Archaeologists unearth pieces of UNC history

A recent campus excavation unearthed some interesting findings — pottery fragments almost 2,000 years old and beer bottles dating to the 1800s.

The artifacts were found at the site of the James Love house, named after the former UNC professor and located on East Franklin Street. Before the house existed, the site was home to University presidents Joseph Caldwell and David Swain.

“It’s pretty interesting. We found a lot of artifacts relating to our University history,” said Paul Kapp, UNC’s campus historic preservation manager.

“We also found artifacts dating to prehistory, and that was exciting as well,” he said. “And that’s good not just for the University or the state but for the broader audience as a whole.”

He said this was one of the first major excavation projects around campus in a long while.

“I truly was surprised by the artifacts found.”

Before the excavation group found the pottery and spearheads, archeologists were left to conclude that Native Americans occupied this area only occasionally because of the lack of archeological evidence.

“We now think there may very well have been Native Americans living in this area, but the pottery just hasn’t survived,” said Steve Davis, associate director of Research Laboratories of Archaeology at UNC and head of the project.

The excavation, which cost between $30,000 and $40,000, was funded and supported by the Center for the Study of the American South, now located in the Love house.

The center is expanding, and the excavation was a preliminary procedure that had to be done, Davis said.

“The findings that have made the news were actually not the object of our research there,” said Brett Riggs, a UNC archeologist who also worked on the dig.

“At the request of Paul Kapp, we undertook investigation in the back yard, just to make sure nothing of importance was going to be destroyed, and we found more.”

Davis said the pottery was an important find that prompted a scientific revelation.

“Pottery fragments weren’t typically found together with these spear points,” he said.

It is unusual to find preserved pottery, Davis said, because it is fragile.

“The ceramics that we found are so (brittle) — these things would have completely disappeared in a plowable field, and many have been destroyed,” Riggs said.

Excavators also found artifacts related to the University’s recent history.

“We found fragments of a reconstructed punch bowl, wine bottles, beer bottles, among some other objects,” Riggs said, adding that the artifacts were associated with entertainment at the president’s house.

The group also found a few eye-catching objects in a well in the house’s back yard — including a spittoon of a “Professor Humes.”

The presidential house burned in 1886, Riggs said, and workers must have dumped the spittoon then.

“There wasn’t exactly … a eureka moment,” Riggs said about the overall experience of the dig.

“It was an added bonus that we were able to identify these early materials. It was evident of there being an encampment there.”

Ultimately, he said, learning and understanding the significance of the artifacts is important.

Davis echoed that sentiment, saying the facts behind the discovery are the most important part of the find.

“It’s a process of understanding about past people rather than finding any particular artifact.”

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