The New Acadia Project Summer 2015 Archaeological Expedition

Fieldwork resumed this week on the New Acadia Project Summer 2015 archaeological expedition. The field crew has been methodically sampling the soil in areas along the Teche Ridge - the natural levee of Bayou Teche - in order to find evidence of the previous residents.

Amy and Katie carefully sift the soil from one of many, many shovel tests.

Excavation of these small holes or "shovel tests" has already yielded some artifacts, such as fragments of ceramic plates, shards of bottle glass, pieces of brick, and rusted nails. The placement of the shovel tests is partly based on a systematic sampling strategy. The spatial distributions of different kinds of artifacts beneath the ground can represent the locations of past land use, the various activities that occurred, and relative age of the site.

The decorations on the ceramic sherds and types that have been found indicate some were manufactured as early as the 1780s, but most date from the 1800s and early 1900s. The New Acadia Project is searching for artifacts and other evidence of sites dating from the 1760s - beginning in 1765 to be precise - when a group of more than 200 Acadians arrived in the region known as Fausse Pointe.

Mark, Katie, and Amy at the LaPAL field lab.

The New Acadia Project archaeological expedition is based out of the Louisiana Public Archaeology Lab (LaPAL), which is dedicated to outreach, research, education, and partnerships involving Louisiana's endangered and undiscovered archaeological record and cultural resources.

The author with laptop and equipment in the LaPAL field lab.

Information on the New Acadia Project handed out at Preservation Alliance of Lafayette's History Walk Festival on May 9, 2015.

In Memory of Mayor Al Broussard

Mayor Al Broussard of Loreauville was Chair of the New Acadia Project Steering Committee. He tragically passed away on April 3, 2015.

Cheryl Broussard Perret, former New Acadia Project Steering Committee chair, congratulates Mayor Al Broussard on his appointment as chair.

Mayor Al at an Iberia Parish Council meeting, where he requested and received funds to support the New Acadia Project.

Mayor Al (on far right) meeting with UL Lafayette faculty and students to discuss plans for an Acadian commemorative park in Loreauville.

Mayor Al (second from left) meets with the New Acadia Project Steering Committee and researchers at Vermilionville.

Mayor Al (second from right) at the New Acadia Project tent at Festivals Acadiens et Créoles.

Mayor Al discussing the fieldwork with Dr. Rees and research assistants during the summer of 2014.

Mayor Al (left) examining maps in the field with Dr. Rees.

Mayor Broussard was an enthusiastic supporter of the New Acadia Project, introducing the archaeology field crew to local residents and land owners, raising money to support the research, and working tirelessly to publicize the project. His absence leaves a huge chasm in the project and in our hearts.

The Search for New Acadia Continues: the Winter Expedition of 2014-2015

 

New Acadia Project students and volunteers.

Students and volunteers with the University of Louisiana at Lafayette continued fieldwork during the last week of 2014 to discover the lost settlement of New Acadia and unmarked burials of Acadians who arrived in south Louisiana in 1765. 

Remote sensing at an abandoned cemetery near Bayou Teche.

While next week is the final week of the Winter Expedition of 2014-2015, this is a long-term project that will require years of systematic fieldwork and research.

The cemetery is located in a wooded area of the Teche Ridge.

The cemetery is surrounded by ancient Live Oaks.

This year, 2015, is the 250^th anniversary of the arrival of Acadian families led by Joseph Beausoleil Broussard. The archaeological discovery and investigation of the New Acadia settlement of 1765 will greatly advance existing knowledge of Acadian history and the origins of Cajun culture. 

Students and volunteers inspect a sugarcane field for evidence of the 1765 settlement.

The New Acadia Project holds the potential to commemorate the forgotten home sites and unmarked graves of the founders of what would one day be called Acadiana. As a result, it will also contribute to the development of Louisiana's cultural economy. 

The field crew searches for evidence of the New Acadia settlement.

If nothing is done or research is delayed any longer, these unique places and irreplaceable sources of information may be lost forever. The alternatives to seeking greater knowledge are clear: ignorance, forgetfulness, and eventual obliteration.

The field crew looks for evidence of New Acadia by shovel testing.

The soil is sifted in looking for artifacts dating from the 1760s.

More information and updates on the New Acadia Project can be found on Facebook and at the New Acadia Project web site at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

Most shovel tests yield no evidence or more recent artifacts, like bottle glass or rusted nails.

Each shovel test is around 30 cm (12 inches) diameter.

The soils and stratigraphy of each shovel test are carefully recorded.

The New Acadia Project is a public initiative that depends on the generous support of interested individuals, organizations, and foundations in order to accomplish the objectives of archaeological and historical research.

The field crew enjoys hot chocolate after a cold day in the field.

As of October 2014, more than $174,000 has been raised by the New Acadia Project Steering Committee and $138,848 of this has been awarded to the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in support of research.

A NAP Steering Committee meeting at Vermilionville.

Major contributors include Iberia Parish and the Iberia Parish Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Coypu Foundation, and the McIlhenny Family Foundation. The greatest number of donations has come from individuals, small businesses, and private organizations, such as the Lafayette Genealogical Society. 

A view of the Bayou Teche, last seen 250 years ago by Joseph Beausoleil Broussard.

Funding is needed for equipment, such as the magnetometer and gradiometer, supplies, transportation, and to support research assistants and personnel. Anyone interested in supporting the New Acadia Project can donate through the Acadian Heritage and Culture Foundation at the Acadian Museum in Erath or the New Acadia Project Fund at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette Foundation.

Remote Sensing in an Abandoned Graveyard Near Bayou Teche

On December 18, 2014 the New Acadia Project crew and a group of student volunteers cleared brush from a small graveyard in a wooded area in Iberia Parish in order to conduct remote sensing. Although well known to local residents and the property owner, the graveyard had been abandoned and was overgrown. Of the five marked burials and vaults in the graveyard, only one headstone has an inscription. The burial of Jules Berard dates from 1888. The objective of remote sensing is to locate unmarked burials potentially associated with the 1765 settlement of New Acadia.

The New Acadia Project crew and volunteers on December 18. 

An abandoned and overgrown graveyard near Bayou Teche. 

The graveyard after it was cleared.

After clearing the cemetery, the crew returned on December 20
to conduct remote sensing.

Leaves and small branches were removed with rakes to
inspect the surface in preparation for remote sensing.

A total station was used to establish a site grid.

The grid was laid out for remote sensing.

 Grid lines were marked with wooden
stakes and plastic flags.

The Cesium Magnetometer was expertly assembled.

Setting up the Cesium Magnetometer.

Using the magnetometer to collect data along transects.

Remote sensing with a Cesium Magnetometer.

Analysis of the data collected from remote sensing is still in process. Preliminary results, however, indicate several subsurface anomalies in and around the graveyard. Only one of these anomalies is a known grave associated with a headstone.

One of the areas surveyed with the magnetometer, showing a
magnetic anomaly not associated with a marked grave.

NAP Assistants and Volunteers Clear Brush at an Abandoned Graveyard Near the Bayou Teche

New Acadia Project student assistants and volunteers spent the day clearing brush at an abandoned family graveyard near Bayou Teche in preparation for remote sensing. At least four or five burials are present in the graveyard, as indicated by two large above-ground vaults, a headstone and footstone (or small headstone), and a small slab. Five or more large oaks surround this small family cemetery on the Teche ridge.

Two (unmarked?) tombs  in a wooded lot as they appeared in

October of 2013.

The graveyard was overgrown when previously visited in
October of 2013 and the Summer of 2014.

The same tombs and small slab (on the left) on December 18, 2014,
after the clearing of brush, view to the northwest.

Small unmarked slab in the foreground and two tombs in
the background (view to the northeast).

Once the grounds were cleared, the students laid out a
12-by-18 meter grid for remote sensing (view to the east).

The graveyard includes two chipped and broken headstones, or perhaps
one broken headstone (right) and a small accompanying footstone (left)
that may have been rearranged.

The headstone bears the inscription:
"JULES BERARD
Ne Avril 12, 1856
Decede Novembre 6, 1888"

Another small stone inscribed with the initials "J.B." was initially
thought to be the headstone for a child's grave, but may be a
footstone for the burial of Jules Berard. Footstones bearing the
 initials of the deceased were common during the 19th century.
If this is a footstone for the burial of Jules Berard, it may have
been dislodged and re-positioned.

The graveyard after brush was cleared and a grid was established for
remote sensing (view to the southwest).

Are there additional, unmarked burials in this abandoned graveyard near the Bayou Teche?

New Acadia Project Winter 2014 - 2015 Field Expedition Begins

The New Acadia Project has begun fieldwork for the winter. We will be remote sensing at an abandoned historic cemetery near Bayou Teche. Updates to follow.

Headstone in an abandoned cemetery near Bayou Teche in Iberia Parish.