Shell Midden and Artifacts from Killdeer Street

The Old Spanish Fort, was erected in 1770 under Baron De Carondelet, New Orleans, LA. Courtesy of Postcard Collection, City Archives & Special Collections, New Orleans Public Library.
The Old Spanish Fort, was erected in 1770 under Baron De Carondelet, New Orleans, LA, side 2. Courtesy of Postcard Collection, City Archives & Special Collections, New Orleans Public Library.

From June of 2020 – May 2022, the City of New Orleans scheduled waterline replacements along Killdeer Street. Due to its proximity to Fort St. John, or Spanish Fort, an archaeologist monitored this area for any related artifacts or features related to the precontact shell mound, post-contact French, Spanish, or American Forts, its use as a resort, or its use as an Amusement Park.

While monitoring the waterline trench, archaeologists noticed that the mechanical excavator unearthed a large amount of shell. This shell is from the species Rangia cuneata - a type of fresh to brackish water clam. These shells occur naturally, often in reefs along fresh to brackish bodies of water, such as Lake Pontchartrain or along other coastal bayous. Native Americans harvested these clams as a food source and used the deposited shell to raise their land into mounds. Modern builders have the same idea. In Southeast Louisiana, where there is an absence of gravel or sources of rock, shells like these were routinely used to elevate roadbeds - in fact, some construction workers still call these shells 'rocks' or 'gravel'.

Photograph of an archaeologist digging with a shovel in a trench along a road in an urban, residential neighborhood with a red mechanical excavator in the background. The trench is lined with yellow caution tape and orange and white safety cones.

Courtesy of UNO ARC

In this case, the archaeologist noticed artifacts mixed within the shell. This mixture included Indigenous pottery and French colonial ceramic, and a Spanish coin dating to 1753 - together indicators that this assemblage could be related to the colonial era of Fort St. John or earlier. The archaeologist asked the construction company to stop excavation so that the archaeologists could explore the deposit further.

An excavation unit measuring 1 x 2 meters. White shell is on the surface, and a brown shell layer with dark gray bands of clay is on the interior, about 10 centimeters below surface.

Photograph of an excavation unit measuring 1 x 2 meters. Archaeological tools are around the unit, including an orange paint bucket, a shovel handle, a dust broom, a tape measure. A partially-redacted signboard sits above the unit that reads “Test Unit 1, Context 2, level 1 at 70 cmbd, 211 June 20, UNO/CNO.” A black and white north arrow with a ten-centimeter scale is in the middle of the unit. Four sets of work boots are in the background.

Four pieces of cut woods in a sifting screen made of wood and ¼” mesh. A pink length of flagging tape reads, “Shell Midden Fill, Context 1” with the date, “6/24/20.<br />
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Courtesy of UNO ARC.

The city archaeologist assembled a crack team from University of New Orleans that included professor Dr. Ryan Gray, students, and the State Archaeologist of Louisiana. They created a unit so that they could excavate in small increments by hand. They screened the soil for artifacts by these small levels so that they could determine what artifacts were coming from each increment. If the artifacts were younger on top, and older on the bottom, this deposit is considered to be 'stratified' and accumulated over time. This pattern could mean that the deposit is in situ, or in its place, so it can be left alone, or removed and studied. However, archaeologists noted that every level contained a variety of artifacts - items made in the mid-nineteenth century were mixed with those from the mid-eighteenth. The shell midden was not in situ, however the artifacts are still very interesting.

Hand-built pottery from the Killdeer Street waterline trench. Courtesy of GNO ARC.

Seven pieces of French-style pottery displayed on black velvet with a ten-centimeter scale bar.

Eighteenth-century French pottery from the Killdeer Street waterline trench. Courtey of GNO ARC.

Corroded cupreous metal medallion on displayed on black velvet with a five-centimeter scale bar.

Bronze medallion showing a crown and shield emblem in between two Greek deities, above the words “PRO BONO PUBLICO”.

Bronze medallion with the words, “SOUVENIR OF THE CARNIVAL NEW ORLEANS”

Rex 'Souvenir of the Mardi Gras' Medallion, 1892. Courtesy of UNO ARC.

Pewter Button with Shank. Inscribed with the number "79" and a bird. Possibly Spanish uniform button.

Knife handle, pistol grip style handle, bone and ferrous metal tang and bolster.

Armaments: a 50-70 caliber casing - "UMC" Union Metallic Cartridge Company and a dark gray flint, all sides chipped.

German 1 Mark coin dad 1871-1918 and a square buckle frame, possible boot buckle.

Nineteenth-century British pottery.

Eroded silver coin. The word "QUE" is legible, barely legible below is the picture of a crown on top of a shield flanked with pillars, displayed on black velvet with a ten-centimeter scale bar.

Silver coin dated 1788-1808. Front: Bust of Charles IV; back: bourbon shield flanked with pillars.

Photograph shows two coconut shell and three seeds/ pits displayed on black velvet with a ten-centimeter scale bar.

Turtle shell and seeds

Copper Deutschmark displayed on black velvet with ten-centimeter scale bar.

A Germany "1891" Mark stamped with a "1". Courtesy of UNO ARC.

Various artifacts from all eras. Courtesy of UNO ARC.

Additionally, archaeologists observed that the unit soils slumped into a pit, suggesting that one area had been infilled. The superficial pit aspect along with the mixing of artifacts and shell sizes has led researchers to believe the shell layer in the roadway was re-deposited from the nearby fort site. Historical photographs of the WPA, such as the WPA Photograph Collection from the New Orleans Public Library document this process with incredible detail. As this area was the extant shore of Lake Pontchartrain, which later became the southernmost boundary of Lake Vista, it was uneven – full of ditches, swells and troughs. Workers used planks to walk across mucky trenches of unpaved land. They needed to douse the area with motor oil to kill mosquitos. Various pictures show workers around piles of brick, shell, and other building material used to level the future building foundations, yards, and roads. It is very likely that the workers used the shell midden component of the neighboring archaeological site (16OR19), and reposited the shell as well as the artifacts along the future roadways of Lake Vista’s Killdeer Street.

Mosquito Control. Also notice the trench surrounded by Rangia shell. Courtesy of Works Progress Administrative Photograph Collection, City Archives & Special Collections, New Orleans Public Library.
Lakefront Paving. Cypress stumps several feet in circumference had to be removed in some sections of the Lakefront Subdivision so WPA workers could backfill and lay concrete paving. Exterior. Courtesy of Works Progress Administrative Photograph Collection, City Archives & Special Collections, New Orleans Public Library.
Lakefront Drainage. WPA workers are extending water lines to supply the Army and Navy facilities on the lakefront. Courtesy of Works Progress Administrative Photograph Collection, City Archives & Special Collections, New Orleans Public Library.
Lakefront Paving. WPA crews prepare to pour concrete on First Avenue, East [at St. John Street, looking towards Canal Boulevard] in the Lakefront Subdivision. Exterior. Courtesy of Works Progress Administrative Photograph Collection, City Archives & Special Collections, New Orleans Public Library.

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Click through the images of Works Progress Administration's development along the Lakefront.