2012 digging on hatteras

7/31/2019 2012 Digging on Hatteras

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The 2012 Dig

For those of you who follow along, the Lost Colony Research Group has sponsored

archaeological digs now on Hatteras Island in 2009, 2010, 2011 and now, 2012. This

years dig was somewhat different since we feel we have located the original site of the

colonists on Hatteras Island in previous years. Additionally, we welcomed to our projectthis year Dr. Charles Ewen at ECU as well as two additional professional archaeologists.

We have been very blessed. Our new project archaeologist is Jennifer Gabriel.

As you also know, due to modern day pirates called treasure hunters, we have to keep the

sites where we dig a well-guarded secret. Besides, the last thing a property owner wants

to find is their yard looking like swiss cheese when they return home one day, meaningthat someone with a metal detector has trespassed and not only stolen historically

important items, but ruined the area for subsequent archaeology. So while I cant tell you

exactly where we were, suffice it to say that we are still on Hatteras Island and we are

still pursing the colonists.

We actually dug in several location this year as our dig time in the field was expanded to

two weeks. I will post two or three different blogs that shows some of our differentactivities and the group as well. Weve never had a better group, or a better time. Were

it not for the extreme heat, the massive number of mosquitos and ticks, it was almost like

a vacation.

Refrains from the nursery rhyme, The Old Gray Mare, She Aint What She Used to Be

played through my head every morning as I got my old, achy self out of bed to go and dig

some more.

However, this dig was blessed from the beginning. Dawn found a lucky penny and we

saw a beautiful double rainbow from the deck of the house that we rented on the first

morning. Did I mention that there were 37 steps up and down. If not, I probably willmention that several times Houses on Hatteras are built on stilts so that the flooding

doesnt damage the contents. However, that means that the first floor is really the second

floor, and so on.


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Rental properties are often ridden hard and put up wet, so to speak, and this one was nodifferent. The electricity didnt work correctly, the AC worked only on the second floor

and not on the third which is where we cooked (and where I slept) so we simply left the

windows open. However, the windows had no screens, so suffice it to say that we had

visitors in the night. I finally simply covered up entirely, regardless of the heat, as aform of protection from the mosquitos and whatever else I might wake up to discover

crawling through my hair, like the creature below.

Anne, who camped in a tent under the house, actually had the best accommodations of

all.until the storm..but that story is for another day.


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Here is a picture of part of our crew, flanking the woods we would be digging throughshortly. Baylus, on the left, our map-maker and one of our historians, Dawn, founder of

the Hatteras Island Genealogical Society, Andy Powell, our historian from England, Dr.

Charles Ewen, head of the Anthropological Lab at ECU and our new project

archaeologist, Jennifer Gabriel.

A few minutes later, after instructions were given, the clearing began. We quicklydecided that indeed, the real impediment to the colonists survival was not hunger, not atall, but instead, mosquitos, brown recluse spiders, ticks and the diseases they carry,

alligators and other critters, combined with dehydration and poison ivy. If you add in the

clothes they were wearing, we figured that they either sweat to death in short order, or

they stripped plumb naked and adopted the Indian way of life very nearly immediately.The Native people knew how to survive in this hot, humid environment. Somehow the

word hot just doesnt convey the gravity of the situation. You began to sweat walking

down the stairs in the morning. Ice melted in the cooler, entirely, in half a day, and thatcooler was in the shade. We bought bandanas as sweat bands so we could see. You had

to peel your clothes off at the end of the day. You had to reapply insecticide constantly

because you sweated and wiped it off continuously. To say this was not fun is theunderstatement of the year.

As an example, here is a transit that has been cleared. Notice the undergrowth beside he

cleared area. Thats what we started with. You could not even begin to walk through it.


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Let the clearing begin!! Dawn is wearing our group mascot, our pirate bandana.


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The part of Hatteras Island that is not forested or developed is primarily swamp or beach.Keep in mind that the water table has risen approximately 3 feet since the time the

colonists lived there. So some of the area now swamp may have been drier then.

One of the residents in the area allowed us to walk out on theirpier.

Im not sure whata quarter mile long walkway built through swamp that eventually ends at the water is

called. It surely is beautiful though. The local residents could not have been nicer or

more accommodating.


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One extremely important part of our day was tick check. Are you modest? Then checkit at the door because, truthfully, you cant see every part of your body. And lets just say

that ticks are very good at being evaded by peoples prying eyes. Yes indeed, we had

tick removal every evening. We began checking several times through the day when

we took breaks. In the tick check picture that follows, I want you to notice Andysankles. Andy is the only one of us who has actually experienced Lyme disease. It went

undiagnosed for 5 years or so and nearly killed him. He is extremely tick conscious andhe taped his pants to his boots with duct tape. Now even the most determined tick cannot get through duct tape. However, one did get through the weave in my socks, which

were pulled up over the bottom of my pants, and down my boot. Some ticks are so tiny

you almost cant see them, and those are the dangerous ones, the deer ticks that carry

Lyme disease.


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At the beginning and end of each day, Cousin George cooked for us. That man has thestamina and patience of a saint. He also made us lunch. Often we needed rest as much as

food at lunchtime. Some days he delivered to the site and others we went back to the

house, and the AC in the house, such as it was, for an hour or so.

Andy brought us some English treats. One was called Marmite and it was, well,

interesting. Its either a love it or hate it kind of thing with a very unique, strong, savory,salty, taste. In fact, the company slogan is Love it or hate it. It is made from yeastextracts which are the byproducts of beer brewing. Well, now we know why Baylus

loved it You can read more about Marmite here. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marmite

It was fun to experience something new culturally. Personally, I liked the strawberry andthe chocolate covered ginger biscuits that Andy brought better. In the US, we would call

them cookies, but by whatever name, they were yummy.

However, Anne Poole got even for the Marmite by introducing Andy to fatback and

collard greens. Andy of course was a good sport, but hes not convinced just yet about

the collards. However, Anne neglected one critical component of collards and that is thepepper vinegar. How can one eat collards without pepper vinegar? For those who dontknow, its a southern thing where you take hot, and I do mean those tiny very hot

peppers, put them in an old salad dressing bottle, cover with vinegar, let them set, and

then enjoy. The vinegar preserves the peppers, the peppers flavor the vinegar and youcan put it on many things, including but not limited to collards. I also like it on vinegar

coleslaw. You can tell that Andy is unconvinced, below.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marmitehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marmitehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marmite


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The ocean was just a block away and we were fortunate that the house we rentedprovided a nice view through an area that was undeveloped. The sand and the ocean are

beautiful, except when having a storm, but that is a story for another blog, so stay tuned.

We were extremely lucky because we were afforded a stunning view of the sunset everynight while we were there. By the time the sun set, we had rested for awhile, some took a

nap after the days digging, had a wonderful chefs choice dinner and were relaxing inthe Adirondack chairs on the deck. Yes, that third floor deck that was 37 steps up.Seeing sights like this almost made those 37 steps worthwhile.


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2012 digging on hatteras

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