The Sandusky Bay Chapter of the Archaeological Society of Ohio Presents:

The Heckelman Linear Ditches

The Site is 1 ½ mile west of S.R. 250 on S.R. 113. It is an Early and Middle Woodland to Late Prehistoric site. There is an oval ditch 500,300- 80 B.C but the linear ditches are in the Middle Woodland and late Prehistoric periods (100 B.C.- 1350 A.D.). The site is a promontory overlooking the Huron River on the South. The ditches run north south across the promontory. The ditches were once accompanied with mounds that were plowed away. The eastern ditch was found to have artifacts from the Middle Woodland, Hopewellian style bladelets, Mica, side notched arrowheads and early Green Creek pottery (125-350 A.D.) in the bottom of one section of the ditch. The western ditch had Late Prehistoric pottery (1250-1350 A.D.) in the bottom and had an ash and charcoal burn layer throughout that dated in the 1300-1500 A.D. time range. The top most layer was likely natural fill and from Historic farming. The origin of the ditches has been disputed with a second interpretation connecting them with the Early Woodland oval ditch. The solid archaeology however as opposed to wishful thinking has prevailed. 

This Archaeological Series of PowerPoint presentations with speaker Glenwood Boatman, Vice President of the Chapter will provide a look at Native artifacts from Archaeological sites in Erie County that represent the time periods from 590 B.C. to 1550 A.D. While we don’t know the names of these peoples, Archaeologists talk about them as the Early Woodland Leimbach culture, Middle Woodland Hopewell culture and Late Woodland and Late Prehistoric Sandusky Tradition culture. We know them by the items and the artifacts they left behind, and some will be shown.