Recent Archaeological Finds

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The Ridge Project’s most recently opened excavation unit has produced artifacts above the plow line that further confirm an archaeologist’s conclusion drawn in 2013 that the site was “used over many centuries as a camp by a variety of [transient] people” and possibly was a “colonial dwelling site.” The newest unit was opened during the summer of 2023 by Hamilton Bryant, Project Archaeologist and technicians with Wiregrass Archaeology Consultants, LLC.  

Marsha Holley, who in October was the Educational Outreach Coordinator at Moundville Archaeological Park in Moundville, Alabama led the latest excavation at the site on October 25, 2024. Ms. Holley was joined by young adult campers and the camping leaders who were participating in the 2024 Old Federal Road Storytelling Festival Camping Expedition. Also present from Moundville were Erinn Townsend, Educational Outreach Assistant, and Bill Skinner, experienced flintknapper, and an enthusiastic team of AmeriCorps volunteers who assisted with setting up the canopies, equipment, and displays. 

The artifacts found on October 25 were uncovered above the 10 cm mark. They are consistent with artifacts found during previous excavations and shovel testing in that they span the pre-historic and historic periods and indicate that people from far away passed through the area where the Ridge Project’s excavation site is located. For example, dig participants excavated flakes of Fort Payne chert which is native to the Tennessee River Valley. Flakes are the small chips of stone that fall from a larger piece as the stoneworker from the past repeatedly scraped the larger piece of stone to work it into a utility item such as a spear head or an axe head. 

At the close of the dig, Ms. Holley explained to participants how Fort Payne chert likely made its way to Warrior Stand. She stated, “The story seems to be that people were bringing materials here and they were making things here out of those materials because the flakes mean they were not bringing the finished product. They were bringing them [materials] here to make them [finished products]. So what were they doing with them [finished products]? We don’t know. The story is yet to be told.” Ms. Holley explained that more of the story will unfold as other excavations occur. In the meantime, she took the artifacts uncovered on October 25 to the lab for further analysis.