An Archaeological Analysis of the Fort Fredrick Heritage Preserve House Site
School Name
South Carolina Governor's School for Science and Mathematics
Grade Level
12th Grade
Presentation Topic
Sociology
Presentation Type
Mentored
Abstract
Fort Frederick neat Port Royal, SC was where the Emancipation Proclamation was first read publicly in the Confederacy. However, that is not the only thing that makes this fort important to American history. Fort Frederick is a structure made of tabby, a combination of oyster shells lime, and sand that acts similarly to concrete. It is hard to replicate today. The tabby construction was part of the reason this site was given to the SCDNR Heritage Trust. On this site, though, there was another tabby house site discovered under an existing road. This site appears on no maps of the area and is not mentioned in historical records. Our research analyzed the material found at this house site to understand who lived in this house and when. This process included washing, rough sorting, and then cataloging the artifacts gathered from the site. There was a greater than normal amount of cultural material found at this site making it harder to know who lived there or even when they lived there. Through analysis of the material, we have found that this was likely a slave house or possibly even two separate structures whose imprints on the land overlapped. We have also been able to produce theories as to what role in the enslaved hierarchy (whether they worked as cooks, field hands, etc.) the residents of this site played.
Recommended Citation
Berry, Brycelyn and Simpson, Elizabeth, "An Archaeological Analysis of the Fort Fredrick Heritage Preserve House Site" (2023). South Carolina Junior Academy of Science. 130.
https://scholarexchange.furman.edu/scjas/2023/all/130
Location
ECL 340
Start Date
3-25-2023 12:15 PM
Presentation Format
Oral Only
Group Project
Yes
An Archaeological Analysis of the Fort Fredrick Heritage Preserve House Site
ECL 340
Fort Frederick neat Port Royal, SC was where the Emancipation Proclamation was first read publicly in the Confederacy. However, that is not the only thing that makes this fort important to American history. Fort Frederick is a structure made of tabby, a combination of oyster shells lime, and sand that acts similarly to concrete. It is hard to replicate today. The tabby construction was part of the reason this site was given to the SCDNR Heritage Trust. On this site, though, there was another tabby house site discovered under an existing road. This site appears on no maps of the area and is not mentioned in historical records. Our research analyzed the material found at this house site to understand who lived in this house and when. This process included washing, rough sorting, and then cataloging the artifacts gathered from the site. There was a greater than normal amount of cultural material found at this site making it harder to know who lived there or even when they lived there. Through analysis of the material, we have found that this was likely a slave house or possibly even two separate structures whose imprints on the land overlapped. We have also been able to produce theories as to what role in the enslaved hierarchy (whether they worked as cooks, field hands, etc.) the residents of this site played.
