I have written several times about my first archeological dig.  It’s hard to believe that my first visit to Copperhead Bluff in May of 2022 was over a year ago.  Thanks to the mentorship of Professor Chris Judge, I have learned a great deal around the schematics and in’s and out’s of an archeological dig. Also, I understand and respect ALL the work that is required after the dig to wash, weigh and count artifacts.  In large part due to my spending time in archeology labs at USC Lancaster, I was invited back to a “rematch” at Copperhead Bluff above the banks of the Great Pee Dee river near Florence, South Carolina.

The invitation to return to Copperheard Bluff, was a huge honor given the restrictions on volunteers owing to the popularity of the dig with professors, academics, some Native American representatives and employees from the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. 

We embarked on our journey on Monday, May 15th, 2023.    I really wish I could have volunteered more than once instead of a partial day, but sadly, my high school was still in session and one day leading up to exam week was all I could afford to miss.  Given that, I had to be content with 3 hours spent sifting dirt into screens with my group of “my dig buddies.”  It was special to show up and see folks I first met at the very same dig one year prior.  We greeted each other like old friends and spent the next three hours chatting and pushing dirt through a metal screen with our gloved hands.  Every once in a while, we uncovered various pottery sherds and dropped them in to paper bags well labeled with the (longitude/latitude) exact coordinates of their prior homes in the red clay dirt.  

I am excited to learn two thing from the dig.   First, what more did they uncover at Copperhead Bluff in the days and weeks after we attended; did they find any features in the clay (corner posts from Native American’s homes?   Second, how many sherds and other artifacts will we process at lab beginning mid-late August 2023 from this dig alone.

It was especially nice to pull into that remote spot (not totally lost) and know exactly where we are headed.  It was also a nice not to spend thirty minutes of our day lost and looking for the dig site.

I can only hope that I will garner future invites.  I love this experience specifically.   It allows me to decompress, unplug and spend a little time in the woods and glancing in the historical past of the people who settled and made their lives on this land.