BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA—Archaeologist Cheryl Dawley of Red Mountain Park, and curator Anne Forschler-Tarrasch and conservator Margaret Burnham of the Birmingham Museum of Art, are working together to investigate a mining community that was occupied from about 1880 to 1927. Documents have helped Dawley locate the miners’ homes. “They destroyed many of the buildings for tax purposed. A lot of it has been scattered, but we can still find different areas where there’s a good footprint and we can dig down and see what belonged to a particular building,” she said. The have also found English pottery, a piece of German porcelain, and a doll part. The settlement may even have housed African-Americans one generation removed from slavery. “It was very transient,” Dawley added.
Traces of a Mining Town Found in Alabama
News November 19, 2013
Recommended Articles
Features November/December 2024
Let the Games Begin
How gladiators in ancient Anatolia lived to entertain the masses
Features November/December 2024
The Many Faces of the Kingdom of Shu
Thousands of fantastical bronzes are beginning to reveal the secrets of a legendary Chinese dynasty
Digs & Discoveries November/December 2024
Egyptian Crocodile Hunt
Digs & Discoveries November/December 2024
Monuments to Youth
-
Features September/October 2013
Tomb of the Vulture Lord
A king’s burial reveals a pivotal moment in Maya history
(© Kenneth Garrett) -
Letter from Norway September/October 2013
The Big Melt
The race to find, and save, ancient artifacts emerging from glaciers and ice patches in a warming world
Courtesy Oppland County Council, Photo: Johan Wildhagen/Palookaville -
Artifacts September/October 2013
Roman Writing Tablet
A tablet bearing a birthday party invite includes the earliest Latin script penned by a woman
(© The Trustees of the British Museum/Art Resource, NY) -
Digs & Discoveries September/October 2013
No Changeups on the Savannah
(Private Collection/J.T. Vintage/The Bridgeman Art Library, Werner Forman/Art Resource, NY, Pat Benic/Copyright Bettmann/Corbis/AP Images)