On March 8, 2025, Dr. Jacob Skousen of the Illinois State Archaeological Survey (ISAS) and volunteers from Menard County Trails & Greenways conducted a magnetometry survey at the Sitzman site, a Late Woodland mound site in Lincoln’s New Salem State Historic Site in Menard County.
Logan Pappenfort, Director of Tribal Relations at the Illinois State Museum, requested the survey to determine whether the mounds have been impacted or damaged in the recent past, and to guide ongoing preservation efforts to reroute walking trails around sensitive areas within the park.
Since part of ISAS’s mission is to preserve the history and heritage of Illinois, we were happy to conduct the survey.
Lincoln’s New Salem State Historic Site, owned and managed by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), encompasses the remains of the historic village of New Salem, where Abraham Lincoln lived from 1831 to 1837. Parts of the village were reconstructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s, and today this site is a popular tourist attraction.
Many visitors do not realize that various Native American groups lived in this area for thousands of years prior to the founding of the Euro-American village in 1829. For the most part, small scatters of artifacts are the only evidence of these occupations. The Sitzman site is unique because it is the only place with mounds within New Salem’s boundaries.
Pottery sherds show that this place was used between about 400 and 700 CE, during what archaeologists call the Late Woodland period.
Magnetometry survey is a form of remote sensing, or a way of gathering information about the location, size, and nature of subsurface features without disturbing them.
Magnetometers are instruments used during magnetometry surveys. They measure subtle magnetic changes in the underlying soil and can detect changes in soil composition as well as ancient structures, pits, and hearths beneath the ground surface. The hope was that the magnetometer would detect whether the soil used in the construction of the mound was recently disturbed or was still relatively intact after it was formed in the Late Woodland period.
The survey revealed that the mounds are still largely intact, though there are some minor disturbances and debris scattered around the mound surfaces from recent human activity. Thus, the walking trails will be rerouted to maintain the integrity of these mounds. Moreover, these data will be a vital resource to descendant Tribal Nations, archaeologists, and park staff for preservation and for planning and developing improvement projects.
For more information about Lincoln’s New Salem State Historic Site, visit https://www.lincolnsnewsalem.com.
References
Higgins, M. J. (1994). Archaeological Investigations at the Sitzman Site (11-Me-117), Menard County, Illinois. Research Reports No. 40. Resource Investigation Program, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
