Metal detecting archaeologists

After the disastrous defeat in 1779, the allies fled past two (still present) Jewish Cemeteries where a regiment of Haitian volunteers protected the retreating soldiers. Earlier in the year, we did ground penetrating radar and shovel test pits over several acres of private property around the cemeteries. These property owners generously allowed us to harass them a second time, as we conducted a metal detector survey last week. The results of our survey can be found on the YouTube video, "The Retreat". There is also a two-part interview with Dan Battle, an archaeologist and our metal detector expert/consultant.

I have previously written about our difficulty in finding sites this fieldwork season. I have asked if any citizens out there have found Revolutionary War items in their backyards. (Email photos to curatorial@chsgeorgia.org). No one has responded. So we turned to the people who have found artifacts: the metal detector hobbyists.

Even being in the same room as "evil metal detecting looters" would send some archaeologists running for the hills. I would like to propose a more moderate, central position for both archaeologists and metal detectorists. First, there are many different attitudes among metal detectorists ranging from people who loot and sell artifacts for money to those who only collect on sites about to destroyed by development. Selling artifacts for profit is completely unethical for the professional archaeologist (see the Society for American Archaeology Principles of Archaeological Ethics). 

But what about sites that were destroyed and no archaeology was conducted? What if we could recover some information from a metal detectorists who hunted part of the 1779 Battle of Savannah retreat during a construction project? What if that information could be used to find more of the site and ultimately led to more site preservation?

Perhaps metal detectorists and archaeologists could work together on projects where archaeologists supply the methodology and scientific rigor, and detectorists supply the manpower and expertise with their machines. This has been wildly successful on the BRAVO project (Battlefield Restoration & Archaeological Volunteer Organization) which focuses on the Revolutionary War Battle of Monmouth in Freehold, NJ.  Dan Sivilich gave an excellent presentation at our 2010 Society for Historical Archaeology conference symposium, Revolutionary Steps: Marching Towards Research and Preservation. His notes are posted on our slideshare site.

Savannah is losing archaeological sites at an alarming, rapid rate. We all care about Savannah's history; let's work together to preserve and protect it. Archaeologists will have to admit that metal detectorists are more knowledgeable in certain areas. Metal detectorists will have to exchange learning new information for keeping bags of useless artifacts. (useless, of course, because they have been pulled out of the context). I think we can find a détente where we can save the last of the Revolution in Savannah.

Disagree with me? Fire away in the comments section.

Fieldwork Recommencement

We'll be kicking off two more weeks of fieldwork on Monday (April 19th). We will be returning to Davant Park, the area south of Colonial Cemetery where Lincoln St. dead ends into Perry Ln.

We are very excited about this location. Our historic maps indicate that ditchwork connecting two redoubts probably runs through this area. In October 2008, we did ground penetrating radar (GPR) in the southeast quadrant of Colonial Park Cemetery and in Davant Park. Our GPR guru Dan found a large, linear anomaly running northeast/southwest throughout this area. This means that there is some natural or cultural ditch running through this area. Monday we will be digging some test units (1 by 2 meter squares) to see if this ditch is really from the American Revolution.

This is a GPR image of Davant Park. North is up. Each tick mark is one meter. 

(Figure 122 from our technical report)

Another advantage of doing GPR before digging is that we are able to "see" graves. Dan mapped numerous unmarked graves within the walls of the cemetery. Unmarked graves are very common in old graveyards, and the graves frequently extend beyond the marked edges of the cemetery. But surprisingly, there were no graves south of the Colonial Cemetery's brick wall.

Stop by and we'll give you a tour!

Shout Out to Prof. Bruno's Intro to Anthropology Class!

Who is up to speed on Revolutionary War Savannah? Who has a handle on archaeological discoveries in Savannah? The answers are the same...Professor Barbara Bruno's Introduction to Anthropology class at Armstrong Atlantic State University (AASU)! Thanks to all 40 or so students who came to class prepared, interested, and ready to engage in a discussion about the Savannah Under Fire project. It was fun (for me, anyway!) I look forward to reading your papers and know that they will help us hone our public outreach. Thank you! Please visit us on-site if you get a chance. We'll be starting on April 19 at Davant Park. That is the strip of greenspace between East Perry Lane and the south wall of the Colonial Park cemetery. Look for our archaeology banner. Come by between 9-5 on April 19 (Monday) or April 20 (Tuesday). After that, depending on what discoveries we make, we will be at various venues around town. Check out this blog as we continue to update the schedule throughout the next two weeks. If you visit, make sure you remind me you are in Prof. Bruno's class. Hope to see you. Meanwhile, good luck with your classes!