Archaeologists are wrapping up the first half of a two-week excavation at an upstate New York historic site that was considered one of the most strategic military outposts in North America.
Archaeologists from the state parks department are digging at the Crown Point State Historic Site, on the southern end of Lake Champlain. They’re looking for artifacts dating back to when the site was home to a French fort and later a larger British fortification.
The French blew up their own fort as a British army approached in 1759. Afterward the redcoats turned Crown Point into Britain’s largest fort in North America. A fire destroyed that fort in 1773.
The likes of George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and Benedict Arnold were at Crown Point at different times in the 18th century.
Next week’s digs are open to the public.