SIUE Monks Mound Project: 1997-98
by Bill Iseminger

As you may have noted in the last couple Cahokians, repair work has been taking place on Monks Mound. New, permanent steps are being installed up the front of the mound and horizontal drains are being installed on the west side to relieve internal water that has contributed to slumping.

In conjunction with these projects, Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville Office of Contract Archaeology, under the direction of Dr. William I. Woods, conducted excavations of areas to be impacted by construction and continually monitored all other related activities on the mound. In the stairway area, they excavated the narrow trenches where concrete footings have been placed to support the precast step units and examined areas where the soil had to be leveled for sidewalls and stringers. In the slump area they excavated a deep 2x2 m. unit where a water collection basin will be placed and they monitored the installation of the drain system. Jimmie Burns, Steve Fulton and Andrew Martignoni II have been the primary supervisors and field crew for most of the project.

Excavations on the South Ramp, the lowest one, showed little in the way of features, although there was possible evidence of two ramp construction. In front of the bottom of the ramp, they did find evidence of an Emergent Mississippian (AD 800-1000) surface that may have been capped when the Grand Plaza was leveled and filled, and later covered even more by the ramp extensions and additions.

On the First Terrace, at the base of the second flight of stairs, they found two large, deep refuse pits dating to the French Colonial period, probably about 1730-1750. This is the time when there was a French chapel on the First Terrace and presumably a small Illini village. There was a tremendous amount of animal bone, perhaps a result of feasting, including numerous deer mandibles, bear bones and teeth, bird bone, very large fish such as catfish, gar and drum, and numerous turtle shells. Analysis of the faunal materials is being done by Dr. Terry Martin of the Illinois State Museum. Artifacts recovered included glass and bone beads, many French clasp knives, gun parts, gun flints, French ceramics, copper wire, kettle fragments and more.

As had been seen in the earlier excavations in this area by the University of Illinois, "buttresses" of clay soils were at the base of the slope, and the soils up the slope were coarser and appear to have been intentionally mixed prior to dumping here, perhaps to facilitate drainage. There were possible "drain" of special soils. Zones and small clumps of oxidized iron were noted throughout the fill, especially at the interface of different soil types or basketloads of soil. Basketloading was evident in all areas and there was no tamping of the soil.

The 2x2 meter unit at the base of the west slope revealed some interesting stratigraphy. At the deepest level, nearly two meters from the present surface, were the bottom portions of an Emergent Mississippian refuse pit, house basin and some posts. These had been truncated when the former surface had been stripped away, perhaps to use the soil for an early stage of Monks Mound or to ritually clean and level the area before mound construction.