Bob Dylan once said, “You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.”
An easy way to tell which way the wind is blowing can be found on top of many buildings around the world. Weather vanes are a common site in rural areas of Wisconsin and the rest of the country and occasionally turn up in archaeological digs.
Archaeologists with the Center for Environmental Management of Military Lands (CEMML) were investigating a farmstead site near the Sparta/Fort McCoy Airport when they recovered an odd metal object. This artifact was taken back to the laboratory to be cleaned and analyzed, and researchers determined that the general shape, dome-shaped base, and attached hardware likely indicated that this was the remains of an old weather vane.
The age of the artifact could not be determined with any precision because of its corroded condition and how much earth-moving had occurred at the site over the years, but the farmstead itself was active from approximately 1870-1940. It wasn’t until 1960 that the first meteorological satellite, the TIROS (Television and Infrared Observation Satellite), was launched, ushering in the modern era of weather prediction.
Before this, farmers needed to make their own weather predictions to help them decide when to do certain important tasks, such as haying, harvesting, and sowing, and the weather vane was one of the only tools at their disposal to help them in their planning.
Weather vanes have been used for more than 2,000 years by both sailors and farmers to help them predict the coming weather. Most sources agree that the first weather vane was a depiction of the Greek god Triton created by the Greek astronomer Andronicus, which was placed on top of the Tower of the Winds in Athens. But there is some evidence to suggest that wooden weather vanes shaped like birds and sea monsters may have been in use in Mesopotamia as much as 4,000 years ago.
There is a weather vane in Boston, Mass., on top of Faneuil Hall shaped like a grasshopper which was made in 1742 by Shem Drowne, widely recognized as the first documented weather-vane maker in America.
George Washington was an amateur meteorologist who recorded weather observations regularly, and in 1789, he commissioned a weather vane shaped like a dove of peace, complete with an olive branch in the mouth, to be placed on a cupola at Mount Vernon.
Thomas Jefferson had an attachment on a weather vane at his Monticello home which turned a pointer inside the house so he could read the direction of the wind without going outside.
The most common weather vane shape appears to be the rooster, which may have to do with Pope Nicholas I declaring in the 9th century that a rooster-shaped weather vane on the church would help congregants remember Peter’s refusal of Jesus after the crucifixion.
In fact, the oldest weather vane still in existence, the Gallo di Ramperto, is a copper rooster constructed 1,200 years ago that was once perched atop Italy’s San Faustino Church.
It is not hard to imagine that the rusty, cast-iron object in the photo which accompanies this article originally looked like a rooster despite a century of weathering. The tail feathers of the rooster are quite effective at catching the wind, but many other shapes have been used over the years.
In the early 1800s, eagles were quite popular because of the patriotism they evoked, and by the middle of the century, depictions of famous racing horses were in vogue. By the end of the century, weather vanes were becoming more ornate and embellished, but after 1900, simple silhouettes became more common.
All archaeological work conducted at Fort McCoy was coordinated by the Directorate of Public Works Environmental Division Natural Resources Branch.
(Article prepared by he Directorate of Public Works Environmental Division Natural Resources Branch and the Colorado State University Center for Environmental Management of Military Lands.)
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