North American Database of Archaeological Geophysics
North American Database of Archaeological Geophysics
Abstract/Summary:
Project Name: Cove Bay Site (21ML77), MN;
Reference: Mather, D. (1999). Burial Authentication Investigations within the Cove Bay Site (21ML77), Mille Lacs County, Minnesota. Loucks & Associates, Inc., Maple Grove, Minnesota. Prepared for the Office of the State Archaeologist, Minnesota.
This report presents the results of burial authentication investigation of a portion of the Schroeder property on Cove Bay of Mille Lacs Lake, Mille Lacs County, Minnesota. It is the reported location of an Ojibwe spirit house cemetery. This investigation was conducted under the auspices of the Minnesota Office of the State Archaeologist per the terms of Minnesota Statute 307.08.
The focus of this investigation was an area along the shore of Cove Bay, proposed by the Schroeders for construction of a residence. This is a small area (less than 2 acres) at the northwest comer of their property, which measures 8.25 acres in total. The project area was defined generally as an arc from "ten to two o'clock" starting at an old concrete foundation and spreading toward the lakeshore. The distance from the foundation north to the lake ranges from approximately 75 to 100 feet. The maximum width (east-west) of the area of intensive investigation was 220 feet. The concrete foundation is a physical landmark in oral history accounts of the area by Mille Lacs elders describing the location of Ojibwe graves. The objective of this investigation was to find and document physical evidence of the cemetery or individual graves, if present.
The investigation was initiated with informant interviews and surface reconnaissance to identify specific areas of concern, after which a variety of field methods were employed. These included a metal detector survey, soil coring and hand excavation. These techniques were hindered by the rocky soils of the Mille Lacs Moraine, past disturbance of the natural soils through historical occupation, and recent development of the property. The investigation did not produce definitive, independent evidence of graves within the project area. However, the oral history of the Mille Lacs elders and historical written sources are compelling, and it seems likely, in the opinion of the investigator, that a spirit house cemetery did exist in this general vicinity.