NEWSLETTER

Hello everyone,

First of all, I would like to thank all members who participated in the very

successful Hampton Plantation volunteer dig earlier this month! A recap of the dig

can be found on page two. The SC State Park Service is very appreciative of the

chapter’s continuous help with this excavation and I know that all of our members

are pleased to have chance to gain valuable field experience. We look forward to

continuing this partnership and returning to Hampton for another volunteer dig later

this year.

As usual the chapter will go on hiatus for the summer, with regular events

resuming in September. While I know everyone will be busy with vacations and field

work, I would like you to use this summer break to think about what the Charleston

Chapter of the ASSC can do to improve.

Over the past year we have seen a decline in our overall chapter membership and

event attendance. This is unsettling to the Chapter’s executive board and we are

asking for your input. What types of events would you like to attend? Site field

trips? Lectures? Artifact workshops? Are there any features you would like to see in

future newsletters? Or do you have anything you would like to contribute to our

newsletter? All suggestions are welcome and can be sent to

assccharelston.newsletter@gmail.com.

Since reviving the Chapter in 2009 our goal has been to host more fun and hands-

on activities that members would be excited about attending. However, we need

your help continue to do that. This is YOUR society and it is important to let us

know what the Charleston Chapter can do for you! Remember without your active

membership, there is no Chapter.

Best,

Rebecca Shepherd

From the president...

ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF SOUTH CAROLINA

SPRING 2012

CHARLESTON CHAPTER

Upcoming

Events:

5/26/12-5/27/12 Middleton Place

Living History Days

6/15/12

Slave Dwellings Presentation at the Heyward-Washington

House

8/24/12-8/26/12 Inaugural

Southeastern Conference on Historic Sites Archaeology

For more

details

see page

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Page 2 SPRING 2012

This May the Charleston Chapter once

again partnered with SC State Parks

for a weekend of excavation at

Hampton Plantation. Five professional

archaeologists and 18 volunteers

gathered to continue to investigate

the remains of a possible slave house.

While no new architectural

features were uncovered,

we gained a lot of valuable

information about the resi-

dents of this structure.

UP

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Page 3 SPRING 2012

Middleton Place Living History Days

Reenactors bring history to life through military and craft demonstrations. Hear the fife

and drums and smell the gun powder at the camp of General Nathanael Greene's Conti-

nental Army of the South. Learn about the culture and traditions of a bygone era through

labor and leisure activities of those who called Middleton Place home.

When: May 26 and 27, 2012, all day

Admission: $25 adult, $15 student, $10 child

Slave Dwellings Presentation at the Heyward-

Washington House

The Charleston Museum welcomes Joe McGill to the Heyward-Washington House for a

presentation about the Slave Dwellings Project. Mr. McGill has stayed in former slave

dwellings all over the United States in an effort to bring awareness to the preservation of

these historic structures. Following the evening's program, he will spend the night in the

Heyward kitchen building, a 1740s brick structure that served as home to slaves well into

the 19th century. The Heyward-Washington House, kitchen building and gardens will be

open for optional tours between 6:00 and 7:00 p.m. the evening of the event.

When: June 15, 2012, house tours 6:00-7:00pm, presentation at 7:00pm

Where: Heyward-Washington House, 87 Church Street

Admission: House Tours - FREE for Museum members and FREE with admission ($10/

adults, $5/children, under 3 free). Slave Dwellings Presentation - FREE

Inaugural Southeastern Conference on Historic Sites

Archaeology (SECHSA)

South Carolina archaeologists are organizing a new archaeology conference that will fo-

cus solely on historic archaeology in the Southeastern United States. Since other confer-

ences have grown too large and are often held far away, a more intimate, regional confer-

ence is now needed.

The inaugural conference will be held in Charleston, with the hope that as the conference

grows it will move from state to state in the coming years. The organizers hope to make

this conference similar to Stan South's Conference on Historic Sites Archaeology, which

he founded in the 1960s. This is not intended to be a conference in memory of Stan

South's many great accomplishments, but in honor of him.

The conference will feature two days of paper and poster sessions, as well as pre– and

post-conference historic site tours of the Charelston Museum/Aiken-Rhett House, The

Walled City of Charleston, and Drayton Hall.

When: August 24-26, 2012

Where: Founders Hall, Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site

Admission: $25, Student: $15, Senior (65+): $15