Near Menoken in Burleigh County, North Dakota — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)
Investigating a Pit House
Menoken Village State Historic Site
Photographed by Connor Olson, September 16, 2019
1. Investigating a Pit House Marker
Inscription.
Investigating a Pit House. Menoken Village State Historic Site. This house was built in an oval-shaped pit about two feet deep and measured 16 by 23 feet in size. Before it was excavated in the late 1990s, remote sensing studies were conducted. Precise surface elevations were recorded and about 3,500 individual measurements of the magnetic signature around the house were completed before actual digging took place. The combination of these noninvasive studies with the information gathered from the excavation gives us a more complete picture of the structure.
What was found in and surrounding the house?
Excavation revealed the entrance as a ramp on the southwest end that sloped inward, down to the house floor. A main hearth was found on the floor near the entrance. A large portion of a bison skull was at the back of the house, and the floor had a thin scatter of discarded artifacts and red ochre stains. The fill within the pit contained burned earth, charred timbers, and large bison bones. This indicated the house had a timber roof, was earth-covered, and burned shortly after it was abandoned.
No pits occurred inside the house, and prepared pits, shallow trash-filled basins, and several hearths occurred outside in an arrangements not unlike at House 17. As at House 17, stored and cashed items occurred at the rear of the structure. The collapsed, burned roof fall layer was charged with artifacts, with butchered bison bone being most evident. Arrangements of small posts and large posts occurred in front of and to one side of the dwelling, and these may indicate use of the area before House 2 was constructed. The area outside the house is marked by a scatter of processed bison bone, several shallow basins, and shallow hearths.
How was this pit house constructed?
Only three large posts were found in the excavations. These probably supported a ridge beam spanning the length of the house. A lintel over a post-framed doorway likely supported one end of the ridgepole in a gabled roof. Oddly, there were virtually no side wall posts of any size. Archeologists speculate that the walls were made of stacked sod, possibly cut by one of the flat, oval-shaped stone tools found inside the house.
Photo captions: , Upper left: Plan map of Menoken Village indicating location of the House 2 excavation , Lower left: Magnetic map of House 2 and surrounding area , Lower middle: Conceptual drawing of a sod house , Upper right: Plan map of House 2 showing locations of entry, posts, and fire hearths , Lower right: Possible sod cutting tools found in the house
This house was built in an oval-shaped pit about two feet deep and measured 16 by 23 feet in size. Before it was excavated in the late 1990s, remote sensing studies were conducted. Precise surface elevations were recorded and about 3,500 individual measurements of the magnetic signature around the house were completed before actual digging took place. The combination of these noninvasive studies with the information gathered from the excavation gives us a more complete picture of the structure.
What was found in and surrounding the house?
Excavation revealed the entrance as a ramp on the southwest end that sloped inward, down to the house floor. A main hearth was found on the floor near the entrance. A large portion of a bison skull was at the back of the house, and the floor had a thin scatter of discarded artifacts and red ochre stains. The fill within the pit contained burned earth, charred timbers, and large bison bones. This indicated the house had a timber roof, was earth-covered, and burned shortly after it was abandoned.
No pits occurred inside the house, and prepared pits, shallow trash-filled basins, and several hearths occurred outside in an arrangements not unlike at House 17. As at House 17, stored and cashed items occurred at the rear of the structure. The collapsed, burned roof fall layer was charged with artifacts, with butchered bison bone being most evident. Arrangements of small posts and large posts occurred in front of and to one side of the dwelling, and these may indicate use of the area before House 2 was constructed. The area outside the house is marked by a scatter of processed bison bone, several shallow basins, and shallow hearths.
How was this pit house constructed?
Only three large posts were found in the excavations. These probably supported a ridge beam spanning the length of the house. A lintel over a post-framed doorway likely supported one end of the ridgepole in a gabled roof. Oddly, there were virtually no side wall posts of any size. Archeologists speculate that the walls were made of stacked sod, possibly cut by one of the flat, oval-shaped stone tools found inside the house.
Photo captions: Upper left: Plan map of Menoken Village indicating location of the House 2 excavation Lower left: Magnetic map of House 2 and surrounding area Lower middle: Conceptual drawing of a sod house Upper right: Plan map of House 2 showing locations of entry, posts, and fire hearths Lower right: Possible sod cutting tools found in the house
Location. 46° 50.489′ N, 100° 31.056′ W. Marker is near Menoken, North Dakota, in Burleigh County. It can be reached from 171st Street Northeast 0.2 miles north of 30th Avenue Northeast, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Menoken ND 58558, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is on the Missouri Plateau and in Greater Bismarck Area. It is also in the American Lewis & Clark Corridor, on the prairies, and on the Northern Plains. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once Ruperts Land and also the Louisiana Purchase.
Credits. This page was last revised on August 12, 2020. It was originally submitted on August 8, 2020, by Connor Olson of Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. This page has been viewed 247 times since then and 8 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on August 8, 2020, by Connor Olson of Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. • Mark Hilton was the editor who published this page.
