Case Study
Fort Phil Kearny
19th Century Military Site, Northern Wyoming
In August 1998 Dr. Lewis Somers of Archaeo-Physics, LLC and Absaraka Cultural Resource Consultants, Inc. (Sheridan, Wyoming), working under contract for LTA, Inc. (Laramie, Wyoming), conducted a geophysical survey of portions of the Fort Phil Kearny Historic Site, in northern Wyoming.
Fort Phil Kearny was one of two forts constructed in
1866 to protect Euro-American interests along the Bozeman Trail
(located in present-day Wyoming and Montana). Geophysical survey
is one phase of a multi-component project that also includes archaeological
investigations of four corners of the fort stockade and the subsequent
reconstruction of these features. Geophysical survey was utilized
to guide placement of archaeological units and as a management tool
for guiding future work at the site.
The Wyoming Department of State Parks & Cultural Resources administers
approximately half of the fort site; the remaining half is located
on private property. Since very little evidence of the fort exists
on the surface, the State developed a master plan that includes
provisions for archaeological research and limited site reconstruction
for interpretation purposes. The State was awarded a Transportation
Enhancement Activities (ISTEA) grant to perform geophysical survey
across the state owned portion of the fort site; conduct archaeological
excavation of portions of the stockade wall; reconstruct portions
of four stockade corners, a gun bastion, and an officer's gate;
and place interpretive signs across the site.
Download above image as *.PDF File (zipped)
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as *.PDF File (zipped)
The images above show two different plots of magnetic field gradient data collected over a portion of Fort Phil Kearny, a 19th Century military site in northern Wyoming.
The top image displays the magnetic field gradient data with minimal processing (zero mean traverse, interpolation of data points, data clipped to +/-30nT). Strong bipolar (having both a positive and negative component) fields which approach or exceed the limits of displayed data are presumed to be associated with substantial brick, iron, or steel objects. More subtle variation may be associated with nails or other small metal objects, or disturbed, burned or organically enriched soils.
The bottom image displays data that has been subjected to a standard deviation filter. Each data point is replaced by the log-weighted standard deviation of data within a one-meter radius.
