Digging Savannah App has Launched!

The Digging Savannah app is now available in the Google Play marketplace! The app will work on most Android devices including smartphones and tablets. Just search for “Digging Savannah”!

The app allows you to discover archaeology sites in and around Savannah that have been investigated and are on property open to the public. This is only a small sampling of archaeological sites around Savannah, as nearly every historic building sits on an archaeological site.

Main Menu

List of sites

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Map of sites

Archaeology students visit local dig

Armstrong students enrolled in archaeology and anthropology classes have been visiting an archaeology dig three miles south of the school. Archaeologists are excavating three historic sites: two plantations and one of General Sherman’s 1864 Civil War camps. More information on the site is available at Abercorn Archaeology and on their Facebook page.

The archaeology sites spread out around this amazing 400-year-old live oak tree.

Archaeologist Rita Elliott explains the site’s history and stratigraphy to Intro to Archaeology students.

Students try to identify artifacts found on site.

Archaeologist Scott Morris maps a possible chimney.

ArchaeoBus visit

Huge thanks to the more  than 200 people who stopped by to visit the ArchaeoBus and try our archaeology activities! We also want to thank all of our fabulous volunteers:

• Rita and Scott for bringing the ArchaeoBus to campus and putting in a long day with the sand gnats.
• Jonathan McKellar, for having class at the ArchaeoBus
• Anthropology Club volunteers: Autumn, Casey, Reuben, Jennifer (for organizing volunteers), and especially Richard, who also put in a long day.  Please let me know if I forgot someone!
• and Leslie, who brought great activities for our littlest archaeologists and got the word out to the home school network.

Archaeologist Rita Elliott talks to Armstrong students before they tour the ArchaeoBus and try hands-on archaeology activities.

An Armstrong Anthropology Club member instructs young students in an archaeology activity.

A home schooled student tries an activity about seeds in archaeology sites.

Young students explore the ArchaeoBus.

Archaeologist Rita Elliott explains Native American artifacts and lifeways to Armstrong students.

Anthropology students try a ceramics puzzle that parallels ways that archaeologists analyze ceramic artifacts.

Armstrong students loved making Native American masks- a craft originally meant for our young home school students!

Even the tiniest archaeologists love the ArchaeoBus!

Abercorn Archaeology

This spring archaeologists from New South Associates will be excavating an archaeology site along the southern end of Abercorn Street. Tours will be available starting March 19th.

Click here for an Abercorn Archaeology flyer. More information is available on the Abercorn Archaeology website and facebook page.

 

Armstrong students participate in dig

Armstrong students participated in the Public Day dig at the Cluskey Embankment stores lead by archaeologists from Georgia Southern University. Read full coverage on the Savannah Morning News website.

A Georgia Southern archaeologist digs near the entrance to one of the Cluskey Embankment stores.

Students and their friends search for artifacts.

Visitor’s try their hand at screening for artifacts with Dr. Moore.

A student examines the stratigraphy (soil layers) of an excavation unit.

 

Cluskey Embankment Stores: Public Archaeology Day

The next Public Work Day at the Cluskey Embankment Stores is set for January 26. Students from the local colleges are encouraged to try their hands at excavation and screening for artifacts. Archaeologists from Georgia Southern will be on hand to lead the dig and explain more about the history of the site. The City of Savannah has set up a webpage to give the public more information about the history of the site and the on-going archaeology.

The Cluskey Embankment Stores in 1962, documented by the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS). Source: Library of Congress

Cluskey Embankment Stores dig

From WJCL: “There’s been speculation about what the arches in the McCluskey embankment were built for – and what they held. Archeologists think they most likely had something to do with cargo storage related to Savannah’s port.”

Get the full story here.

Grant Approved!

Digging Savannah is pleased to announce it has received grant funding through Armstrong Atlantic State University‘s Strategic Planning & Resource Council. The grant will fund a Georgia archaeology lecture series on the Armstrong campus next semester. Also, students will develop a smartphone application for a Walking Tour of Savannah’s Archaeology (for iPhone and Android). Finally, expect Abby the Archaeobus to visit Armstrong’s campus, hopefully to coincide with Georgia Historical Society’s Georgia Days.

Stay tuned for details!

Recent Archaeology in Savannah

(Relatively) recent archaeological work in Savannah includes:

• Savannah Under Fire 2007-2011,  archaeologists, supported by the NPS American Battlefield Protection Program, revealed Revolutionary War archaeological sites throughout downtown Savannah, Georgia.
• May 2012: Distinguished panel discussed the benefits of an archaeology ordinance in Savannah. This article is from the Savannah Morning News (SMN).
• The CSS Georgia, a Civil War-era ironclad, lies on the bottom of the Savannah River off Old Fort Jackson. When the Savannah Port proceeds with harbor deepening, this shipwreck will need to be taken into consideration. A history and more details are available in this SMN article.
• Work continues at Camp Lawton, a Civil War POW camp outside Statesboro, GA.