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Buried treasure: Charleston’s underground and underwater artifact gems

August 21, 2018 | ARCS News

From Charleston Scene (https://www.postandcourier.com/charleston_scene/buried-treasure-charleston-s-underground-and-underwater-artifact-gems/article_2bf1ceca-9fd8-11e8-b3f4-0396e0b6af56.html)

Sure, the buried pirate treasure chests and left-behind Civil War-era mementos have mostly been scooped up in Charleston by archaeologists or private collectors and privy diggers (outhouse vault plunderers — yes, that’s a thing) who have swept through Lowcountry properties in search of anything of value.

But cannonballs still wash up on the beach. Shark’s teeth still can be found in Lowcountry sands. And some unique archaeological finds on the Peninsula, at plantations and beyond still have not been discovered. Collectors still scan shores with metal detectors and dive into the ocean depths in the Charleston area to unearth more.

When Juliana Falk moved into the Simon Chancognie House at 48 Laurens St. a few years ago, she never expected to become an amateur archaeologist. But once she discovered bits of broken pottery and glassware on her lawn, it sparked an interest in the history of the home she had just purchased.

“It’s fun to learn the role your property has played in the historic role of Charleston,” says Falk, who has found animal bones, children’s toys, old toothbrush heads, pottery and other unique artifacts in her backyard.

Falk started an Instagram account, aptly titled @theaccidentalpreservationist, to share her multitude of finds with friends and others.

“Digging deeper, literally and figuratively, has been so satisfying,” Falk says. “It’s led to another whole life for me.”

Local archaeological resources

Falk, who has since joined the Charleston Museum Board of Trustees, has become enraptured with the history of her home, particularly the French consul (for which it was named) who built the structure in 1810. She hopes the more she discovers, the better she will understand his daily life and the circumstances of his era.

“If only the walls could talk,” she muses. “But they do talk, in a way.”

Falk contacted the Charleston Museum before moving the artifacts she found, which is recommended by state archaeologists.

“We don’t condone picking up an artifact,” says Charleston Museum curator of historical archaeology Martha Zierden. “The most important thing in finding anything is context: marking the soil layers you find it in and recording that carefully.”

It’s best to get in touch with an expert at the Charleston Museum, Historic Charleston Foundation or South Carolina Historic Society right away. These organizations might send someone out to the area to assist or instruct property owners on how to properly record the items they find to keep that important context intact.

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