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GHANA The 2007-2008 CRP field program involved more than three dozen participants including: the principal Transformation in the Era of the investigator and doctoral students from Syracuse Atlantic World: The University; students and faculty from the University Project, Coastal 2007-2008 of Ghana and Latrobe University; and volunteers from the , Britain, and Canada. The project Christopher R. DeCorse, Greg Cook, also benefited from a Syracuse University archaeo- Rachel Horlings, Andrew Pietruszka, logical field school during July 2007. Undergraduate Samuel Spiers students helped with both the test excavations and field survey. Field work was supported by National Christopher R. N. DeCorse Science Foundation grants and research money from Professor and Chair the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Department of Anthropology Syracuse University. The project was undertaken with Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public the permission of the Ghana Museums and Monuments Affairs Board and was under the overall direction of Syracuse University Christopher R. DeCorse, principal investigator. 209 Maxwell Hall Syracuse, NY 13244 [email protected] Archaeological Site Survey Survey work directed by Sam Spiers focused in the southwestern corner of the project survey area, Introduction particularly the area between the villages of Ampenyi and Ayensudu and the Pra River, south of the coastal This report details archaeological fieldwork highway (Figure 1). This area comes under the juris- conducted in coastal Ghana between May 2007 and diction of three traditional councils: Komenda, Shama February 2008. The research undertaken was part of and Supom-Dunkwa. Villages and towns visited dur- the Central Region Project (CRP), an ongoing pro- ing the survey included Ampenyi, Nsadwer, Dutch gram to examine socio-cultural transformations in Komenda, British Komenda, Aboabo, Aborobeano, African societies, with particular emphasis on trade, Kafodzidzi, Antadu, Aboransa, Apaano, Shama social organization, and technological change dur- Beach, Kwasi Kwaa, Domenase, Krobo, Bosomdo, ing the era of the Atlantic World (e.g. Cook and Spiers Fawomanye, Bronikrom, Asemase, Obinyim Okyena, 2004; DeCorse 2001, 2005; DeCorse et al. 2000). The Bedukrom, Beposo and Supom-Dunkwa. While ef- research aims to complete a systematic survey of fort was made to provide as complete coverage as terrestrial archaeological sites between the Pra River possible, examination of many areas was limited by basin in the west and the Sweet River in the east. dense vegetation, including transitional forest and The project also includes survey of underwater ship- farm bush. Our plan at each village was to meet with wreck sites in target areas off the coast of , the local chief and elders for permission to survey Komenda, and Shama, and in the Benya Lagoon around their towns, and to ask them if there were any (Elmina). known sites, shrines or other places of interest such as stone outcrops in their area. We then proceeded Central Region Project fieldwork undertaken to investigate these sites, and survey surrounding during 2007 and 2008 consisted of an extensive field farm land and pathways. Cleared areas of farmland, program, including site survey and excavations of construction areas, road cuts, and erosion surfaces both terrestrial and marine sites. Over 360 terrestrial were examined most thoroughly. Construction work archaeological loci were identified and test excava- in some areas, particularly around salt ponds, has tions were undertaken at two sites. Underwater re- severely impacted archaeological sites (Figure 2). search focused on survey work, the excavation of a 19th century shipwreck site at Elmina, study of related The areas surveyed during the 2007-2008 field site formation processes, and the documentation of season had been less fully examined than the eastern probable early 18th century ship remains impacted by portion of the survey area in previous field seasons dredging activities in the Benya Lagoon. (see Cook and Spiers 2004; DeCorse 2001, 2005;

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Figure 1: Central Region Project Survey areas.

DeCorse et al. 2000) and 364 new loci were identified. lennium AD or earlier into the 17th century. Historic A locus was defined as a place of archaeological or period and largely 19th century artifacts, included historical interest, and varied from individual, iso- glass, European ceramics, tobacco pipes, and beads, lated artifacts such as a pot-sherd or nyame akuma, as well as locally produced artifacts. Several hill top to large high-density artifact scatters, such as some sites include areas identified by local inhabitants as of those found around the lagoons at Ampenyi or sacred groves. Previous fieldwork had indicated that Aborobeano. Loci also included features on the land- at least some of these groves were ancient settle- scape, such as a shrine or an outcrop of granite asso- ment areas, in some cases unrecognized as such by ciated with the production of ground-stone tools. the local population (Chouin 2002a, 2002b, 2008; The majority of the loci recorded in the survey con- Spiers 2007). sisted of isolated finds, though several larger sites and features were also recorded. It should be noted however, that given the limited surface visibility in Komenda Fort Excavations some areas, the extent and distribution of the archaeo- Test excavations directed by Christopher logical materials represented will not be entirely clear DeCorse were undertaken at two locations within the until further work is undertaken. Some of the loci town of Komenda: the British Fort and Komenda Cave. identified may in fact represent portions of large, multi- Of the two locales excavated, more extensive work component occupations rather than discrete settle- was completed in and around the Komenda fort site, ment or activity areas. Sites will be reexamined in a sizable English installation founded in 1686, sub- future field seasons. stantially rebuilt in 1708, and used by the British into th Many of the sites identified consisted of small the 19 century (Lawrence 1963: 288-291; Van Dantzig artifact scatters in cleared farmland, along the beach 1980: 41-44). Excavations in an around the fort were or on hill top sites. Relatively fewer sites consisted undertaken to assess pre-European contact occupa- of denser artifact scatters. The time periods repre- tion of the area, as well as to evaluate the possible th sented varied widely both within and between sites, presence of midden deposits associated with the 17 th ranging from pre-European contact or possible Late through 19 century European fort occupation. Thus Stone Age occupations, through the 19th century. far, European sites in have received lim- Finds such as quartz flakes, ground stone artifacts, ited systematic archaeological attention and few have gritty orange local ceramics, and stone beads are produced significant assemblages clearly associated characteristic of sites dating from the mid-first mil- with European garrisons.

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Figure 2: A pre-18th century site impacted by the construction of salt ponds.

The exterior walls of the British Komenda fort pation were identified. Upper levels of the excava- were extensively robbed for stone during the 20th cen- tions proved to be extensively disturbed to a depth tury and traces of many of the walls are only visible of almost 2 m in places and produced few pre-20th at ground level. Nevertheless, the fort’s plan is still century artifacts. This is consistent with oral histo- relatively clear and it closely corresponds to a 1756 ries that indicate that portions of this area housed a map (Lawrence 1963: 289). The fort has a distinctive petrol or kerosene tank during the 20th century. Late floor plan consisting of an inner defensive work en- 19th century burials, possibly Colonial Period, were compassed by a newer and substantially larger forti- exposed both within the fort and to the east. These fication. Of the exterior defenses, the eastern curtain were reburied without complete excavation. wall, along with the associated northeastern and The lower stratigraphic levels of the excava- southeastern bastions remain largely intact; rooms tions proved to be more intact providing evidence of in these walls are, in fact, occupied by squatters. pre-European contact occupation. Gritty orange ce- The northwestern bastion also survives intact, but ramics, stone beads, quartz flakes, and ground stone the adjacent curtain walls are completely gone. An- tools were found in good stratigraphic context below other surviving feature associated with the fort’s early the more recent, disturbed material. This material is history is a vaulted brick cistern, located beneath the typical of assemblages pre-dating the 17th century southern court yard. This is completely intact and and the material provides interesting comparative still used to collect water, although the arched brick data with other early sites excavated on the coast vault of the roof is now exposed at ground surface such as Coconut Grove (DeCorse 2005). and weathering. The southern bastion and eastern curtain wall have traces of several 20th century struc- tures that oral histories indicate were used as the Komenda Cave Excavations chief’s residence into the 1970s. Test excavations were also conducted in Forty 1m by 1 m excavation units were opened Komenda Cave. The cave is located on the ocean clearing portions of the northern fortifications, as shore, west of Komenda town, on the property of well as testing areas to the east and within the fort. Komenda College. The Cave is the largest of a series No intact deposits associated with the English occu- of natural erosional features carved into the sand-

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Figure 3: Plan of Komenda Cave showing excavation units.

stone along the shore (Figure 3). The site is a tourist Underwater Survey attraction and it is frequently visited by Komenda College students and visitors to the College. The The 2007-2008 underwater field program, di- Cave consists of a relatively narrow tunnel, open at rected by Andrew Pietruszka and Rachel Horlings both ends with a floor area of approximately 200 m2. included survey, coring, and excavation. Possible However, rock debris, the narrowness of the pas- shipwreck sites had previously been identified in the sage, and the low ceiling limit the usable floor space. Elmina survey area using a large-scale side scan so- The site was noted in geological and archaeological nar survey during 2003 field season (Cook and Spiers th reports of the 1960s and 1970s (Davies 1976:126). 2004). One target was identified as a 19 century The geological test shaft, which is still visible, pro- ship wreck site (referred to as the Elmina Wreck) and duced quartz flakes and stone beads suggesting a subsequently tested in 2005. possibly early occupation. Local oral histories indi- Fieldwork during 2007-2008 examined all of the cate that Queen Elizabeth II was hidden in the Cave side scan sonar targets identified during the 2003 during World War II, at which time the Komenda survey and conducted further excavations at Elmina College site served as an RAF station. Wreck site. Prior to the 2007-2008 field project the A small test trench measuring 1 m by 3 m which 2003 survey data were independently reanalyzed by extended to a depth of 2 m was excavated to deter- Greg Cook, Rachel Horlings, and Andrew Pietruszka mine if intact cultural deposits were present within to evaluate the targets identified and to assess their the cave. The excavations produced no intact cul- potential for representing submerged shipwreck sites. tural deposits: a large portion of the floor deposits All targets falling in the top two tiers of probability appear to have been disturbed, possibly by individu- were explored by divers. This method ensured that als looking for gold deposits. The presence of this no evaluation outweighed another and that the maxi- disturbance is suggested by oral histories. Few arti- mum number of potential targets was selected for facts were recovered from the excavations: these in- diver investigation. Analysis resulted in a list of 50 cluded fragments of gritty orange ceramics and quartz targets, which at least one of the evaluators had des- flakes. While the artifacts confirm a likely pre-17th ignated as a high probability target. century occupation of the area, they do not provide All of the high priority targets identified were a diagnostically useful assemblage from a secure ground surveyed by divers during 2007. Each target stratigraphic context. No evidence of mid-20th cen- was located using GPS. This allowed the research tury RAF activity was noted. team to easily locate the general area associated with

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each target, and facilitated in the planning of each Following the baseline, one meter trenches day’s dives. Each target was investigated by divers, were excavated along the site’s two axes in the hope using a circle search method. A diver descended to of delineating the site’s boundaries. However, due the bottom, attached a guide line to the anchor, and to both time and financial restraints the excavations swam in concentric circles radiating outward in fixed were concluded before this could be established. A intervals from the central reference point. This total of 28 1m by 1 m units were opened during the method provided the most complete coverage of the excavation. Each unit was excavated using arbitrary seafloor bottom and was repeated for all targets. levels corresponding to 30 gallons (113 liters) of sedi- Unfortunately no further shipwreck sites were dis- ment; the matrix was lifted to the surface and was covered during the investigation of the 50 designated screened using 1/8 inch mesh. Artifacts were col- targets. While the source of some anomalies can lected and unit and level provenances recorded. The now be attributed to natural phenomena such as sub- wreck site was further tested using an innovative merged rock formations, the reason for other target micro-sampling method, also used for the collection anomalies remains unclear as no cultural or natural of sediment cores (Figure 4). This allowed for the features were located on the seafloor. It is possible wreck’s extent to be delineated and provided a fur- that some features, exposed at the time of the 2003 ther means of assessing the associated artifact as- survey, were reburied by sediment by 2007. These semblage. The artifacts collected are currently un- targets will be resurveyed during future field sea- dergoing conservation and analysis. The data sets sons. (surface collection, intrusive excavation, and coring) will be analyzed for similarities and discrepancies, biases inherent in each sampling strategy, and their Elmina Shipwreck Site effect on archeological interpretation. The Elmina Wreck Site was discovered by Greg Cook in 2003 during the sonar survey and further Formation Processes examined in 2005 as part of his dissertation research (Cook and Spiers 2004). This site was reexamined Additional underwater research directed by under the supervision of Andrew Pietruszka in 2007. Rachel Horlings specifically examined the formation A new baseline and grid system were established processes of underwater sites and sedimentation and the site was remapped. Additional survey work, within the survey area. Knowledge of these aspects surface collection, and excavation work was then of the survey area allows for wider inferences to be carried out. made regarding both the natural and cultural con- texts of sites within the survey area (e.g. Adams 2001; The 2007 surface collection was carried out Gibbins 1990; Oxley 1998a, 1998b). Work was under- systematically over the entire site. This is analogous taken in a control area within the Elmina survey area, to the surface collection of artifacts from terrestrial as well on the Elmina Wreck site. The degradation of sites. In both terrestrial and marine collections, arti- a modern wreck site on the shore was also moni- facts are recovered from secondary rather than pri- tored. mary contexts. Although some terrestrial archaeolo- gists have questioned the interpretive value of sur- Several interrelated methods were used to face data for its lack of congruity between surface evaluate formation processes: 1) thirty-two sediment and subsurface finds (e.g. Boismier 1997; Dunnell cores were collected in and around the Elmina Wreck and Dancy 1983; Tolstoy and Fish 1975), it has site, and six sediment cores were collected from a proven an effective tool in nautical archaeology (e.g. control area; 2) the artifactual scatter and the debris Overton 1995; Smith 1998; Werz 1999: 98-101). The field surrounding the Elmina Wreck site were docu- greater congruence between surface and subsurface mented (see Moore 1997:1-5); 3) Cook’s 2005 site plan finds in nautical sites can be attributed to the unique was compared with features visible in 2007, includ- quality of shipwrecks representing a single event ing documentation of the presence/absence of mate- rather than a site occupied over time. Surface collec- rial remains and evidence of changing sedimentation tion during the 2007 field season yielded a small patterns; 4) excavation profiles from the 2007 excava- number of artifacts, which complement the more ex- tion units were examined. tensive surface collection carried out by Cook in 2005.

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Figure 4: Sample profile obtained from Elmina Wreck using diver-operated coring device. Notice fragment of intact wood, probably from the vessels hull, at the bottom of the profile.

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Figure 5: Photograph of the ship remains of the Benya Lagoon after their removal during dredging operations. A large section of wood can be seen at bottom center. Eighteenth century timbers and historic cannon were mixed with modern trash and debris.

Sediment cores were collected using a diver- Benya Lagoon Site operated coring device (Horlings 2009). The prelimi- nary results of this work demonstrate that it is possi- The Benya Lagoon Site was an unexpected dis- ble, using the simple technology and methods em- covery. During the 2007 field season a Belgian com- ployed in sediment coring, to conduct investigations pany, Dredging International, was conducting dredg- into site formation processes in an incredibly dy- ing operations in the Benya Lagoon, a minor drain- namic, low-visibility environment. This coring method age separating the Elmina peninsula from the main- also proved to be a useful technique for micro-sam- land. In the process of dredging the lagoon a large pling of the wreck site. Initial sediment core process- number of old timbers and four historic cannon were ing revealed that the Elmina Wreck site is signifi- discovered in the spoil heap from a single area of the cantly larger (by more than 20 m lengthwise) than lagoon (Figure 5). Dredging International notified originally thought. It also demonstrates an appropri- our research team of the discovery and granted the ate method for capturing archaeological stratigraphy Central Region Project personnel access to their work on submerged sites, something often problematic in site. Unfortunately, the dredging was carried out by underwater archaeology. The relatively simple tech- a clamshell scoop excavator and much of the context nology involved is both affordable and useful. of the cultural remains was destroyed. The materials that did survive, however, made it evident that the

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cannon and timbers were the remains of an historic Future Fieldwork European vessel. Although no surviving historical accounts document the loss, either intentional or Fieldwork will be continued during 2009-2010. unintentional, of European vessels in this area they Terrestrial survey under the supervision of DeCorse do note that ships upwards of 100 tons were admit- and Spiers will remain focused on the western por- ted into the Benya River for careening (e.g. Porter tion of the terrestrial survey area. Additional under- 1974:14). water survey will be continued by Rachel Horlings with support from a Waitt Foundation Grant from Given the limited time available, the nature of National Geographic. The original 2003 Elmina sur- the find, and the particulars of the dredging opera- vey area will be resurveyed using a magnetometer tion the site was approached as a salvage project. and sub-bottom profiler. This will further investigate From the dredge spoil it was possible to recover 15 the reasons for the 2003 target anomalies that could timbers sufficient in size to make reasonable conjec- not be located by divers in 2007, as well as determine tures concerning their placement in the ship’s con- if any other potential sites are located within the area. struction. Documentation of the site entailed records To further assess the targets identified, they will be of the exact site location, detailed drawings and pho- cored with the diver operated coring devise used in tographs of the 15 recovered timbers, collection of 2007-2008. cross-section cuttings from several timbers for dendrochronological and wood type analysis, and the examination of the associated cannon. Three Bibliography cannon, identical in their manufacture and markings, Adams, Jonathan were recovered. The cannon were photographed and drawn. Braided hemp wadding and what is believed 2001 Ships and Boats as Archeological Source to be black powder was recovered from the sealed Material. World Archaeology 32:292-310. touchholes. The fourth cannon disappeared before it could be documented. Preliminary analysis of the ship’s timbers indicates a small to medium size vessel Boismier, W. A. th probably constructed in the first decade of the 18 1997 Modeling the Effects of Tillage Processes century. on Artifact Distributions in the Plow Zone, Besides its historical significance, the Benya Poland: A Simulation Study of Tillage In- Lagoon wreck provides yet another data set perti- duced Pattern Formation. British Archaeo- nent to our questions concerning methodologies and logical Reports Volume 259. the interpretation of artifact assemblages. While the excavation of the Elmina Wreck yielded a multitude of artifact types it failed, thus far, to produce any Chouin, Gerard L. timbers associated with the ships construction. In 2002a Sacred Groves as Historical and Archaeo- contrast the Benya’s Lagoon wreck assemblage con- logical Markers in Southern Ghana. Ghana sists entirely of timbers and cannon. Thus the two Studies 5: 177-196. sites provide two very different case studies. When examined in conjunction researchers will be able to 2002b Sacred Groves in History: Pathways to the quantify unique data sets and their relevance in pro- social shaping of forest landscapes in viding detailed information concerning shipwreck coastal Ghana. IDS Bulletin 33(1): 39-46. sites. 2008 Archaeological Perspectives on Sacred Groves in Ghana. In M. J. Sheridan and C. Nyamweru, editors, African Sacred Groves: Ecological Dynamics and Social Change. Oxford: James Currey, pp 178-194.

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Cook, G. and S. Spiers Horlings, Rachel 2004 Central Region Project: Ongoing research 2009 An Effective Diver Operated Coring Devise on early contact, trade and politics in coastal for Underwater Archaeology. Technical Ghana AD 500 – 2000. Nyame Akuma 61(1): Briefs in Historical Archaeology 4(1): 1-6. 17-28.

Lawrence, A. W. Davies, O. 1963 Trade Castles and Forts of West Africa. Lon- 1976 Field Notes Ghana, Part 4: Southern don: Jonathan Cape. Ghana. Legon: University of Ghana.

Overton, Glenn DeCorse, C. 1995 Cape Fear Comprehensive Survey: Meth- 2001 An Archaeology of Elmina: Africans and odology and Results of the Field Investiga- Europeans on the , 1400-1900. tions. In Paul Forsythe Johnstohn, editor, Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Underwater Archaeology Proceedings from Press. the Society for Historical Archaeology Conference, Washington DC. 2005 Coastal Ghana in the First and Second Mil- lennia AD: Change in Settlement Patterns, Subsistence and Technology. Journal des Oxley, I. Africanistes 75(2): 43-54. 1998a The Environment of Historic Shipwreck Sites: A Review of the Presentation of Ma- DeCorse, C. R.; Carr, E.; Chouin, G.; Cook, G. and S. terials, Site Formation and Site Environmen- Spiers tal Assessment. MA thesis: University of St Andrews, Scotland. 2000 Central Region Project, Coastal Ghana – Per- spectives 2000. Nyame Akuma 53: 6-11. 1998b The Investigation of Factors that Affect the Preservation of Underwater Archaeological Sites. In Lawrence E. Babits and Hans Van Dunnell, R. C., and W. S. Dancey Tilburg, editors, Maritime Archaeology: A Reader of Substantive and Theoretical 1983 The Siteless Survey: A Regional Scale Data Contributions. New York: Plenum Press, Collection. Advances in Archaeological pp 523- 529. Method and Theory 6:267-288.

Porter, R. Gibbins, David 1974 European Activity on the Gold Coast, 1990 Analytical Approaches in Maritime Archae- 1620-1667. D. Litt et Phil.: University of ology: A Mediterranean Perspective. Antiq- South Africa, Pretoria. uity 64: 376-389.

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Smith, R. C. Tolstoy, P., and S. Fish 1998 Discovery, Development, and Interpretation 1975 Surface and Subsurface Evidence for Com- of Florida’s Earliest Shipwreck: A Partner- munity Size at Coapexco, Mexico. Journal ship in Research and Historic Preservation. of Field Archaeology 2:97-104. In Lawrence Babits et al., editors, Under- water Archaeology Proceedings from the Society for Historical Archaeology. Van Dantzig, Albert Tucson: Society for Historical Archaeology, 1980 Forts and Castles of Ghana. : Sedco pp 115-121. Publishing Limited.

Spiers, S. Werz, Bruno 2007 The Eguafo Kingdom: Investigating com- 1999 Diving up the Human Past: Perspectives of plexity in southern Ghana. PhD disserta- Maritime Archaeology, with Specific Ref- tion: Syracuse University. erence to Developments in South Africa until 1996. British Archaeological Reports 749. Oxford: John and Erica Hedges.

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