Archaeologists, students continue work at historic Fort Kaskaskia site

Archaeologists and students from Southern Illinois University Carbondale are back excavating the historic Fort Kaskaskia site in Randolph County this summer.

After discovering a previously unknown American fort on the site, the team plans to conduct additional digs and analysis to uncover further information about the historic discovery.

The team is on the Kaskaskia site until June 25, with several exciting events scheduled. 

Local Boy Scouts were scheduled to join archaeologists last week for a demonstration about prehistoric flint working. 

Other interested volunteers also are scheduled to join the work on June 24-25.

Boasting a long history at SIU, the archaeology field school is a hands-on class many students take to learn practical excavation and analysis skills. 

The student archaeologists, with guidance from Mark Wagner, director for the center for archaeological investigations, recently uncovered a new fort on the site.

Historians have long believed that Fort Kaskaskia served as a fort for both 1750s French and early 1800s American troops. 

While previous information implied the two groups used the same fort, the SIU archaeologists uncovered an additional fort not far from the original site.

The discovery has received attention over the last year, and the team hopes to build on that information going forward.