McMahan Consulting

A few days before the close of the 2016 field season, team members began investigating a suspected hearth depression at the northern edge of the “survivor camp” area. Excavations did reveal hearth material, but below the hearth was a rectangular organic stain outlined by heavily corroded nails of different sizes. The size, shape, and eastern orientation of the feature were indicative of a coffin burial. The rows of mismatched iron nails indicate that it was built on-site, probably using ship’s lumber that had washed ashore. The grave was positioned in a traditional Russian Orthodox east to west orientation. As per agreement with the land owner (US Forest Service) and Sitka Tribe of Alaska, the grave was only excavated to the extent necessary to see the outline of the top of the coffin. It was then backfilled without further disturbance. Given the acid soils of the spruce forest, it is doubtful that more than a “bone stain” would have been present.

Accounts indicate that around 32 died as a result of the wreck, and that at least some recovered bodies were buried by their comrades. Berkh’s account (Shalkop 1979:40) indicates that only two bodies were recovered “completely whole.” The only burial he mentions by name is that of Tertii Stepanovich Bornovolokov, Alexander Baranov’s replacement as RAC chief manager (ibid). Certainly Bornovolokov would have been considered of high enough status to warrant the construction of a coffin under primitive conditions, but the occupant of the discovered grave is open to speculation. At the conclusion of archaeological work, representatives of the Sitka Tribe of Alaska and Russian Orthodox Church held ceremonies on the site to bless those who perished.



Click image for 3D rotation.