Kodiak’s picturesque Russian Magazin, home to the Baranov Museum, is just one of the latest pieces of evidence in a story of local history that stretches back millennia, so a team of archaeologists discovered when they dug into the structure’s grounds this past summer.

In honor of the Magazin’s bicentennial and to prepare the historic site for renovations, the Kodiak Historical Society commissioned an archaeological study.  Historic archaeologists Mark Cassell and Margan Grover led the investigations with a crew supplied by the Alutiiq Museum.  Curator Patrick Saltonstall recruited students and volunteers to provide the muscle for the project through the Alutiiq Museum’s Community Archaeology program, an annual educational event that invites the public to get muddy studying Kodiak’s past.

The grounds of the old Magazin proved a fruitful place to dig.  “There were a lot more intact deposits than we supposed,” explained Saltonstall.  “Much of downtown Kodiak was bulldozed in the rebuilding that followed the 1964 earthquake, but it turns out that the bulldozers didn’t get it all.”  Behind the Magazin, archaeologists focused on an area where an early 20th century building annex once stood.  Not far below the ground surface they encountered saturated deposits with remarkable organic preservation.  In addition to the glass beads, gunflints and European ceramics that commonly occur in Russian era sites, the crew uncovered piles of wood with well-preserved artifacts.  A nearly complete spruce root basket and a wooden dart were among the fragile finds and they testified to the presence of Alutiiq people in the early community.  “We know Alutiiqs were living in the vicinity,” said Saltonstall, “but it is marvelous to find unique objects that so clearly reflect their presence.”
 

Why were these artifacts preserved? Saltonstall believes that there was a small pond in the area until the historic era, and that it gradually filled in with debris.  The water, still present, preserved the delicate artifacts and flooded excavation units as the crew worked.

At the other end of the Magazin, on its south side, archaeologists found the remains of a twentieth century garden and the floor of another Russian era structure.  Below these were still older materials, traces of ancient Alutiiq houses more than 3,000 years old surrounded by stone tools.  It’s hard to imagine that all this lies below the neatly clipped grass surrounding the Baranov Museum, but that is the lure of archaeology.  You just never know what you will find.

Although Cassel and Grover will study the artifacts and return to Kodiak to share their finds, Saltonstall says that one thing is abundantly clear,  “There is a lot of material documenting the early history of Kodiak preserved in this small, undisturbed section of downtown and Alutiiq heritage is well represented.”

Share Link: