The Daily Tar Heel
URL: http://www.dailytarheel.com/index.php/article/2011/11/dig_reveals_buildings_under_mccorkle_place
Current Date: Wed, 22 Feb 2012 14:07:47 -0500
UNC excavation reveals buildings under McCorkle Place
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The UNC Research Labs of Archaeology have been digging up a cellar and drainage system dating back to the 1800s in McCorkle Place.
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University archaeologists thought they had stumbled upon an old well in McCorkle Place.
One even older than the Old Well.
But after a week of digging up a plot of land next to Vance Hall, a team of undergraduates, graduate students and faculty believe what they had originally thought to be a well might actually have been a house and hotel.
University contractors first discovered remnants of historical property while preparing to install a new storm water pipe in October, said Steve Davis, associate director of UNC’s Research Laboratories of Archaeology.
David Cranford, a teaching assistant in the anthropology department, said the contractors notified the department. The contractors stopped working, Davis said, and the group began an excavation of the site Nov. 14.
The excavation, which is still ongoing, is being funded by UNC’s Facilities Planning and Construction.
After realizing that the historical remnants were not of a well, the group speculated that the site could be a large cellar or possibly an outhouse.
Now that they are further into the project, Davis and the group believe they have come across a backyard cellar they suspect was associated with a detached kitchen from a house that stood in the first half of the 1800s.
“As we get more exposed, we’re able to narrow down the likelihood of what it is,” he said.
“We have more confidence in our current interpretations.”
The first house built on the lot was constructed before 1797, Davis said.
He said the group also found a drain that might be from a hotel that stood after the Civil War before the University bought it and tore it down.
“In 1905, the University bought the property, tore down the hotel and built Battle, Vance and Pettigrew (Halls),” Davis said.
The group also found green-edged, pearlware plates that were brought over from England and used in the early 1800s, in addition to fragments of locally made plates most likely from southern Alamance County, Davis said.
“We’re really lucky that we have as much history and archaeology here that we do,” Cranford said.“I think a lot of people don’t realize that it’s right below their feet.”
The group members said they are excited about their findings and will analyze them in the spring.
“The artifacts tell us something about the lives of the people here who were living in the 1800s,” Davis said.
Mary Beth Fitts, a research assistant with the archaeology labs, said she thinks the findings will make students aware of UNC’s history.
“There’s a lot of stuff that happened that nobody knows about, so it gives us a more complete understanding of history of the University,” she said.
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20 comments
What a waste of money. Liberals will tell you otherwise, but this wasteful spending related to outdated crap is the cause of the budget problems here. Think about it. This is what your tuition increases are going towards. Excavating structures that predate the 1800s… who cares? UNC needs to cut out all of this liberal crap and focus on ways to offer education in important subjects like science and engineering and not waste our money on pointless liberal crap like this. No wonder there is such a budget problem here. The school clearly has its priorities in the wrong place.
@Hugo
I think you might be conflating the political definition of liberal with liberal arts. I can’t say for certain without seeing the actual cost of the excavations, but I somehow seriously doubt that the major cause of the university’s budget shortfall is archaeological endeavors like these.
In fact, the 2009 cost per student survey found that the vast majority of costs at the university stemmed from bloated administrative expenses and UNC’s Byzantine organizational structure (over half of all managerial administrators only manage between 1-3 people).
I think you took an article that for most is an interesting look at the campus’ history, and twisted it into something political that wasn’t there in the first place. Also, note that many of those interviewed were research assistants and graduate students. I wouldn’t be surprised if the university is using cheap graduate labor to do this excavation. I thought you of all people, Hugo, would celebrate this as a cost-effective means of providing both a service to the university as well as on the job professional training to UNC’s future archaeologist graduates.
@Hugo A lot of people care about this. Probably the most relevant group of the top of my head would be anybody who studies archeology at UNC. Your personal interests don’t define what’s academically important.
Maybe more to your point though, there are laws covering this kind of stuff that go back decades. Especially since this is on state owned land, there could have been big fines and troubles for anybody who disturbed the site after they discovered something was down there.
Stop trolling under my name.
-the real Hugo
Fake Hugo:
Shut your cake-hole. Different academic disciplines can all have a place at the table at a University of this size, with these resources.
Sincerely,
Father of an Archaeology Student
PS- Archaeology IS a science, genius.
Hugo, you don’t quite “get” history or archeology, do you? I mean, I’m in history, not in archeology, but do you have any idea about how we go about interpreting the past?
If engineering is you passion, which is fine, why did you apply to UNC? You really should have gone to State instead. State is a great school and would fit your focus more, Don’t be so close minded to subjects you don’t understand or enjoy. Also, why make this political? Demeaning fields of study in the name of partisan politics is a very bad road to go on.
Oh Hugo, how can you be a UNC grad and still make a statement about archeological findings ON CAMPUS to be “outdated liberal crap” which definitely includes issues also involving science and engineering.
Opinion from St. Gallen, Switzerland
Though this particular find might not be the most significant or profound archeological/anthropological/historical find of the 21st century, it is important with regards to the history of the University and the land on which the University resides. Further, it makes the sciences of anthropology and archeology tangible for those young students who still are deciding what to study. These subjects, as well as history (one of my majors along with philosophy), are sometimes difficult to find the relevance without a tangible hands on experience of the subject matter. As for cost, I would posit that this is one of the cheapest digs ever performed by the University as the University owns the land, there is no significant distance between the University and the site, students can easily go to the site without actually taking any other form of transportation other than their own two feet, and many of the people performing work at the site are graduate students. Again, as I said, it might not be the most important dig/excavation the world has ever seen, but as for providing skills and experience to young students, it is a great find and an excellent cost.
This whole thing sounds really exciting! I hope we get a bit of news on their progress over the year.
_“Father of an Archaeology Student
PS- Archaeology IS a science, genius.”_
Hope you like your kid and you’ve got a nice basement.
Well said Bull Moose! I would also like to add that when one applies to UNC, one is hoping to get a “liberal” education. I have never understood when someone complains about the humanities but chose to attend our university. Go figure.
In the words of Joseph Campbell, “Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you where there were only walls.” Do what you love. If that means “living in the basement” until you can move out, fine. Follow your passion… not the paycheck.
Why exactly did we shut down construction and fund a project that is digging up buildings that we already knew about? The article states that when the university was founded they cleared existing buildings in order to build new ones. Besides the fact that it is fun and convenient for archaeologists to play in the dirt at home rather than travelling, I don’t see the scientific merit in “discovering” something that we already know about. In 100 years are they going to find the remains from the old Venable hall and call it an archaeological discovery?
Liberals liberals liberals. Liberals, liberals liberals. Liberals liberals! LIBERALS! LIBERALS LIBERALS
Hugo, are you a Duke student who is simply out to lambast UNC? This is a historically worthwhile endeavor.
@WHY There is a big difference between knowing about the existence of something and studying it. The reason there are state and federal laws regarding disturbing antiquities or sites that may be of historical significance is because you aren’t just destroying these things for your generation, but for every generation to come.
Read up on your state and federal laws here:
http://www.archaeology.ncdcr.gov/ncarch/resource/laws.htm
This is not political and there was no controversial decision made. This is procedure. Feel free to take up the laws with your elected representatives.
I would like to point out that archaeological digs, even this minor, are often profitable. The wares they find can go for large prices—which means money could go back to the university system. And as far as how this could possibly (gasp) relate to conservatives, guess what? Conservatives technically are the wealthiest political group in the United States, and are the ones to buy these sort of wares. In addition, did you know that Republican front-runner Newt Gingrich finds history important and actually publishes books on the subject? And that conservatives are often some of the biggest patrons of arts, humanities, and social sciences? Oh, and if you want to call me a liberal, I’m not. I’m a conservative, thank you, and I’m a history major. Because history and archaeological finds have implications for the future, the long-term, which republicans/conservatives consider extremely important in the long-term, rather than quick fixes that will hurt us down the road.
i’m also a conservative. I’m a life member of the alumni assoc and am reasonably wealthy but I no longer financially support UNC because of the new “de facto” speaker ban regimen that produced incidents like the shameful treatment of Tom Tancredo and Virgil Goode.
Yo guys, don’t feed the trolls. They love the negative attention, even thrive on it. It just encourages them to do it more.
Awesome story, I look forward to hearing their conclusions.
I just did a story on this for Carolina Week.. You can see all the artifacts and trinkets they found here :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiuFK-0Bqck
@ Hugo
You really should understand what archaeology is about. The waste of money that you are talking about funds programs that research history or a people. Without archaeology we would not know about ancient civilizations, how the people lived during that time, what tools they used to live and work and there would be no study of how they lived and worked. Studying the structures of predated history is what gave architects the foundation of their profession. Excavating a site gives insight to what people ate, what they used for medicine, aka ancient Science. As far as spending money on
“Liberal Crap” without all of the rest of what goes with a career, archaeology is part of all of that Liberal Crap that could help fund an educational program. Archaeology is far from crap it’s Science, History, Culture and yes engineering. So think about what you write before you write it. Instead of thinking that it is Liberal crap, turn it around. Countries are made from the history that set the precedence for a country to be what it is, through the people that helped build it and live in it. As far as priorities, this is where it started from the past.. We are it’s future. Without the excavation how are we supposed to know. Go talk to an architect and ask him/her if excavating is important. I’m sure that they will enlighten you.
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