Archeological Testing at Fort St. Leon (16PL35), Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana.

摘要

Archaeological testing at a site long known as Fort St. Leon (16PL35), Louisiana, was carried out from August 15 to October 15, 1981. The testing was based on models and hypotheses derived from extensive research concerning the history of the occupation of the site and from research into sites of the same time periods. Fort St. Leon was the name of a French fort, as well as an American fort, each established at a section on the Mississippi River below New Orleans known as English Turn. The French fort was begun in 1749 but was abandoned by the time of the administration of the Spanish governor, O'Reilly, in 1768. The American fort was begun in 1809 but was abandoned about 1815-1817. Studies were made of levee building, geomorphology, and comparisons of archival maps and aerial photographs, which contributed to the understanding of both human activities and geological processes at the site. Twenty-two test trenches and ten test pits were dug. Two test pits revealed firm evidence of the American fort, but remains found of the French fort were negligible. (Author)