Archaeologists Uncover 18th-Century French Bake House in Connecticut, Finding Burned Gunflint
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Jul 1
Archaeologists Uncover 18th-Century French Bake House in Connecticut, Finding Burned Gunflint
1 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jul 1
Summary
Lebanon, Connecticut archaeologists uncovered a well-preserved 18th-century bake house on the town green, confirming the long-suspected site where French troops baked bread during the Revolutionary War.
A burned gunflint found on the excavation’s last day tied the site directly to the war era, while most other finds were sparse—mainly late-18th-century ceramics, pipe fragments, bottle glass and animal bone.
The dig was the first modern excavation of the bake house after an undocumented 1896 exploration; researchers said the foundation appears largely intact and semi-permanent, built with a stone base and brick oven elements.
Ground-penetrating radar suggests the oven may have been part of a larger complex, and archaeologists plan more testing this fall to identify the structure’s style and map surrounding features.
The find feeds a broader Lebanon project tied to the nation’s 250th anniversary, highlighting the scale of Revolutionary War activity there and the role of Rochambeau’s French forces in the American victory.