The Role of Systematic Metal Detection in Phase III Data Recovery: Investigation of a Nineteenth Century Slave and Freedmen Occupation at Colonel’s Island Plantation
Author(s): Stacey Whitacre; James Page; Carolyn Rock
Year: 2018
Summary
In 2015, Brockington conducted Phase III Data Recovery at a nineteenth century slave and freedmen settlement within the larger Colonel’s Island Plantation in Glynn County, Georgia. Prior to block excavations, we utilized heavy machinery to clear intersecting lanes along cardinal directions on a 10-meter grid across the site. We conducted systematic metal detection along these lanes and recorded all finds and anomalies, such as nail clouds, with a sub-meter accuracy Trimble and plotted our finds using ArcGIS mapping systems. Nail clouds are defined as larger areas where detectorists continuously detected small ferrous signals. This data was used to inform the placement of block excavations and mechanical scraping. Block excavations confirmed the configuration of several structures, including two slave rows and several postbellum buildings, identified during our nail cloud analysis. We use this case study to discuss the role and research potential of systematic metal detection for future data recovery investigations.
Cite this Record
The Role of Systematic Metal Detection in Phase III Data Recovery: Investigation of a Nineteenth Century Slave and Freedmen Occupation at Colonel’s Island Plantation. Stacey Whitacre, James Page, Carolyn Rock. Presented at Society for Historical Archaeology, New Orleans, Louisiana. 2018 ( tDAR id: 441641)
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Keywords
General
Colonel's Island
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Data Recovery
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Metal Detection
Geographic Keywords
North America
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United States of America
Temporal Keywords
Nineteenth Century
Spatial Coverage
min long: -129.199; min lat: 24.495 ; max long: -66.973; max lat: 49.359 ;
Individual & Institutional Roles
Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology
Record Identifiers
PaperId(s): 336