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Ceramics, Pocketknife Among Recent Finds at Colonial Michilimackinac Archaeological Dig

With just a few more days left of their 64th archaeological field season, archaeologists have uncovered ceramics, a sugar bowl and a pocket knife at an excavation site in Colonial Michilimackinac.

This comes just a week after dating back to 1781 were uncovered in the same area.

According to Mackinac State Historic Parks, the bowl was found at the start of the season in June and archaeologists have since found four matching rim shards, one of which is part of a spout. However, the Curator of Archaeology, officials say, believes that the bowl is actually a milk pan.

Along with the ceramic pieces, a sugar bowl was found on Tuesday afternoon, and a pocketknife was found by Field Supervisor John Cardinal on Wednesday. The pocketknife, officials say, is the third pocketknife found in the site, but is the first in the area.

Additionally, archaeologists have found a one-ounce brass weight marked with a crown over GR for the king, a second brass weight from a set of nesting apothecary weights stamped with a fleur-de-lis, an 8th Regiment button, and more.

Over the years since the dig first began in 1959, archaeologists have found a Compagnie des Indes lead seal dating between 1717 and 1769, a brass sleeve button with an intaglio bust on it, a possible structural post from the original 1715 fort, an engraved “Jesuit” ring, a brass serpentine sideplate for a British trading gun, remnants from a creamware plate and other items, according to Mackinac State Historic Parks.

The current excavation is at House E of the Southeast Rowhouse at Colonial Michilimackinac. Archaeologists are on site every day until Saturday, August 20.

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