North American Database of Archaeological Geophysics
North American Database of Archaeological Geophysics
Abstract/Summary:
Project Name: Wuamett Farmstead, MN;
Reference: Kvamme, K.L. (1998). Geophysical Explorations at the Wuamett Farmstead and the Huyser Farmstead, Minnesota Farmstead Study. Submitted to BRW, Inc., Minneapolis, MN.
The John O. Wuamett farmstead, established in 1856, is an early pioneering settlement in Steele County. It has been continuously occupied by the Wuamett family until recently. The original farmhouse may have been incorporated within the standing structure occupying the site at the time of the survey (since destroyed). Exploratory geophysics was conducted as part of BRW's Minnesota Farmstead Study with a goal of locating privies, other subsurface features and structures (farmstead outbuildings). In the electrical resistance results many of the large trees and bushes on site yielded circular zones of high resistance that inhibited clear imaging of the subsurface in several regions. The resistance data also yielded tantalizing suggestions of possible buried outbuildings and located several anomalies in the vicinity of a known privy that suggested the presence of multiple additional privies. The magnetic gradiometry data supported these findings but, with an occupation to contemporary times, this farmyard is loaded with historic and recent iron and steel artifacts and debris that greatly impacted the magnetic survey. Foremost among these were well pipes, a septic tank, water pipes, and various utility lines, all of which yielded measurements of extreme magnitude. Nevertheless, the magnetic data supported several of the more subtle findings indicated by the resistance survey. Many of these anomalies were subsequently tested by BRW, Inc.