including an 18th-century British fort underneath the former parking lot of the Schoharie Crossing State Historical Site.
Archaeologists have also found much older artifacts, dating back to the Paleolithic era.
Early settlers of the valley were well aware of the region's vulnerability to flooding, Gardinier writes:
The Mohawk Indians planted their crops in the fertile flood plain but also planted on higher elevations as a safeguard against losing their entire annual crop to a flood, [archaeologist Christine] Reith said.
When asked by an audience member why modern man did not follow the simple wisdom of the ancients, the audience laughed.
"I really don't know the answer to that," Reith said.
Back in December, Fox 23 filmed a news segment about the Schoharie Crossing fort. It's an important find for historians, reporter Katharine Underwood writes:
Experts aren't just interpreting the stone structures, but dozens of artifacts like cuff links, musket balls, and colonial coins made into jewelry. Plus, smoking pipes and wine bottles, all of which help to paint a picture of what life was like in the mid-1700s.
“Being a soldier out here, I would imagine you have lots of time to get into trouble,” [state archaeologist Michael] Roets said laughing. “There was a lot of drinking and smoking, and historical accounts of confrontations between the Indians and soldiers.”
Experts say the new findings will help write history about the British and the Indians cohabitating in the Mohawk Valley.
Fox 23 reports that the site will eventually be opened to the public.
The irony that a state historical site would unwittingly build a parking lot right over an important 18th-century fort is surely not lost on the archaeologists currently discovering new treasure troves in the Schoharie Valley. It makes you wonder what else is still lurking beneath our feet.
