Winnabow
Jul 22, 2016
Archaeologists love digging around in old locations seeking new information. A group of students with Dr. Charles Ewen, East Carolina University department of anthropology, did just that at Brunswick Town-Fort Anderson State Historic Site this summer. They turned up new information as well. The project was in cooperation with the N.C. Office of State Archaeology and N.C. State Historic Sites.
"The field school at Brunswick Town went very well," Ewen explains. "We were able to answer our primary question, 'What was life like in this part of Brunswick Town during the colonial period?' "
Armed with shovels and trowels, 12 students worked six weeks investigating the residence lot of Edward Moseley, former surveyor general of North Carolina. Except it wasn't the residence of Edward Moseley. The historical and archaeological research of the budding archaeologists suggested that two structures were on the lot, neither of which belonged to Moseley. Documents indicate that a David Jones lived on the property, which was later sold to Prudence McIlhenny.
Brunswick Town was settled in 1726 and served as home to Royal Governors Arthur Dobbs and William Tryon. It was a bustling shipping port for tar, pitch and turpentine. During the Revolutionary War it was burned by the British in 1776. The site was abandoned until the Confederates built a fort there in 1861. The ruins of the colonial town and the Confederate fort still remain.
During the excavation hundreds of artifacts were recovered, including fine Delft and porcelain ceramics, three pairs of scissors, two King George II copper half-pennies (ca 1750), a winding tool for a pocket watch and many wine bottle fragments.
One of the Civil War era gun emplacements also was excavated, but none of the original platform remained. A new representative gun deck may be constructed later.
"The archaeological investigation sought information on the architectural construction methods of the past residents of Colonial Brunswick," observes Deputy State Archaeologist John Mintz. "This information allows us to tell the story of the daily lives of a coastal port town."
"This partnership is a win-win-win," Ewen continues. "My ECU students get trained at an important site, the historic site gets more area interpreted and artifacts to display, and the public gets too see archaeology in action to better appreciate how the past is interpreted."
For additional information, please call (919) 807-6555. The Office of State Archaeology and the Division of State Historic Sites are within the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.