FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions:
1) How do you know where to dig?
2) How deep do you dig?
3) What is the coolest thing you have ever found on a CHS project?
4) What happens after the dig?
5) Are there any archaeology sites left in the Savannah area?
1) How do you know where to dig?
It depends on why we are digging:
A. If a CHS project requires digging, the archaeologists will excavate that specific area
before the construction project begins. This way we can record any clues in the soil about
past events before they are destroyed.
B. Other times we excavate to answer archaeological and historical research questions. In
these cases, we use historic maps and documents to make educated guesses about where to dig.
For example, before we reconstructed the Spring Hill Redoubt, archaeologists did extensive
searching for evidence of the original redoubt. Numerous trenches were dug before the redoubt
was found and documented.
2) How deep do you dig?
Again, it depends on why we are digging. If we are excavating in advance of a construction
project, we will sometimes only dig as deep as needed to install the pipe trench or building
foundation. This way we can continue to preserve parts of the archaeology site that are deeply
buried.
However, if we are excavating to answer research questions, we dig until we stop finding
artifacts and we reach subsoil, which is the natural soil undisturbed by people.
3) What is the coolest thing you have ever found on a CHS project?
A brass barrel band from a French pistol was found during the 2005 excavation of the Spring Hill
Redoubt. This artifact was found along with lead musket balls in a linear soil stain. These
artifacts helped identify this stain as ditch forming the Spring Hill Redoubt.
From the technical report, Savannah Under Fire, 1779: Identifying Savannah's Revolutionary War
Battlefield by Rita Elliott:
"The 2005 excavation of the British ditch at the Spring Hill Redoubt yielded one gun part. That
item was a brass barrel band with ramrod guide hole most likely from a French pistol. This item
was nearly flattened from its original shape. This damage may have occurred in battle, or within
a few years following the battle, since the band was recovered from a secure 18th century context.
In spite of the change in its appearance from this unintentional modification, the band looks most
like either a Model 1766 or 1773, both French cavalry pistols... Early weapons expert George
Neumann suggests that the furniture on these guns was most often made of iron for land forces and
brass for naval personnel. The brass barrel band from Spring Hill, therefore, allows for several
possible explanations for its presence on the battlefield. It may have been carried by: a
French infantryman who previously served in the Kings guard; a French sailor who disembarked and
fought under dEstaing as a temporary member of the land forces; a French infantryman who was
supplied with a French naval pistol; or a cavalryman serving under Pulaski and armed with French
pistols."
PHOTOS
4) What happens after the dig?
We take all of the artifacts, notes, photographs, and maps back to our archaeology lab. We wash and
sort the artifacts before entering them into a database. We combine all of the information from
this database with historical research and field notes to make some conclusions about what people
were doing on the site in the past. We write these conclusions in a technical report and curate
the artifacts in our Curatorial Department. Finally, we share our newly discovered history with the
public through exhibits, lectures, and our website.
For a more detailed explanation see: After the Dig by Silas Hurry, Laboratory Director and Curator
of Collections at Historic St. Mary's City
5) Are there any archaeology sites left in the Savannah area?
Actually, we find archaeology sites all across Savannah in the most surprising places,
including residents' backyards. However, as the area develops, more archaeology sites are
destroyed because there is no protection for them.
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FURTHER RESOURCES ON ARCHAEOLOGY
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Find out about our latest project!
Archaeology Newsletter
Links
The Society for Georgia
Archaeology
Georgia Department of Natural
Resources, Historic Preservation
Division, Archaeology Program
LAMAR Institute
Southeast Archeological Center,
National Park Service
Society for Historical Archaeology
Society for American Archaeology
Archaeology.about.com
Bad Archaeology
Colonial Williamsburg's Kids' Page
on Archaeology
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