Archaeological Monitoring Report, Hanover Lake Dam Restoration Project, Fort Dix, Burlington County, NJ

Summary

This report documents the results of archaeological monitoring activities conducted between October 2004 and March 2005 at Hanover Lake Dam, located within the boundaries of the U.S. Army Training Center at Fort Dix (USATCFD), Burlington County, New Jersey. Hanover Lake Dam is also the location of an archaeological site known as the Hanover Furnace Complex (28BU512), which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (National Park Service 1974). A base initiative to restore the dam and abate the lead contamination of adjacent downstream soils, the Hanover Lake Dam Restoration Project, triggered the need for archaeological monitoring. The Cultural Resources Group of Kise Straw & Kolodner, Inc. (KSK) performed the monitoring under contract to AMEC Earth and Environmental, Inc. (AMEC), the base’s environmental consultant. The goal of the monitoring was to minimize impacts to potentially significant archaeological resources during construction and soil remediation activities. Consultation with representatives of the NJ SHPO and the New Jersey Pinelands Commission was initiated prior to the start of the project and included a site visit during the period of execution of the project.

During the soil remediation and dam reconstruction activities, KSK archaeologists identified two, in-situ, architectural features associated with the Hanover Furnace Complex, portions of a wooden raceway and of a mortared stone wall foundation. In both cases construction activities were diverted away from the identified archaeological features. After being documented and prior to being reburied, both architectural features were covered with environmental fabric and sterile beach sand.

The soils along the banks of Gaunt’s Brook, immediately below the dam, contained large quantities of twentieth century refuse such as masonry and concrete, rubber tires and metal parts from vehicles and bits of metal cans and broken glass bottles. From these disturbed soils, KSK monitors identified and retained a range of artifacts that are thought to be associated with the 19th century Hanover Furnace Complex, including an iron cannonball likely to date from the War of 1812 era, wooden gear elements with iron fixtures and a broken millstone. The cannonball and the wooden artifacts were submitted for off-site conservation efforts by Cultural Preservation and Restoration. All of the artifacts have been returned to Ft. Dix for storage within the secure facilities in Building 5317, Fort Dix Environmental Division.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Fort Dix Archaeology and Cultural Resources Archive

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst Air Force Base

Contributor(s): Douglas B. Mooney; Kimberly Morrell; James Kenworthy; Richard Lewis; Ariadne Moore; Dawn Turner

Lab Director(s): Jennifer Rankin

Principal Investigator(s): Petar D. Glumac

Prepared By(s): Kise Straw & Kolodner, Inc.

Submitted To(s): AMEC Earth & Environmental

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