The new year is already off to a busy start for the archaeology lab. We’ve been continuing our long-standing partnership with the St. Simons Land Trust (SSLT) through several projects and public programs across the island.
Our first effort grew out of planning discussions held last year: stabilization work at an archaeological site on Cannon’s Point originally excavated in the 1970s. Preliminary fieldwork began just on time for the January 16 cold snap, when the focus was on photographing and mapping the site in preparation for the main work in early February. Despite the frigid conditions, volunteers Myrna Crook and Doug Cranford joined me, and together we pushed through the cold to get everything ready.
Stabilizing the Site
We returned during the first week of February with a larger crew to address areas where backfill from the 1970s excavations had been left exposed. The goal was straightforward but important: stabilize the site and ensure that any artifacts missed during the earlier work were properly recovered.
With the help of dedicated volunteers, we carefully re-stabilized the area and recovered additional artifacts, which were brought back to the lab for processing, cataloging, and long-term curation through our partnership with SSLT. Part of our methods involved counting the number of 5-gallon buckets we filled (to the halfway mark) to gain a basic understanding of how much existing backfill we were processing. In total, we filled 456 half-full buckets! It was hard work, but we got it done!
Special thanks to Myrna Crook, Doug and Melanie Cranford, Tom Hodge, Connie Meranda, Maria Hane, and Julie Abitz for their outstanding efforts in the field.
Taking Archaeology into the Community
The collaboration with SSLT didn’t stop there. The following week, I was invited by SSLT to participate in Oglethorpe Point Elementary School’s Georgia History Day celebration. Together with Myrna Crook, I spent the day introducing students to Native American history and early European contact along the Georgia coast. Using artifacts from our collection alongside the kinds of tools I use in the field, we had some fantastic conversations with students who came prepared with thoughtful questions and plenty of curiosity.
Outreach efforts continued on February 21, when I again partnered with SSLT for Fort Frederica’s Annual African American History Festival. It was a beautiful Saturday, and our interpretive focus highlighted African American history connected to Cannon’s Point. Events like these are always rewarding opportunities to share history and archaeology with the broader community.
Looking Ahead
With a busy start to the year behind us, my attention had turned toward preparations for RC250 activities at Gascoigne Bluff, where I—along with volunteers—will be hosting several archaeology-focused activities while presenting a bit of hsitory on Scottish merchants in colonial Georgia and the events surrounding the return of former Loyalists after the Revolutionary War.
These ongoing collaborations with SSLT and others continue to strengthen our shared stewardship of the past. Next year will also mark an important milestone as we celebrate the 15th anniversary of our archaeology lab and SSLT’s acquisition of Cannon’s Point.
