Archeology and Windmills

We have been looking at power sources, one of which was windmills. Can you draw a windmill? What do you think is the science behind windmills?

One way to study windmills is with archeology. Here is a quote about an archeology lecture from May (2007). It gives the name of an "expert" on windmills in New York. You can use it to help find out more about windmills in history.

Professional Archaeologists of New York City (PANYC) 27th annual public program

"Made in New York: The Archaeology of New York City’s Industrial Past"

Date/Time: May 6, 2007, 1:00pm-3:00PM

Location: Museum of the City of New York

“Made in New York: The Archaeology of New York City’s Industrial Past” brings together five talks by seven professionals. The program will explore a variety of historic industrial resources in our city as well as provide insight into the various techniques used to identify, understand and document these not always “archaeological” sites. Learn about a Dutch windmill on Governor’s Island, an 18th century tannery near City Hall, pottery remains excavated from The African Burial Ground, a historic ship repair facility in Brooklyn and the High Line, Manhattan’s elevated west side railroad viaduct soon to be a city park.

Speakers and Topics:

A Seventeenth Century Dutch Windmill on Governors Island

Holly Herbster, Senior Archaeologist, The Public Archaeology Laboratory, Inc., Pawtucket, Rhode Island

Subsurface testing in the northeastern corner of the Governors Island National Historic Landmark District identified the structural remains of what is believed to be the wind-powered sawmill erected by the Dutch West India Company in 1625-26. This paper presents the documentary and physical evidence for the windmill, one of the only known archaeological features associated with the Dutch occupation of “Nutten Island”.