TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Slave labor helped power a near half-century of pre Civil War iron making at Tannehill. Now, in an effort to learn more about these men, women and children who helped build and operate the iron works, a team of explorers will excavate what’s believed to be the former site of 15 of their homes during an archaeology camp hosted by The University of Alabama’s Alabama Museum of Natural History.
The excavation at Tannehill Historical State Park, located about 12 miles southwest of Bessemer, is held during four, individual sessions, June 6-June 27, said Randy Mecredy, assistant director and education outreach coordinator for UA’s Alabama Museum of Natural History, which annually hosts a summer archaeological dig.
Dr. Jack R. Bergstresser, director of the Tannehill Iron and Steel Museum, said he found it ironic that so little is known about the slaves whose former cabins are believed to lie so close to the remains of the three large furnaces toured each year by hundreds of visitors to the historical site.
“The homes of the men who toiled long, hard hours had lain virtually unnoticed for over a century,” wrote Bergstresser, the dig’s leader, in a description of the effort.
It’s unknown how many slaves once lived and worked at Tannehill, but Bergstresser said the number likely grew as did the magnitude of the operation along Roupes Creek.
“Records surviving from contemporaneous operations in the South suggest that more than 100 workers, mostly slaves, were required to keep such an iron works going,” Bergstresser said.
About 15 cabins, believed to have been the home to 60 or more slaves, may have once stood at the site being excavated this summer, Bergstresser said.
Formally known as Expedition 29, the dig is designed for high school students and teachers, but is open to anyone with an interest in archaeology. Eighty camp participants, who will be led by scientists and other educators, are expected to participate, Mecredy said.
Deadline for registration is the Friday prior to the start of each of the four sessions. Following the June 6-9 mini session, regular week long sessions are June 10-16 and June 17-23. A second mini-session will be June 24-27. Participants must be 14 or older and tuition is $200 for a mini-week or $400 for a full week session. To register, phone 205/348-7550 or e-mail museum.expedition@ua.edu. For more information about the expedition see http://amnh.ua.edu/. See http://www.tannehill.org/ for additional background on Tannehill Ironworks Historical Park.
Presently, two rows of small, rock mounds alongside a wooded slope are the only readily visible clues at the upcoming excavation site. These unimposing stone mounds may be the remains of the slave cabins’ chimneys, Bergstresser said.
“As of now, we do not even know the simplest of facts regarding the composition of this community. The smallest pieces of information that we uncover during this summer dig will be new and important discoveries to help reveal the rich cultural heritage of the early Alabama landscape.”
UA’s Alabama Museum of Natural History has hosted these authentic scientific digs with professional archaeologists since 1979. The digs are one of the few archaeology camps in the country providing a hands-on scientific field school to participants as young as 14.
Editor’s Note: The most visually interesting aspects of the four-week expedition are expected June 18-June 23. A media availability day is scheduled for June 20, beginning at 10 a.m. for reporters to get a behind-the-scenes guided tour of the excavation.
Contact
Chris Bryant, Assistant Director of Media Relations, 205/348-8323, cbryant@ur.ua.edu