22ndFoot | 15 Sep 2010 1:46 p.m. PST |
Can anyone suggest how the stockade or palisade around an Iroquois village at the time of the Seven Year's War might be constructed? Was is a solid wall of tree trunks with a walkway around it or were the trunks sunk into the ground with a gap between them or was some other style of construction used? I'm helping my nine year old with a fourth grade project using Hudson and Allen longhouses but I'd like to use the resulting structure for wargaming so would like to get it right on both counts. Thanks in advance for any help anyone can offer. Jon |
spqrdave | 15 Sep 2010 2:28 p.m. PST |
Try looking at this blog: link Steve had a similar question and solved it by making a very nice fortified Indian encampment. (You'll have to scroll down to see the pics of the palisade) cheers, Dave |
Rhino Co | 15 Sep 2010 2:45 p.m. PST |
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Major General Stanley | 15 Sep 2010 3:08 p.m. PST |
Google images "crawford lake" |
Lentulus | 15 Sep 2010 3:38 p.m. PST |
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religon | 15 Sep 2010 3:50 p.m. PST |
A recreation I have been to a number of times
link I spoke with the gentleman who was heavily involved for this project, a local Occoneechee elder named John Blackfeather. He claims to have based the construction on archeological information provided by UNC Chapel Hill. The Occoneechee-Saponi were Siouan, but lived in much the same manner as other Eastern Woodland tribes. The village moved to the tribal center north of Mebane, NC a couple of years back, but I don't know precisely the new site. When it was down by the local Eno river, I looked at the palisade with an eye to wargaming. I was struck that the ends had been burned to save labor sharpening. Mr. Blackfeather confirmed the archeology supported this. This is a small detail I plan to include if I ever do a woodland palisade. A PDF "Tribal Village Info" with detailed images inside the reconstructed simple, but typical, palisade can be found here
link Page 16 and page 25 show the entrance, a 15 foot dog run with no gate. I would assume, it would be barred during times of trouble. A similar palisade constructed around Pomeiooc (Algonquian tribe) rendered by John White can be seen here
link Also an Iroquois village with a similar style can be seen here
link Good luck with the project, Robert
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22ndFoot | 15 Sep 2010 4:51 p.m. PST |
Thanks to everyone. The puzzle remains as the different sources display both forms. On no better basis than Iroquois villages were often refered to as "castles" I think I will go with the closed wall with the walkway and an overlapping section at the entrance. Cheers, Jon |
genew49 | 15 Sep 2010 5:06 p.m. PST |
Blue Moon 15mm, closer to 18mm by some accounts, may work. These are stockade walls. Several variations. link Lodges here (I know you indicated you had some) link |
Crucible Orc | 15 Sep 2010 7:32 p.m. PST |
SPQrDave already lined to my blog. link When I did my research and stuff i came to the conclusion that Iroquois villages are about 50/50 closed-walled to open-walled. I'd imagine it was based on size of settlement, available man-power, and proximity to other tribes. Also except large settlements, they usually built platforms in intervals around the wall, usually not continuous. I've also read that in some areas in Quebec and north-eastern Ontario that they built more "castle" style fortifications, with tower-like structures as .To my knowledge only written accounts have survived. from what little I could find no similar structures were built in southern Ontario and New York. hope that helps. Steve Hope that helps. |
Der Alte Fritz | 16 Sep 2010 7:51 a.m. PST |
Try contacting Herb Gundt. He has made several models of the structure in question, many times over. |
rmaker | 17 Sep 2010 9:26 p.m. PST |
The archeological evidence for closed walls is slim and mostly very late. The point of these constructions was to impede entry, not to provide protection from missilery. |