N.C. Office of State Archaeology to Hold Town Hall Meeting in Swansboro June 12

The North Carolina Office of State Archaeology (OSA) is completing two projects supported by Emergency Supplemental Historic Preservation Fund (ESHPF) grant money appropriated by Congress in response to Hurricanes Florence and Michael in 2018 and administered by the National Park Service. These projects sought to identify resources and communities impacted by the 2018 hurricanes that are at risk of damage from future storm events. The two OSA ESHPF research projects occurred on state-owned and managed lands along the coast including Hammocks Beach State Park. The results of these studies are helping the state develop better management strategies and share the rich community and cultural histories of the North Carolina coast.

OSA invites the public to learn about the results of the fieldwork and impact study and share knowledge of any historical sites, cemeteries, or stories about the history of this place, how your family or community is tied to it, or things that you’ve seen while visiting. A Town Hall meeting will be held Wednesday, June 12, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., at the Swansboro Area Heritage Center, 502 W. Church St., Swansboro, N.C. 28584.

The North Carolina Shorescape Survey aimed to identify, document, and assess archaeological resources along the shoreline between 60 meters (ca. 200 feet) inland and 60 meters (ca. 200 feet) outward from the mean tidal zone, in hurricane-impacted state-owned and managed lands, including Hammocks Beach State Park. The combination of terrestrial and underwater archaeological surveys will provide a baseline for understanding different climate change and storm effects on dry and waterlogged sites, as well as broaden our understanding of coastal communities’ experiences and ways of life. As part of this project, researchers hope to identify at-risk sites associated with North Carolina’s maritime industries and African American communities.

Fieldwork was completed in December 2023 in Hammocks Beach State Park, and data analysis is currently underway to illuminate the stories of these sites and the impacts these sites face daily and during the storms. Several new sites in addition to the previously recorded sites were discovered across the park. These sites paint a picture of long-term habitation and use of the lands of Hammocks Beach State Park, ranging from Paleoindian habitation (14,000 BCE) to the present day. This long-term habitation and use help us explore the lives of many different groups of people and their connections to the water. The fieldwork also revealed major impacts to sites in barrier island systems. These findings support the development of management strategies to protect and preserve the sites and information connected to the rich history of Hammocks Beach. More information on these and other projects related to changing systems can be found on our ESHPF projects website at https://archaeology.ncdcr.gov/programs/education-outreach/climate-change/saving-places/shorescape-survey.