Slave artifacts unveil southern colonial life

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One of the largest collections of slavery-era pottery is set to go on display in South Carolina.

More than 125,000 artifacts, the majority made by slaves, were recently unearthed at a construction site in Berkeley County.

Archaeologists from Brockington Associates found more the artifacts from slave cabins on what used to be Dean Hall Plantation.

The site is now home to a new DuPont Kevlar Plant.

Program manager Ralph Bailey says they made the historic find during the process to build the plant on the property back in 2007.

“It’s probably the best collection of African made pottery that we have in America. From that stand-point, it’s pretty spectacular. We found the remains of 19 buildings approximately, and about 125-thousand artifacts. The types of artifacts that we found were unusual and exceptional,” Bailey said.

Senior project manager Carol Poplin says the pieces date back to a 200-year period between the 1700s 1900s.

“One of the most spectacular finds at Dean Hall was the collection of enslaved African made pottery that archaeologists call colonoware. We found around 59-thousand pieces of colonoware at the site,” she explained.

Poplin says the decorations, all done with a nail, make the pieces extra special.

There are bowls as well.

Tests run on some of the pieces found evidence of cooked meat and vegetables in the bowls and jars, which gives a further glimpse of slave life hundreds of years ago.

It’s a historic collection that will soon speak to generations.

“Slave people are not present in historical documents. They didn’t own property generally, they didn’t leave wills, they didn’t write journals. Through these artifacts, we could hear their voice and their perspective on their world,” Poplin says. “I look at this colonoware as a way that people can speak to us from the past.”

The slave artifacts will be a part of a new exhibit at Cypress Gardens in Moncks Corner.

Those same gardens used to be a part of Dean Hall Plantation.

The ribbon cutting is set for June 7th.