THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY
OF WELLS AND OGUNQUIT
PRESERVING THE PAST FOR TWO MAINE TOWNS
Event Calendar
Visit our Video Archive for recordings of previous programs and events.
Special Postcard Exhibit: The Beaches of Wells & Ogunquit
At the Meetinghouse
938 Post Road (US Rt 1) in Wells
Now through December
~ Free Admission ~​​
Paleoindian Archaeology at Spiller Farm
Wednesday July 16 at 6:00 pm
At the Meetinghouse
938 Post Road (US Rt 1) in Wells
Members $10, Non-Members $12​
Join us as Dr. Nate Hamilton, Anthony Viola, and Bill Spiller discuss the Paleoindian archaeological site at Spiller Farm in Wells, dating back to roughly 12,000 years ago and one of only four Paleoindian sites in all of Maine.
In the 1990s, local farmers Bill and Anna Spiller uncovered small stone points at their farm on Branch Road in Wells. When they showed the points to archaeologist Dr. Hamilton on the University of Maine, he excitedly confirmed that the finds were much older than the Spillers had suspected. Once the site was identified as Paleoindian, Dr. Hamilton led several archeaological excavations at the farm, uncovering hundreds of stone tools dating back to 10,000 BCE. Spiller Farm is now known as one of four Paleoindian sites in Maine, providing evidence of the first people to inhabit the region following the last ice age.
The excavations revealed a remarkably rich historical site which has been identified as a food processing area, where transient hunters prepared their game. Anthony Viola, founder of geospatial mapping firm Arcudigm, provides ongoing detailed drone maps of the area. Hamilton and Viola will present their detailed findings about the site and share reproduction artifacts that we can handle, transporting us back in time. Spiller will discuss the experience of discovering the artifacts and learning that their farm was one of the oldest inhabited sites in Maine.
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Don't miss this exciting presentation! Please contact us for more information.