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Bronze Member
UNDER GROUND ~~ Hotel site dig yields treasure
By Angela Daughtry, News-Leader
Susan Haun, who is working on a doctorate in physical anthropology, is surrounded by artifacts found as contractors bulldozed a local yard. Numerous old bottles were found at the former site of the Albemarle Hotel after a salvage operation on Broome Street. Haun looks for artifacts as the contractor bulldozes a hole for an in-ground pool, right. A bottle labeled "J.L. Horsey, Druggist" of Fernandina.
Bricks, bottles, cattle bones, barrel straps, horseshoes, china and bed springs were just a few of the items found in a local yard while contractors removed dirt for an in-ground swimming pool.
But instead of being bulldozed over or tossed in the trash, those items have been carefully collected and separated by Susan Haun, a local archaeological representative.
This is because Suanne Thamm, chair of the city's Historic District Council, made sure any artifacts found at the site would be set aside. When the proposal to build the pool went before the council in October, Thamm made a motion that an archaeological representative be present. "I just wanted to make sure this was an opportunity that wouldn't pass us by," she said later.
According to the Amelia Island Museum of History, the property at Broome Street is the former site of the Albemarle Hotel. Howard and Lisa Smith are owners of the salvage site as well as the historic house located next to it. The site was once one of three lots the hotel occupied from the 19th century until its demolition in the 1960s, according to Lisa Haviland, education coordinator at the museum.
Haun, a local resident who is working on her doctorate in physical anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania, was chosen by the Smiths to be present at the site along with pool contractors Surfside Pools. Haun also holds a master's degree in archaeology from the University of Memphis. Most of her work, she said, is done in Peru, where she works exclusively with mummies and ancient burials.
Haun stressed that what she was doing was not an actual archaeological dig, but rather a salvage operation. In a real archaeological excavation, the sod would be stripped and test pits dug, she said, so each artifact could be analyzed separately.
"This is more like treasure hunting," she said. She noted, however, "We're able to retrieve some information that would have been totally lost."
"The thing lacking here is that you don't know the time frame (for each object.)," she said. "It's just scooped up (by bulldozer) and dumped in a different place." She noted that because her specialty is human bones, household items would have to be analyzed by someone specializing in public archaeology.
Haun said it was fortunate the pool was being dug at the site of a garbage dump used by the hotel. It would be possible to determine what people were eating back then by numerous animal bones, mostly turkey and beef, that were found around the site. She also found numerous oyster shells. "Most information we get on any society is in their trash heaps," she said.
Thamm, who was also present at the salvage, says the HDC is working on an archaeological ordinance similar to St. Augustine's that will require a professional excavation before any digging can occur on city land. She says the council has studied similar ordinances in four different cities, and will turn in its comments to City Planner Kevin Sullivan in January.
Thamm noted that because the Albemarle was once located at the site, it was anticipated the area would be rich in artifacts. "At the HDC level we're very grateful to the Smiths," she said. The owners jumped at the chance to find out more about the history of the property "even though they had no obligation to do this," she said.
Haun said it was up to the Smiths to decide what to do with the dozens of artifacts found below the yard.
Property manager Bill Conger, who was also present, said Surfside Pools had been "extremely helpful" during the salvage operation, and conscientious of the efforts to find historic objects. He said the working crew even found artifacts as it was bulldozing and brought them to Haun's attention.
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By Angela Daughtry, News-Leader
Susan Haun, who is working on a doctorate in physical anthropology, is surrounded by artifacts found as contractors bulldozed a local yard. Numerous old bottles were found at the former site of the Albemarle Hotel after a salvage operation on Broome Street. Haun looks for artifacts as the contractor bulldozes a hole for an in-ground pool, right. A bottle labeled "J.L. Horsey, Druggist" of Fernandina.
Bricks, bottles, cattle bones, barrel straps, horseshoes, china and bed springs were just a few of the items found in a local yard while contractors removed dirt for an in-ground swimming pool.
But instead of being bulldozed over or tossed in the trash, those items have been carefully collected and separated by Susan Haun, a local archaeological representative.
This is because Suanne Thamm, chair of the city's Historic District Council, made sure any artifacts found at the site would be set aside. When the proposal to build the pool went before the council in October, Thamm made a motion that an archaeological representative be present. "I just wanted to make sure this was an opportunity that wouldn't pass us by," she said later.
According to the Amelia Island Museum of History, the property at Broome Street is the former site of the Albemarle Hotel. Howard and Lisa Smith are owners of the salvage site as well as the historic house located next to it. The site was once one of three lots the hotel occupied from the 19th century until its demolition in the 1960s, according to Lisa Haviland, education coordinator at the museum.
Haun, a local resident who is working on her doctorate in physical anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania, was chosen by the Smiths to be present at the site along with pool contractors Surfside Pools. Haun also holds a master's degree in archaeology from the University of Memphis. Most of her work, she said, is done in Peru, where she works exclusively with mummies and ancient burials.
Haun stressed that what she was doing was not an actual archaeological dig, but rather a salvage operation. In a real archaeological excavation, the sod would be stripped and test pits dug, she said, so each artifact could be analyzed separately.
"This is more like treasure hunting," she said. She noted, however, "We're able to retrieve some information that would have been totally lost."
"The thing lacking here is that you don't know the time frame (for each object.)," she said. "It's just scooped up (by bulldozer) and dumped in a different place." She noted that because her specialty is human bones, household items would have to be analyzed by someone specializing in public archaeology.
Haun said it was fortunate the pool was being dug at the site of a garbage dump used by the hotel. It would be possible to determine what people were eating back then by numerous animal bones, mostly turkey and beef, that were found around the site. She also found numerous oyster shells. "Most information we get on any society is in their trash heaps," she said.
Thamm, who was also present at the salvage, says the HDC is working on an archaeological ordinance similar to St. Augustine's that will require a professional excavation before any digging can occur on city land. She says the council has studied similar ordinances in four different cities, and will turn in its comments to City Planner Kevin Sullivan in January.
Thamm noted that because the Albemarle was once located at the site, it was anticipated the area would be rich in artifacts. "At the HDC level we're very grateful to the Smiths," she said. The owners jumped at the chance to find out more about the history of the property "even though they had no obligation to do this," she said.
Haun said it was up to the Smiths to decide what to do with the dozens of artifacts found below the yard.
Property manager Bill Conger, who was also present, said Surfside Pools had been "extremely helpful" during the salvage operation, and conscientious of the efforts to find historic objects. He said the working crew even found artifacts as it was bulldozing and brought them to Haun's attention.
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