Discovering the Past Using Geophysics and Remote Sensing at Amis Mill in Hawkins County, TN
Location
D.P. Culp Center Ballroom
Start Date
4-5-2024 9:00 AM
End Date
4-5-2024 11:30 AM
Poster Number
137
Name of Project's Faculty Sponsor
Dr. Eileen Ernewein
Faculty Sponsor's Department
Geosciences
Competition Type
Competitive
Type
Poster Presentation
Presentation Category
Science, Technology and Engineering
Abstract or Artist's Statement
Amis Mill and homesite in Hawkins County, Tennessee was established by Thomas Amis in the early 1780s and has been continuously owned by his descendants. Amis was an important figure in early Tennessee politics, serving as the first state representative from Hawkins County. By the beginning of the nineteenth century, the land contained not only the oldest stone house in Tennessee, but a store, tavern, blacksmith shop, distillery, grist mill, sawmill, school, forge, and post office. Today, the only buildings that survive from the eighteenth century are the house, a barn, corn crib, and the remains of the grist mill. We used geophysics and remote sensing to try to uncover the building sites that would have existed in the 1790s. We divided the property into a 30m grid system to conduct geophysics. Grid north was 328.9° for surveying except the cemetery which was 359.5°. Six areas were surveyed using west – east transects every 0.5m, except for the cemetery which was 0.25m. We used a GSSI SIR-4000 system with a 400 MHz center frequency antenna for ground penetrating radar (GPR). Magnetometry was done with a Bartington Grad601-2 fluxgate magnetometer and SENSYS MXPDA five-sensor fluxgate gradiometer pushcart. An EM38-MK2 EMI was used for electromagnetic induction. GPR-Slice and ArchaeoFusion software were used to process the results. Remote sensing was done using drones. LiDAR images were obtained using a DJI Matrice 300 with Zenmuse L1 LiDAR system. Thermal and visible color imaging was conducted using a DJI Mavic 3T thermal drone. Multispectral imaging was completed using a DJI Phantom P4 multispectral drone. Drone information was processed using Terra and Metashape. All data were analyzed in ArcGIS Pro. We identified several potential buried structures in the data and tested them with augers to observe soil changes. Geophysics results revealed anomalies in all the areas we tested. The horse pasture and orchard areas showed potential structures that may have been slave cabins. The area in front of the house may have been the original kitchen. The store site had many magnetic anomalies, indicating a potential midden. A shovel test pit in the area uncovered many nails, pieces of barbed wire, and magnetic rocks. The large, plowed field had a rectangular feature, visible with remote sensing and GPR, measuring approximately 20m x 15m. A deeper anomaly, measuring 4.5m x 2m was visible with GPR. Few artifacts were found with augers but soil changes consistent with disturbed soil were observed in areas believed to be cultural features. Altogether, geophysics, remote sensing, and subsurface testing tell a story about the historical landscape. The results, along with the written record, can be used to build a picture of life on the western frontier during the eighteenth century.
Discovering the Past Using Geophysics and Remote Sensing at Amis Mill in Hawkins County, TN
D.P. Culp Center Ballroom
Amis Mill and homesite in Hawkins County, Tennessee was established by Thomas Amis in the early 1780s and has been continuously owned by his descendants. Amis was an important figure in early Tennessee politics, serving as the first state representative from Hawkins County. By the beginning of the nineteenth century, the land contained not only the oldest stone house in Tennessee, but a store, tavern, blacksmith shop, distillery, grist mill, sawmill, school, forge, and post office. Today, the only buildings that survive from the eighteenth century are the house, a barn, corn crib, and the remains of the grist mill. We used geophysics and remote sensing to try to uncover the building sites that would have existed in the 1790s. We divided the property into a 30m grid system to conduct geophysics. Grid north was 328.9° for surveying except the cemetery which was 359.5°. Six areas were surveyed using west – east transects every 0.5m, except for the cemetery which was 0.25m. We used a GSSI SIR-4000 system with a 400 MHz center frequency antenna for ground penetrating radar (GPR). Magnetometry was done with a Bartington Grad601-2 fluxgate magnetometer and SENSYS MXPDA five-sensor fluxgate gradiometer pushcart. An EM38-MK2 EMI was used for electromagnetic induction. GPR-Slice and ArchaeoFusion software were used to process the results. Remote sensing was done using drones. LiDAR images were obtained using a DJI Matrice 300 with Zenmuse L1 LiDAR system. Thermal and visible color imaging was conducted using a DJI Mavic 3T thermal drone. Multispectral imaging was completed using a DJI Phantom P4 multispectral drone. Drone information was processed using Terra and Metashape. All data were analyzed in ArcGIS Pro. We identified several potential buried structures in the data and tested them with augers to observe soil changes. Geophysics results revealed anomalies in all the areas we tested. The horse pasture and orchard areas showed potential structures that may have been slave cabins. The area in front of the house may have been the original kitchen. The store site had many magnetic anomalies, indicating a potential midden. A shovel test pit in the area uncovered many nails, pieces of barbed wire, and magnetic rocks. The large, plowed field had a rectangular feature, visible with remote sensing and GPR, measuring approximately 20m x 15m. A deeper anomaly, measuring 4.5m x 2m was visible with GPR. Few artifacts were found with augers but soil changes consistent with disturbed soil were observed in areas believed to be cultural features. Altogether, geophysics, remote sensing, and subsurface testing tell a story about the historical landscape. The results, along with the written record, can be used to build a picture of life on the western frontier during the eighteenth century.