The Hofmann Site

The Hofmann site is in the Ballardvale section of Andover, Massachusetts. It covers the top of a small kame extending, between a small brook and a swamp, from higher land to the northeast (Fig. 12). This brook empties into a larger stream connecting Foster's Pond and the Shawsheen River. A large swamp, between Foster's and Martin's Ponds, connects these tributaries of the Shawsheen and Ipswich Rivers, forming an inland all-water route from the Merrimack River to the clam-bearing coastal flats of Ipswich and Essex. The Saugus or Mystic Rivers may be reached by a short portage, bringing Boston Bay into the system. The Hofmann site is well located to take advantage of such a route, and the association of artifacts found there seems most easily explained on the basis of trade or the seasonal migration of a few families.