In 2017, archaeologists with Colorado State University’s Center for Environmental Management of Military Lands (CSU-CEMML) initiated the largest research-oriented archaeological investigations performed at Fort McCoy to date.
Archaeologists refer to this specific type of dig, which focuses on data recovery, as a Phase III excavation. A Phase III dig collects as much information as possible to mitigate the effects that development efforts can have on the integrity of cultural materials within their path.
This specific Phase III project involved excavations at three neighboring archaeological sites at the intersection of Stillwell Creek and a severely eroding tank trail.
The tank trail was scheduled for stabilization, which was intended to improve stream health by reducing the volume of sediments washing into Stillwell Creek. The stabilization effort was also expected to add training opportunities for military personnel by enhancing existing routes into and around the frequently used Combined Arms Collective Training Facility (CACTF).
Other benefits from the project included a well-attended public tour of the area while archaeological investigations were underway, as well as two articles printed in The Wisconsin Archaeologist to share the investigations’ data across the larger archaeological community in the Upper Midwest and beyond.
One of the most visually significant benefits of the project was intended to aid military training exercises in the area. After excavations were finished, several simulated structural remains were erected within the three archaeological site areas to symbolize the types of historic and heritage resources Soldiers could encounter while serving overseas.
These “mock cultural sites: were placed atop sections of the sites that had been excavated and were accompanied by signage modeled after the same type of signs used to mark World Heritage sites.
World Heritage sites are designated by the World Heritage Convention, part of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. The list of World Heritage sites includes more than 1,000 worldwide locations recognized as internationally significant natural and/or cultural resources. Examples include Grand Canyon National Park, the Statue of Liberty, Stonehenge, the Ancient City of Damascus in Syria, the Kremlin and Red Square in Moscow, the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in France, and Dinosaur Provincial Park in Canada.
Mock sites are not a new concept for military training. Mock villages have been leveraged for military training since the start of World War II to help prepare Soldiers for combat in urban settings.
Fort McCoy has several such facilities, including a Tank Ditching Site, a Subterranean Live Fire Complex, several Combat in the Cities facilities, a stress-shoot obstacle course, and an Enemy Prisoner of War compound.
Mock villages can be built to mirror diverse physical settings such as European or Asian villages. They can be used for hand-to-hand combat, artillery, and air-based bomber training.
Today, mock cultural sites are already an established concept, although on a much more limited scale than mock military training sites. Fort Drum, N.Y., has constructed mock Middle Eastern archaeological sites and cemeteries, and these are incorporated into what they refer to as “on-the-ground resource avoidance training.”
This type of training guided the CSU-CEMML cultural resources support staff’s vision while coordinating with Fort McCoy Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security staff across several offices to plan and develop the mock archaeological features placed at Stillwell Crossing, as well as all the logistics required for facilitating the archaeological investigations and stabilization efforts that followed.
The mock cultural sites were placed on parts of the three archaeological sites that are still considered potentially eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places, but do not represent the full extent of the three site areas.
Blue diamond heritage signs were placed around the entirety of the three sites, which included over 5 total acres, compared to the three areas of the mock sites that encompassed less than half an acre. Mock cultural sites like these allow Fort McCoy to enhance their status as a Total Force Training Center for military personnel from all branches of the United States’ Armed Forces.
Mock cultural sites are an uncommon training asset that can be incorporated into training exercises to ensure Soldiers are ready and prepared when they interact with heritage resources abroad, while also promoting protection, preservation, and stewardship of Fort McCoy’s archaeological history and heritage.
All archaeological work conducted at Fort McCoy was sponsored by the Directorate of Public Works Environmental Division Natural Resources Branch.
Visitors and employees are reminded they should not collect artifacts on Fort McCoy or other government lands and leave the digging to the professionals.
Any individual who excavates, removes, damages, or otherwise alters or defaces any post-contact or pre-contact site, artifact, or object of antiquity on Fort McCoy is in violation of federal law.
The discovery of any archaeological artifact should be reported to the Directorate of Public Works Environmental Division Natural Resources Branch.
See a related article at https://www.dvidshub.net/news/292444/fort-mccoy-has-training-site-dedicated-educating-troops-about-cultural-archaeological-areas.
(Article prepared by Colorado State University Center for Environmental Management of Military Lands and Directorate of Public Works Natural Resources Branch.)
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