Bowls and Burials – an Update from Grand Bay, Carriacou, West Indies: May–June 2011

Kaye Quetta,Michiel Kappers,Scott M Fitzpatrick,Mary Hill Harris

doi:10.5334/pia.382

Abstract

From May 23 to June 23 2011 Kaye, Fitzpatrick and Kappers directed a team comprising four staff members from England, The Netherlands and the U.S., together with 27 students from various American universities and UCL's Institute of Archaeology, to conduct the sixth season of archaeological investigation at the coastal site of Grand Bay, Carriacou (fig. 1). Our major goal this year was to finalise the excavation of three previously opened 5×5 metre trenches (nos 592, 415 and 446) (fig. 2) (see summaries in Fitzpatrick et al. 2009a , 2009b ; Kaye et al. 2009 ), while training students in fieldwork techniques and continuing our community outreach work by encouraging site visits, giving talks to schools, organising an exhibition of small finds for a public open day and conducting a series of television, radio, and newspaper interviews in order to raise public awareness and encourage interest in the archaeological heritage of the island. The Carriacou Historical Society (CHS) also requested us to prepare a report on the possible impact of a proposed Free Port coastal development on archaeological sites along the southeastern part of the island. The brief results of the 2011 project are presented in the following.

Highlights

From May 23 to June 23 2011 Kaye, Fitzpatrick and Kappers directed a team comprising four staff members from England, The Netherlands and the U.S, together with 27 students from various American universities and UCL’s Institute of Archaeology, to conduct the sixth season of archaeological investigation at the coastal site of Grand Bay, Carriacou
Until our survey in 2003, when we identified over a dozen locations with evidence of prehistoric settlement, minimal archaeological research had been carried out
Measurements taken with the Total Station showed that erosion at Grand Bay, which had an average loss of nearly one metre a year since our first work at the site in 2003, had diminished since 2010 when the newly elected government outlawed the mining of sand

Summary

Introduction

From May 23 to June 23 2011 Kaye, Fitzpatrick and Kappers directed a team comprising four staff members from England, The Netherlands and the U.S, together with 27 students from various American universities and UCL’s Institute of Archaeology, to conduct the sixth season of archaeological investigation at the coastal site of Grand Bay, Carriacou ** North Carolina State University † University of Cambridge Anthropology and Archaeology Museum †† QLC, Ltd., Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Research Background

Archaeological Investigations

Results