Artifacts up for grabs by poachers

Lay archeologist says it’s a crime

By FRITZ MAYER

UPPER DELWARE VALLEY — Steve Woll’s voice is full of reverence as he talks about a small plot of land near the Upper Delaware River. He asked that it not be identified too specifically, because he doesn’t want to attract the attention of more would-be poachers. But this little bit of land has seen a lot of history.

There were humans on the land as far back as 7,000 years. The Munsee-Delaware band of the Leni Lenape tribe moved to the spot back in 1737. It was sold to the colonists in 1755. In 1766, during the French and Indian War, the tribe came back and raided the valley, hoping to deprive the colonists of their agricultural base.

The spot is now a cornfield, but Woll says it is chock full of historical artifacts. After a brief walk on the property one recent afternoon, in just a few minutes, Woll had collected a pocket-ful of bits of arrowheads, pottery shards, pieces of clay pipes and stones that were once used in ceremonial Indian rattles. He said that the cultivation of the land hasn’t really altered the quality of the artifacts too much.

With the permission of the landowner, Woll has been collecting treasures from the spot for several years. He walks the ground, sometimes after a rain, picking up fragments of history that the earth has given up. He doesn’t dig into the earth, because he doesn’t have permission to do so. Still, he manages to collect coins, period glass and pieces of kettles. He said he has picked up 140 buttons and close to 80 musket balls and pistol shots. The materials date from 1690 to 1780.

The problem is that other artifact collectors are also visiting the site, and they don’t worry about niceties such as securing the owner’s permission. According to Woll, they bring metal detectors and have no hesitation about putting a shovel into the ground to unearth their treasure. On the day The River Reporter visited the spot, there were at least a half dozen freshly dug holes in the field. Not bothering to follow rules, the poachers have an advantage over Woll.

Woll says he knows the names of some of the poachers. Some even gave him items for the display he staged for the Basket Historical Society last October. Still, he would like the poachers to turn over all the artifacts they have collected from the property.

Put together, all the buttons and bullets, arrowheads and pottery shards begin to tell a story. The real value of the artifacts, he said, is that they are a physical record of an important period in the history of the river valley.