Photogrammetry and Lidar – Flying Point, Freeport Ulster-Scots archaeology sites.

Last summer, Tom Searing of Seiler Instrument GeoDrones conducted a study of our sites in Freeport. The following is taken from Tom’s posting on his company site:

“I had the opportunity to get out to Freeport recently.

(The Maine Ulster Scots Project, (MUSP)) archeological survey team are halfway through a seven year project exploring pre-colonial settlements of coastal Maine, with Specific emphasis on Ulster-Scots’ … lineage. "A hardy and fiercely independent group of people". The Scots were (invited) in by Cotton Mather from the Massachusetts Bay Colony as a tactical buffer of sorts against the French & Wabanaki settlements.

Seiler Geodrones was able to provide photogrammetry and lidar support for new overlays and also establish baselines for a few new dig sites. The new sites are focusing on settlements occupied just before the Seven Years War broke out. The Thomas Means site, which has an unfortunate history, but for the more macbre of the bunch, such a cool opportunity to get into the field to support active historical exploration, hopefully leading to a deeper understanding of early American history.

I was particularly impressed with the reliability and stability of the Wingtra handling these stiff coastal winds; chewing up acreage like heavy apps at a trade show happy hour and some beautiful orthos. Hats off to Pix4D on being able to process such a homogenous backdrop.

The L2 managed to pull (in) some really nice data sets, We wanted to TRY to scan a fully canopied cemetery site. I pulled a profile cross section (towards the end) you can see the penetration and ground points captured through the oak and pine which was amazing considering typical expectations in dense foliage.

We had some great weather, but low tide brought the black flies out and of course the tenacious Maine clay (that almost deprived me of my Keens). And what trip to Maine would be complete without a wicked Maine Lobstah Roll and wild blueberry pie. Thanks to John and his team for hosting. “

MUSP thanks Tom for bringing his expertise (and equipment) to Maine to help us further our research and investigations into the early history of Freeport and it’s Ulster-Scots families.

Reports on the analysis and findings will be posted in the coming months here and on Facebook.

Watch the flight video below:

Uncovering the lost Ulster-Scots settlement at Flying Point – John Mann

On November 23, 2024, John Mann, Chairman Emeritus, Maine Ulster Scots Project gave a lecture to a standing room only audience for the first public report on MUSP's archaeological work "Uncovering the lost Ulster-Scots settlement at Flying Point."  John discussed who the Ulster-Scots were, why they came to Maine, and reviewed the various archeological work and finds that give us insights into this fascinating history.

Make a cup of tea (or pour a wee dram) and enjoy this 1 ½ hour lecture

ANDERSON-BLEASE ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIG SITE

Emissaries and archaeologists, Deirdre Speer-Whyte (of the Ulster-Scots Community Network in Belfast, Northern Ireland) and Finula Magowan (Ulster-Scots Volunteer) joined the MUSP excavation team this month at the Anderson-Blease homestead site. We were delighted to welcome Deirdre and Finula to our team! They were able to participate on the team for 6 of their 14 days spent on holiday in Maine. Lead Historical Archaeologist, Pamela Crane, welcomed and appreciated their collegiality and discussion of unearthed site features and artifacts.

5/30/24 - MUSP is actively researching and studying the 18th century Ulster-Scots settlement at Flying Point in Freeport, Maine. Our work includes:

• Building up a base of information and timeline of events that the dozen or so families were affected by and/or involved in.

• The genealogical connections between these families.

• The folkways shared by the settlers such as burial traditions, home construction techniques.

• The impact on the land and the many enterprises that created a working economy on the Eastern Frontier, including farming, timber harvesting, and the establishment of saw mills, grist mills, salt works, ship building, maritime trade and more. 

Understanding the geography of the area and the relative positions of homes, businesses and resources that were available or which were developed is critical to understanding the daily lives of our Ulster-Scot ancestors at Flying Point.

MUSP has gotten a huge boost this week in creating the mapping needed to flesh out the details of our investigation. Tom Searing of Seiler Co. based in Waltham, Massachusetts has brought his drone flying skills and state of the art geodrones to Flying Point and spent two days gathering data with lidar and aerial photogrammetry equipment. The digital data can now be processed and used to generate precise mapping of several critical historic areas on and near Flying Point to aid in our research.

Many thanks to Tom and Seiler Company for their valuable assistance in our MUSP projects. Thanks also to the Wolfe’s Neck Center, the Thomas Means Club and other Flying Point property owners who continue to support our work in the area, “Saving and Sharing Maine’s Scots-Irish Heritage.”

5/28/24 - Opening day of the 2024 MUSP Archaeology dig season. Seven units laid out at what we hope to prove is the foundation of the Jacob Andersons blockhouse at Flying Point, Freeport, Maine.  One unit opened directly over where we suspect the chimney foundation will be found.  Level 1 has been removed and sifted. Level 2 is already turning up a wide range of artifacts.

This is going to be an exciting season. Stay tuned as we bring you regular reports on our progress at this site and at the nearby Means family homestead. Visit other pages on this website for background information on both sites.