The Slave Water Well at Kingsley Plantation: The Unexpected Possibilities of an African Religiosity within a Secular Context

Summary

At Kingsley Plantation on Fort George Island, Florida, eight years of summer archaeological field schools have revealed new knowledge regarding African lifeways in this early 19th century New World context, through excavations within four slave cabins and the discovery of the long lost Kingsley era African Burial Ground. In 2010 and 2011 we also uncovered a previously unknown slave water-well. While digging the well we expected to find amazing artifacts like whole ceramic vessels, bottles, or well preserved organics. So what did we find? Nothing bigger than a thumbnail, save for a single object at its base ‘-- a smooth, water-polished cobble. The island is composed entirely of sand with a clay base, with no naturally-occurring stone. So how did this stone come be located at the bottom of the well, and what could it possibly mean? Interpretations of this unexpected discovery involve possible correlations with West African religious beliefs and their continuity in Spanish Florida.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Good Questions Met by Archaeological Revelations   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2014

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): SYM-35,06