A stone-lined well in excess of eighty feet deep was one of the original features of Fort Mackinac. It failed prior to 1812 and was filled in over the next 170 years. The demolition of the adjacent original powder magazine in 1878 led to additional trash deposits. Because they needed to fill a large hole, soldiers discarded large pieces of refuse that normally would have gone in a dump outside the fort walls. This intact champagne bottle was excavated from the well in 1981. Part of its paper label is still visible.
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