WPCNR Main Street Journal. By John F. Bailey. October 8, 2004: A professional archeologist working for the Westchester County Department of Recreation and Parks, has identified and verified that two rock fragments retrieved by a White Plains amateur archeologist, activist, and barrister Dan Seidel as being genuine crafted artifacts from hundreds of years ago when Native Americans “developed” White Plains.
Dan Seidel, Preserver of the Past: Dan holds up a suspected arrowhead in his right hand and the beginnings of a straight edge knife. Dan found them in the grooves of a Cappelli auger drill that was executing test borings on the Renaissance Square hotel site last Friday. He brought them to the Common Council meeting last Friday where this photograph was taken. Seidel has contended that an archaeological survey should be undertaken before the site is distrubed since the site has never been built on with the exception of the parking lot. Photo by WPCNR News
For months, at hearing after hearing, Mr. Seidel has urged the Common Council and Louis Cappelli, the Super Developer to do an artifact sift-through on the site of Mr. Cappelli’s Renaissance Square project before beginning construction to retrieve possible fragments of White Plains past.
Last week, when Mr. Seidel noted Cappelli crews drilling for bedrock on the parking lot that exists there now, he checked the auger of the drill being used on Saturday, having been asked to leave the site last Friday, and found two pieces of rock that looked in his eye to be an arrowhead and a knife edge. (Mr. Seidel is an artifact-hunter as a hobby.)
Mr. Seidel holds what he believed to be a “worked” hand-held knife device on the left, and an arrowhead on the right. Thursday an expert confirmed he was correct. Photo by WPCNR News
Today, Mr. Seidel showed the rocks to Susann Dublin, County Archaeologist at the Croton Point Park Nature Center and she confirmed his analysis.
Mr. Seidel filed this report with CNR:
“Well, they are the real deal!! I was at the Croton Point Park Nature Ctr. Materials Lab this afternoon, met with Susann Dublin, County Archaeologist. She confirmed there’s no doubt, these pieces have been “worked” and they are real.
She can not date them, being out of site and all, but she stated there should be nothing done at that site until the “1B” is done and the shoveling testing done.”
Boring for bedrock was a violation.
“The boring for bedrock was a violation of law and this action should not have been taken at this time. The fact that the action of boring should not have been taken has been confirmed by other people as well (unofficially – the guy doing the work!!).”
Arrowhead? The smooth, “choclately” looking artifact is heated treated chert, a mudlike like stone which gains greater strength and flexibility after being heat treated, Seidel wrote. Photo by WPCNR News
Hand-Knife Edge? The other, Seidel writes is a stone artifact, but was indeed worked and made to fit in one’s hand. Photo by WPCNR News
“She (Susann Dublin) is calling Cynthia Blackmore (from Parks, Preservation,Historical Dept of New York State) and also will call Susan Hartgen as well. She was a bit “surprised” that Hartgen did not pick up on the site of limited disturbance. She said Hartgen usually is pretty good. “
Mr. Seidel explained more in a post to the CitizeNetReporter this morning: “The chert piece was found in the center drilling hole debris of the outlined area (outlined in orange dashes to indicate the area of limited disturbance) in the parking lot. It is not natural to this area. The stone “hand knife” is typical of tools used. There was no way to tell how far down these pieces came from but there was one from each of two piles of “pebble/rock” debris.”
