Double Ditch, also known as the Double Ditch State Historic Site, Burgois Site, 32BL8, Bourgois Site, and Double Ditch Earth Lodge Village Site, is an

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology an ...

located on the east bank of the Missouri River north of

Bismarck, North Dakota Bismarck () is the capital of the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Burleigh County. It is the state's second-most populous city, after Fargo. The city's population was 73,622 in the 2020 census, while its metropolitan popula ...

, United States. It is named for the two visible trenches that once served as fortifications for the village, but archaeologists found a further two ditches outside these indicating that the population was originally larger. Mound B excavation at Double Ditch Indian Village site

Mound B excavation at Double Ditch Indian Village site

The site was the location of a

Mandan The Mandan are a Native American tribe of the Great Plains who have lived for centuries primarily in what is now North Dakota. They are enrolled in the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation. About half of the Mandan still res ...

Native American

earth lodge An earth lodge is a semi-subterranean building covered partially or completely with earth, best known from the Native American cultures of the Great Plains and Eastern Woodlands. Most earth lodges are circular in construction with a dome-like ...

village from approximately 1450A.D. to 1785 A.D. It was abandoned after the

1775–1782 North American smallpox epidemic The New World of the Western Hemisphere was devastated by the 1775–1782 North American smallpox epidemic. Estimates based on remnant settlements say 30,000,000 people were estimated to have died in the epidemic that started in 1775. Background S ...

. The site includes remains of

midden A midden (also kitchen midden or shell heap) is an old dump for domestic waste which may consist of animal bone, human excrement, botanical material, mollusc shells, potsherds, lithics (especially debitage), and other artifacts and ecofact ...

mounds, and fortification ditches. It is managed by the

State Historical Society of North Dakota The State Historical Society of North Dakota is an agency that preserves and presents history through museums and historic sites in the state of North Dakota. The agency operates the North Dakota Heritage Center in Bismarck, which serves as a hist ...

. The archeological site was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1979. Also at the location are Depression Era Work Relief Construction Features at Double Ditch Indian Village Site State Historic Site, which were separately listed on the National Register in 2014.

Overview

The Mandans built dome-shaped houses of logs and earth, known as earth-lodges. The raised areas around the village are midden mounds or earthen mounds ranging from one to ten feet high. There are more than 30 mounds surrounding the village. Fortification systems consisted of a deep moat and a wall of wooden posts that formed a palisade. Natural features, such as steep terrain and riverbanks, also were used for added protection.

Population decline

In 2002 Kenneth Kvamme generated digitally enhanced maps of Double Ditch using radio gradiometry techniques. The new survey methods revealed two more ditches, outside the two that were already known, extending the village well beyond its known boundaries. Investigators concluded that at the time of its founding, just before 1500, Double Ditch had a peak population of two thousand and an area of 19 acres. In the mid-to late 1500s, a new trench—ditch 3— was built inside ditch 4. This was also soon abandoned and ditch 2, the outermost of the two ditches still visible constructed inside ditch 3. There was a 20 percent reduction in the area of the town by 1600. The loss of population may have been due to drought or infection. In the mid 18th Century, the innermost (and still visible) fortification ditch was constructed, enclosing an area of four acres, indicating a population at that time of fewer than four hundred.Elizabeth Fenn: Encounters at the Heart of the World: a History of the Mandan People At that time, the entire surface layer of dirt in the village was laboriously scraped off, possibly after a horrific infection.

Depression Era Work Relief Construction Features

Depression Era Work Relief Construction Features at Double Ditch Indian Village Site State Historic Site was listed on the National Register in 2014. A building and walls built as

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

work-relief projects in 1930s??? The listing included one

contributing building In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distric ...

and eight

contributing objects In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distric ...

. These are in

WPA Rustic WPA Rustic architecture is an architectural style from the era of the U.S. New Deal Works Project Administration. The WPA provided funding for architects to create a variety of buildings, including amphitheaters and lodges. WPA architecture is akin ...

style. Includes aerial and historic photos, and 12 photos from 2014. The property is owned by the State Historical Society of North Dakota. Includes 44 photos from 2009-2010.

References

External links

Double Ditch Indian Village
* {{NRHP in Burleigh County, North Dakota Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in North Dakota North Dakota State Historic Sites Protected areas of Burleigh County, North Dakota National Register of Historic Places in Burleigh County, North Dakota Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation Native American history of North Dakota

Overview

Population decline

Depression Era Work Relief Construction Features

See also

References

External links