Avon Archaeology Lecture To Look At Ancient New England Ocean

Avon Historical Society

AVON, CT — Three local organizations are jointly hosting a special program on Thursday, Sept. 21, about an ancient part of the Atlantic Ocean that once covered land now occupied by the northeastern U.S.

The Avon Historical Society, Avon Free Public Library and Avon Senior Center are continuing with the fourth presentation of the third annual five-part webinar series “Unearthing History: The Discovery of a 12,500-year-old Paleo-Indian Site along the Farmington River in Avon.”

The third lecture entitled “Paleoindian Sites, Site Patterning and Travel Corridors along the Southern Arm of the Champlain Sea” will be presented by Jess Robinson, Vermont's state archaeologist.

It will be held on Thursday, Sept. 21, beginning at 7 p.m. via Zoom through a link from the library. It is available free of charge. Sign up at: www.avonctlibrary.info.

The third annual “Unearthing History” series, sponsored by a grant from the Lower Farmington River and Salmon Brook Wild and Scenic Committee, is being held in response to the 2019 excavation of a 12,500-year-old Paleo-Indian site 6 feet below ground during a Connecticut Department of Transportation construction project of the now completed bridge on Old Farms and Waterville Roads on Route 10 in Avon.

According to a program announcement, the Champlain Sea was an inland arm of the Atlantic Ocean that existed in portions of the St. Lawrence River valley, Ontario lowlands and Champlain Valley approximately 13,000 to 9,500 years ago.

Partners in this series include the Farmington River Watershed Association, Institute of American Indian Studies, Washington, Conn., and The Avon Land Trust.

The fifth webinar entitled “Update on the scientific analysis of the Brian D. Jones Site in Avon” will be held on Thursday, Oct. 12th at 7 p.m. It will be presented by Eric Heffter of Archaeological and Historical Services, Storrs, the company that is analyzing the find.

To watch the webinars from the 2021-23 series on YouTube, visit: www.youtube.com/user/afplct
To register to attend this event, visit: www.avonctlibrary.info.

For more information on the Sept. 21 program, click on this link.