Historic slave barracks unearthed in Maryland

VIDEO - While looking for signs of French Commander Jean-Baptiste Rochambeau's 1781 encampment, archaeologists instead uncovered perhaps something even more valuable -- slave quarters...

Just feet away from the onetime plantation home of Francis Scott Key’s grandmother in Millersville, Maryland, field techs are hard at work on a significant archaeological find.

While looking for signs of French Commander Jean-Baptiste Rochambeau’s 1781 encampment, archaeologists instead uncovered perhaps something even more valuable — slave quarters.

“To be able to have those surfaces survive in an archaeological context is astounding,” said SHA chief archaeologist Julie Schablitsky. “You can see that the bricks here are turned on their end, and there are some wear marks in here. This is the exact surface where they worked and walked 150-250 years ago.”

The 34-foot by 34-foot slave barracks are rare and speak to the wealth of the property owners in the late 1700s and 1800s, Schablitsky said. The site was found beneath a 20th century house on the 175-acre property currently owned by a private school called the Rockbridge Academy.

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