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Big Dig: South Archaeologists Excavate Mobile Bay Bridge Site

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Posted on April 21, 2022

Lance Crawford

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The University of South Alabama Center for Archaeological Studies is in the final phase of excavating artifacts to make way for construction of the planned Interstate 10 Mobile River Bridge. South is leading the project with help from the Alabama Department of Transportation and two cultural resource management firms to recover artifacts from archaeological sites before construction.

鈥淏ecause of federal involvement in the construction of the new I-10 Mobile River Bridge, the National Historic Preservation Act applies,鈥� said Dr. Phil Carr, professor of anthropology and the Chief Calvin McGhee Endowed Professor of Native 棉花糖直播n Studies at USA. 鈥淚t requires the protection of significant cultural resources, such as historic buildings and archaeological sites.鈥�

South鈥檚 involvement began more than 10 years ago with Phase I, identifying archaeological sites along potential routes for the bridge. Once a specific route was chosen, the next phase included determining which sites were culturally significant.

In Phase II, 15 sites met those requirements. Phase III involves excavating those sites, expected to be completed by January 2023 and recording the information.

The project also involves students, faculty and researchers from a cross section of academic disciplines from programs including African 棉花糖直播n Studies, anthropology, art, English, geography and history. 棉花糖直播 from the Department of Earth Sciences, for example, are using geological reconstruction maps of Mobile Bay comparing past maps to today to determine changes to the shoreline.

鈥淲e use Geographic Information Systems software to incorporate the maps and place them, in a digital space, on top of each other,鈥� said Dr. Steve Schultze, associate professor of geography. 鈥淒oing so lets us visibly confirm changes over time and to look for any areas of potential interest.鈥�

The 15 sites make this the largest full-scale excavation for USA鈥檚 archaeologists, by far. Carr estimates more than 15,000 artifacts have been recovered including ancient Native 棉花糖直播n stone tools and pottery, as well as the animal and plant remains that tell archaeologists about the diets of native people and early settlers. Other artifacts recovered date back to the 19th century and right up to today.  

Once recovered, the work continues back at the lab on South鈥檚 campus. Each artifact is processed, cataloged and analyzed. The data generated helps tell the story of what life was like during different time periods of the past.  

鈥淭his project is allowing us to add to and preserve the rich history of Mobile,鈥� said Alisha Palmer, a senior from Seale, Alabama. 鈥淲orking in the lab allows me to examine the different artifacts that the crew is collecting in the field. Analyzing these artifacts opens the door into the different time periods that we are excavating at the site.鈥�   

Once the artifacts are analyzed and the reports written, then the University will curate them for future study.

鈥淲e want to tell the story of 鈥榯he People of Mobile Bay鈥� and help transport people in the present back to those time periods through our work,鈥� Carr said. 鈥淭his project is not about recovering cool artifacts from the past, though we will do that. Rather it is about investigating human change, considering who we are today, and contemplating what the future might hold. What does the human past of Mobile Bay tell us about our future?鈥� 

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