Old Mobile (1MB94) Site, Mobile County, Alabama: Site Overview

Application of five geophysical survey methods - earth conductivity, magnetometry, thermal imaging, electrical resistivity and ground penetrating radar - in the search for archaeological remains of Fort Louis, original capitol of the French colony of Louisiane (1702-1711), has yielded divergent yet complementary results. This project included test excavations to ground truth the geophysical results and to evaluate the relative effectiveness of these five geophysical survey technologies in...

Following the discovery by James C. "Buddy" Parnell of archaeological features at the French colonial site of Old Mobile, 1MB94, in the spring of 1989, the University of South Alabama began excavations and a systematic shovel testing survey of the site. With grant support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Alabama Historical Commission, the State of Alabama, and numerous private sponsors, the archaeological research team was able to locate, by 1991, the remains of at least 26...

This report offers a technological comparison of Apalachee-style and Colono Ware potteries from French colonial Old Mobile (1702-1711), in modern-day southwest Alabama, and the Spanish colonial site of Mission San Luis de Talimali (1656-1704), in modern-day Tallahassee, Florida. Ann Cordell's analysis characterizes the Apalachee pottery assemblages from both sites, and provides comparative information on contemporaneous pottery wares produced by other native peoples in contact with French...

Archaeological excavations since 1989 have uncovered buried evidence of the earliest French colonial settlements on the northern Gulf coast. Patient scientific study is revealing the original townsite of Mobile, first capital of the Louisiane colony, and remnants of the colony's port on Dauphin Island. This is the story of archaeologists piecing together a fascinating but little-known chapter of America's early history.

Local tradition has long associated the area of Twenty-seven Mile Bluff on the Mobile River with the early French colonial settlement of Old Mobile. But archaeological research on this important historical site is quite recent. A series of newsletters was distributed between 1989 to 1998 to convey to the public the results of archaeological research at Old Mobile by the University of South Alabama.

A geophysical survey of a portion of the Old Mobile site (1MB94) was conducted on December 13-16, 2004, by the University of Mississippi's Center for Archaeological Research under contract with the University of South Alabama's Center for Archaeological Studies. The specific goal of the survey was to delineate features associated with Fort Louis de la Mobile, which stood on or near this site from 1702 to 1711. Survey techniques included electrical resistance and ground penetrating radar. Work...

Site overview photos from the Old Mobile site (1MB94) and a map.

This section provides an overview of archaeological research on the site of Old Mobile (1MB94), French colonial capital of La Louisiane from 1702 to 1711. While the general location of Twenty-seven Mile Bluff on the Mobile River, in modern-day southwestern Alabama, has always been known as the original French colonial townsite, archaeological research only began there in earnest in 1989 when James C. "Buddy" Parnell, an employee of Courtaulds Fibers Inc. recognized several well-preserved earthen...