Shell Mound Recovery Update

from Lukas Desjardins, member of Friends' Board of Directors and UF graduate student of public archaeology

With post-hurricane recovery excavations completed at Shell Mound, and the next hurricane season already underway, the refuge has begun the process of restoring Shell Mound. On Monday, July 7th, our crew from UF’s Laboratory of Southeastern Archaeology joined refuge staff to assist with the process of infilling damaged portions of the south ridge.  ​

Jason Coates dumping fill from the top of Shell Mound

Refuge staff brought in crushed lime rock to infill the damaged portions of the south ridge. The hope is that after a few rains, once the material settles, it will begin to harden and create a more durable surface to survive future storms. By recreating a more natural slope on the south ridge, wave energy will be better attenuated during storm surges and waves will be less likely to undercut the site.  ​

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UF Archaeologists shoveling fill from the top of Shell Mound

Fortunately for our crew, we had Jason Coates operating the skid steer to do most of the heavy lifting. For most of the fill material, Jason carried it to the apex of the site and dropped it along the edge of the escarpment. It was a tight fit and he had to be careful of the unstable surface, and around half of the material in each load had to be manually shoveled onto the base of the escarpment. One benefit of dropping the fill from the top of the mound is it allows gravity to do a lot of the work for us, forming a natural talus slope.  ​

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Jason pushing loose shell over the fill

After a few loads of fill, Jason pushed some of the loose shell over the lime rock. This both helps improve the appearance of the site and will hopefully provide another line of defense against erosion.  Unfortunately, Jason’s skid steer had mechanical issues around the middle of the day, and he and John Stark had to leave to get replacement parts.  ​

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The fill brought to the site on Monday was about half of the required volume for the south ridge, and another load of fill will be ready in August to finish the process. We expect that around twice as much fill will be needed to finish the repairs. After the infilling is done, the surface will be capped with additional loose shell. While we can’t turn back the clock and restore the context that was destroyed by Hurricane Helene, we are hopeful that we can take proactive steps to improve the resiliency of Shell Mound and stem the losses that will occur in future hurricane seasons.  ​

Repairs at the Shell Mound pier are still underway, and the boat ramp remains inaccessible to the public at this time.  ​

See Lukas's earlier post about post Hurricane Heléne recovery at Shell Mound here.