Digging Deep: UA Students Unearth Campus History

At the southeastern corner of the Gorgas House lawn, chain link fencing surrounds a white canopy tent. In the stuffy shade underneath, several students sit in a two-square-meter plot of reddish dirt a few inches lower than the surrounding grass. The students wield trowels, spades and brushes, carefully loosening the packed soil and transferring artifacts to brown paper bags.

Welcome to The University of Alabama's archaeological field school.

This fall, students in the anthropology department have a rare opportunity to dig deep into hands-on learning as they excavate a small corner of campus.

During the installation of a new lamp post at the intersection, workers uncovered large chunks of pale gray stone. The campus development department contacted Dr. Matthew Gage, director of UA's Office of Archaeological Research. He recognized the stone as part of a building foundation from the original campus, which was largely burned in 1865.

Gage reached out to Dr. Elliot Blair, an associate professor of anthropology who had been working on some of the older collections from the old dormitories excavated years ago. The two agreed that the site would make a great opportunity for the first on-campus archaeological field school since 1990.

Under Blair's direction, students are clearing away dirt layer by layer to uncover a bit of UA history.

From left, Dr. Matthew Gage, Dr. Elliot Blair, Lizzette Soto

A Brief History of Campus Archaeology

Several other sites around campus have been excavated beginning in the 1970s, but only a few were also a classroom.

Previous excavations have turned up a patchwork of fragments that hint at past students' lives: pistols, tobacco pipes, singed book pages and window weights.

"When the University began rebuilding after the Civil War, they pushed everything into the foundation," Gage said. "Everything is still down there. Pushed in and broken, but it's still there."

Occasionally something more unusual turns up, like a two-foot statue of the Buddha found in the Madison Hall excavation. Researchers believe it belonged to an Asian studies professor who lived in the building.

Based on the GIS map of the original campus created by artist Dean Mosher and Dr. Craig T. Sheldon, Gage and Blair believe that the foundation students are uncovering belonged to the north wall of Washington Hall, a student dormitory.

Field School is a Career Boost

In archaeology and anthropology, field school is a necessary credential.

"There is a lot of work available in cultural resource management right now," said Blair. "All you need is a BA in anthropology and to have attended an archaeological field school, and you'll get hired right out of school."

Most students have to complete their field school training, sometimes overseas, during the summer and at additional expense.

"This is a unique experience," said Blair. "Most students don't get the opportunity to dig right where they're learning."

The ability to get a field school credential at home and as part of the regular curriculum opens up opportunities for students who might not be able to afford an international trip. And the students gain more than a line item on their resume from the experience.

"They're not just learning how to do this - they're generating real knowledge. They are filling in gaps in our story for the University, and that helps us talk about the University's past. It's fantastic for the students and fantastic for our community."

Matthew Gage

"They're not just learning how to do this - they're generating real knowledge," Gage said. "They are filling in gaps in our story for the University, and that helps us talk about the University's past. It's fantastic for the students and fantastic for our community."

Any finds will join the other artifacts from previous excavations. In addition, the students all keep field journals with their observations. Those journals will join the curation facility at Moundville as a permanent part of the University's historical record.

Perception vs. Reality

One of the most important things students learn at a field school is not on the syllabus, according to Lizzette Soto, a graduate student who serves as the class's teaching assistant.

"This is the best way to figure out if it's what you want to do for your career," she said.

Students at field school learn fast how the TV version of archaeology compares to the gritty reality. There are always a few students unprepared for the dirt, the heat and the physical labor involved.

"Everyone is being cautious now with little tap-tap-taps," Soto said. "Eventually they'll get comfortable and the dirt will be flying." She gives the students her best tips, but in the end everyone has to figure out how to handle their own trowel.

"In my first field school, I was given a toothpick," she said. "And I was thrilled just to have a tool. You really have to love what you're doing."

This sifter can help students spot small artifacts Though the heat is intense, students cover up to keep the dust at bay. Field school students must supply their own gloves and trowels. The first task at the archaeological field school was to lay out the 2-meter plot within the pink string.

Open for Questions

"We're inviting the public to stop by on game days and see what we're doing," Blair said.

Interacting with stakeholders is part of the job, he said. To give students that experience, the 2025 archaeology field school will have a student and faculty presence at the dig site during every home football game this fall.

A collection of artifacts from past excavations will be on display, including the Madison Hall Buddha, and students will be there to answer questions.