06/14/2004: 
Urban Archaeology
Proposed dig to reveal history behind Touro Park tower
By LISA GENTES Associated Press Writer
NEWPORT, R.I. - It's hard to miss the old stone tower in Newport's Touro Park.
But its origins - and what might be underneath it - remain a mystery.
The tower has gone by a variety of names, including Old Stone Mill, the Newport Tower, Touro Tour and, just simply, the Tower.
When Jan Barstad first saw it last January, on her first visit to the Ocean State, it struck her as being medieval because of its rounded features and Romanesque style. And now she wants to dig up the park to find out if it truly is.
"It's one of those very tantalizing things," said Barstad, a scientist, historian and researcher from Arizona. "It's right out there ready to be dug."
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Historical paintings of the tower don't depict buildings near it after the 1770s. A British map shows the tower, but no buildings around it.There are at least five major theories on the origins of the tower, but none has been proven: that it was a 14th century Scottish watch tower, a 12th century Norse Christian church, remnants of a Chinese fleet's settlement, a memorial, or a 17th century English colonial structure that was built by former Rhode Island Gov. Benedict Arnold (a relative of the notorious traitor) to replace a windmill.
Barstad, president of the Chronognostic Research Foundation Inc. a Tempe, Ariz., firm that conducts research on artifacts, is hopeful that anything underground will help her figure out the tower's origins. She's asked the city council for permission to dig at the site and put to rest all the theories of how and why and when the tower was built.
"There are a lot of great stories to tell and ... the Newport tower is one of the best," she said.
She and her team, including Salve Regina professor and archaeologist James Garman, did a study of the park in October 2003 using 3D-imaging and discovered two objects under ground - one appears to be a flat slab and the other appears to be a wall.
Barstad said if the Newport City Council approves the dig, Garman will direct the excavation. The park will remain open to the public and the dig area will be small and fenced off. She said the excavation will take about one to two weeks.
Barstad and her group want to start and complete the project in October, after the city's busy summer season ends.
According to Barstad's report called "Discovery Under Touro Park," which she compiled for her presentation to the Newport City Council, the Early Sites Research Society conducted a survey of Touro Park in 1994, and discovered shapes and plots underground, throughout the park.
That study didn't use the advanced technology that is used today. But the survey done for Barstad's group last October using updated radar technology showed there were unusual features - some sort of solid slab and something that appears to be a wall - buried underneath.
"Well I like a good mystery, and I like solutions too. So I set out to find out who built the Newport tower," Barstad said. "All these theories are interesting but there's no hard evidence for any one of them."
William Simmons, a professor of anthropology at Brown University, is familiar with many of the theories. But he said he'd be surprised if a dig turned up evidence proving it was anything but a Colonial-period structure.
Simmons said the first historical mention of the tower came in 1677 in Arnold's will, adding that it's the earliest documented record. Arnold's will mentions the tower as a locator to indicate where he should be buried.
Simmons said the last time an archaeological dig had been done in the park was between 50 to 60 years ago. That dig also was done to determine the tower's origins and to try to "uncover the reality of the myths of the tower," but failed to do so, according to Simmons.
"I think that any new knowledge on that site and the mill would be extremely interesting," Simmons said. "It would be exciting to see what's down there."
Barstad said whatever their dig turns up will be analyzed.
"Everything hinges on getting under the ground and finding out what's there and deciding what kind of analysis we need to do to get at whatever it is," she said.
