when the michigamea lived at the kolmer site, it sat on the riverbank along the mississippi, but subsequent course changes have stranded the site from the river: it now lies a full mile (more than 1.5 km) away from the shoreline, behind the levee system that has been built to keep the river in its banks. now used for agricultural purposes, the soil is a mixture of sandy humus and gumbo. the area's original character has been well preserved, due largely to the lack of modern development that it has experienced. because of the suddenness of the attack that destroyed the village in 1752, the michigamea are believed to have abandoned most of their possessions, and because they established a new village rather than restoring the old, it is likely that most artifacts that survived the village's burning yet remain in situ. for these reasons, kolmer is significant for its potential to yield information about the late illini period, but its importance is greatly expanded because of its inhabitants' relationship with the french. as original artifacts from the site must be dated within a third of a century, comparisons of kolmer artifacts with artifacts from other french-influenced sites would enable archaeologists to gain a far clearer understanding of previously undated sites, while the significant changes inherent in the transition from a nomadic lifestyle to european-influenced civilization are also likely to appear in the site's artifacts. finally, as the kolmer site was intimately connected to the most prominent french settlements in the upper mississippi valley, it is a critical component of a region without parallel in the united states for its preservation of colonial france, especially as the larger village of old kaskaskia has lain under the mississippi river since its course changed.