After three weeks of digging, washing and sorting, archaeologists along the Kankakee River have unearthed thousands of artifacts that offer clues about Porter County's earliest inhabitants.

Two pieces of historic pottery dating back to the 1840s provided some insight. Diggers found fragments of both a tea cup and tea pot in the same area. The light green design on the cup, however, didn't match the pot.

"The big sign of status on the frontier was to have a matching tea pot and tea cup set," Mark Schurr, leader of the dig, said, adding that those artifacts might show that the inhabitants didn't have much money.

Head of the anthropology department at the University of Notre Dame, Schurr has been leading digs at the Collier Lodge site south of Kouts for five years.

Last year, the group found about 7,000 artifacts. This year's treasures include a spearhead dating back to around 1000 to 1500 BC, a 5-cent piece from the early 1800s, animal bones, and various historic and prehistoric pottery.

During the first week of the dig, the group also found a small brass bell possibly belonging to American Indians and various animal remains from the fur trading era.

The big discovery this summer was an underground structure measuring at least 14 feet wide and 5 1/2 feet deep. Schurr said it could be anything from an ice house to a cabin basement to even a summer kitchen.

"We're puzzled," Schurr said. "Every year we answer some questions and get another mystery."

Calling it a "giant surprise," Schurr said he doesn't know of anything else such as this having been found in Indiana.

During next year's excavation, Schurr hopes to focus on that part of the site and gather clues about how large the structure was in actuality and what it was used for. In the meantime, the group will head to labs at Notre Dame to begin the yearlong process of cataloging and identifying each artifact.

Working with the Kankakee Valley Historical Society, the group is made up volunteers from a variety of backgrounds, including teachers and students. Schurr said several of the volunteers from the dig come in regularly throughout the year to help with the identification process.

Despite the dry weather that has caused some units to close, Schurr said he was very pleased with this year's dig and all the volunteers.

"We achieved every goal we set out to do and found an enormous surprise feature," Schurr said.