WILMINGTON — A downtown Wilmington pool installation has become an educational treasure trove for one group of anthropologists based at Cape Fear Community College.
The college’s Anthropology Club recently joined forces with the non-profit Public Archaeology Corps to look for artifacts from a downtown backyard ahead of the work on the pool.
On a recent dig, seven CFCC students and members of Public Anthropology Corps found several artifacts dating from the early 19th Century. They included a glass inkwell, blown glass champagne bottles and sizable pottery vessels.
The students, under the guidance of CFCC Anthropology instructor Rachel Satzman, are using a backhoe, shovels, screens, brushes, and other tools of the trade, according to a press release from the college.
“This was just a win/win situation for the students and the community,” Satzman said. “Ultimately, the City of Wilmington wanted any items of archaeological significance to be rescued before the construction of the pool. The Front Street dig provided a unique experience for the students of CFCC’s Anthropology Club. When the College and the community work together, everyone wins.”
This pool site is student Annette Taylor’s first archeological dig, and a rewarding one.
“I wasn’t sure what to expect, but watching the dirt shift and catching a glimpse of something that could have been a small relic from the past was extremely exciting and some of the most fun I’ve had in a while,” Taylor said.
The entire dig is being done with the cooperation of the homeowner, Dean May, and Wilmington’s Historic Preservation Planner, Dawn Snotherly.
“Hopefully this will encourage other homeowners to contact CFCC’s Anthropology Department before they build,” May said. “You will never know what you will find.”
