|
Mikey Oglesby
Amateur
Archeologist |
|
Mikey Oglesby, Allendale,
SC
Michael is
an avid amateur archaeologist, and was on the Topper Tour with
us. He has had Dr. Goodyear look at several of
his
amateur "finds" before...some of which are on display
in the box which he is holding in the above picture.
We
appreciate the dedication of Dr. Goodyear and all the
professional archeologists, but we also like to tell of
all the fun that is encompassed in being an "amateur" archeologist, and one
who is dedicated
to finding artifacts as well, as there are many of us! For
closeups of some more of Mikey's artifacts, go to
Mikey's
Artifacts
Page
|
Birthplace of South
Carolina
(Click on
link) |
|
James at
Charlestowne Landing
Old Village Replica at
Charlestowne Landing..
we found that there are current
archeological digs going on there now.
A group of English settlers landed in 1670
and established what would become the birthplace of the
Carolinas colony, the plantation system of the American South, and one of the
continent’s first major port cities.
Click on link at top of
this box for
the official "dig-it" site.
There is also an
animal retreat at Charlestowne Landing, and this is a photo of
the Mt. Lion which resides there, taken by Marty. Kids will
love the animal "forest". As BIG KIDS, we loved it too,
lol!
|
Bamberg Historic
Society
|
|
Bamberg SC's own Nancy Foster, President
of the Bamberg Historic Society, receiving The Ambassador
Award from SC Governor Mark Sanford in 2007.
(
Click on link above for
more info) It will
take you
to the
website of
the
Bamberg Historic
Society. |
Local Historian Betty Jane
Miller
|
|
Historian Betty Jane
Miller
A page on
historical artifacts would not be complete without
the mention of local historian Betty Jane Barker
Miller. She is a retired history teacher and
historian and is responsible for many many many historical
markers in Barnwell and Bamberg Counties being put into
place.
For
more about Betty Jane,
please go to our
APPLE
AWARD page and read the article which appeared in
the
Advertizer-Herald Newspaper on Feb. 14, 2007,
written by Marty Clayton Banfield, as a tribute to Betty Jane
Miller..
We thank Ms. Miller for helping
to
Keep History
Alive!
|
|
How I First Became Interested In
Archeology |
|
Native
American Clay bowl piece found by Mikey
Oglesby
by Marty
Clayton Banfield
I first
became interested in archeology when I was told about an
old clay pit near my hometown of Ehrhardt, SC. and that
some artifacts had been found there, whale's teeth and
shark's teeth. Some of the local young people would
sneak into the clay pit area, (Where a
company actively dug for lime) over the weekends when the
bulldozer wasn't working. Some of these young
people told me about the clay pit.
My
kids were small, and so I would take them
down to the "clay pits" after it had just rained, and
we felt like kids on an easter egg hunt, except we were
hunting artifacts. My son or daughter would climb
up on one of the mounds and then one of us would
shout when we found a shark's tooth lying in
the clay mound. We almost always came
away with at least one shark's tooth (small ones)
but sometimes 5 or 6, but we had such fun discovering
them! We have had the archeology bug ever since
then!
The
fun part is how amazed my kids were to learn that
the area in which we now live, was under the ocean at one
time. This was an actual history lesson for them, and
more than just fun!
|
|
7 August 2005
Prehistoric artifacts unearthed in South
Carolina
Source: The State Paper
When Croatan Chief Ricky Bruner
had timber cleared for his property this year, arrowheads fell
from the roots. That’s when he knew he had discovered a piece
of history. Bruner discovered artifacts that belonged to a
different tribe that lived on the property as many as 10,000
years ago.
Bruner, also known to many
as Chief Running Wolf, had been clearing the land for
construction of an outdoor American Indian museum. Now, he
plans to house the artifacts being found on the property in
the museum.
A team of archaeologists
from North Carolina were excavating the 10-acre tract in
Orangeburg (South Carolina, USA). "The oldest stuff is around
8,000 to 10,000 years old," said Bobby Southerlin, president
and archaeologist at Archaeological Consultants of the
Carolinas Inc. Among the artifacts found were several
generations of arrowheads, bits of pottery and part of a
knife. "What we really hope to find is a fire pit or the
groundwork of a house," he said.
The
outdoor museum is expected to be completed in two to three
years. It will include a cultural center, a powwow arena and a
living village.
Source:The State (6
August
2005) | |
The Light of the
Lowcountry Magazine
"An Online Christian
Interactive Magazine "
BAMBERG, South
Carolina
803-824-9217 or
803-245-0446
email: marty@thelightofthelowcountry.com
THE TOPPER SITE
TOUR
We set out on a Saturday, and
met Mr. Jerry Morris over at the Barnwell Country Musem, in
Barnwell, SC. A group of local folks also met up at the
Museum. Mr. Morris explained to us all about the "Dig," what
was going on, what they had found so far (you can read all about it
at the actual website for the Allendale Expedition, whole link is to
your right in the blue box. ) We then set out in
our vehicles and drove to the Clariant Plant in Martin,
SC. The actual dig site is on the grounds of Clariant, and so
you have to sign in at the guard shack and then sign back out when
you leave.
We all then drove to the dig
site. We had to walk a little ways down into the woods, also,
but we fianlly got there. Here are some of the
photos:
Waiting at the Barnwell Museum,
while folks are showing up!
At the Clariant Guard Shack in
Martin, SC. Can you guess who this lady is?
Mike Oglesby (left: Clariant
employee) with sons Jordan and Mikey Oglesby
The trek down into the woods to the
digsite.
A trailer on site with some of the
archeological equipment being used.
A University of Colorado student working at the
site. There are many students doing graduate work on the
Topper Site, from many different Universities across the
US.
Another student down in the hole that
they have been digging in.
As you can see, there was quite a
crowd on this tour!
James Banfield (left: Light of the
Lowcountry Magazine) talking with Jerry Morris (beige hat) of the
Barnwell County Museum.
Notice the different levels in the
actual hole.
Down inside one of the "dig
holes"
That's Dr.
Goodyear (Archeologist) in the rubber boots, with a Dr. from Texas
in the black T Shirt and beige shorts. We all had
a great time and learned an awful lot!
OUR MISSION STATEMENT:
Everyday it is becoming more and
more evident that the evils of the world are being promoted by the
mass media, in radio, tv, satelllite, and in magazines, books, and
many other publications. The Bible predicted that this would
happen in
the last days before Jesus Christ returns to
earth.
Our Oline Christian magazine is proud to
be a part of GOD'S MEDIA ARMY,
who will help to spread the gospel of Jesus
Christ through the printed word. Our base of operations is in
the SC Lowcountry, Bamberg, SC, but we know that this magazine
will be a shining light, not just to the S.C. Lowcountry, but to all
of SC and far beyond. Through us the LIGHT of Jesus
Christ will be shed abroad in the hearts of all of our readers
across the US and in other countries. Let us never forget that
Jesus is the TRUE LIGHT of the world, so don't be afraid to let your
light shine!
John 8:12: "I am the
light of the world; he that followeth me...shall
have the light of life."
Matthew 5:16: "In
the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see
your good deeds and praise your Father in
heaven."
marty@thelightofthelowcountry.com
|
|
|
Thank you
for visiting our website! For some highlights of our Spring/Summer
issue, click on the articles below for more. We will be
updating our magazine each month, so be sure to check
back!. |
|
Seeing History Come
Alive |
|
Be sure to read James
Banfield's continuing series on "Seeing History Come
Alive" in our Articles Section. James's first article
was an exclusive interview with Randy Burbage, of the
Hunley Commission, and you can read the whole article over on
the Articles section. Click on the link below to go
to the
"Seeing
History Come Alive" page.
James & Marty are
both involved in what they call "The St. Bartholomew
Expedition"
which you can read more
about on
James's
Seeing History Come Alive
page.
To read
the article on
St. Bartholomew's Parish
Church
Expedition
go to the link
below:
ST.
Bartholomew
Parish
|
|
The "Topper
"Site |
|
Dr. Goodyear,
archeologist, (photo above) at the dig site. We
recently went on the tour of the Allendale, SC,
archeological dig, called the Topper Site. (May
2008)
Mikey & Jordan Oglesby
speaking with Dr. Goodyear about an artifact.
If you do
not know about this site, which gives tours almost every
weekend during the summer months, you can click on the link
below and go straight to their site.
Topper
Site
The
Barnwell Museum is currently sponsoring the tours of
the
archeological dig site. For more information on the
tours, you can contact Jerry Morris, of
the
Barnwell County
Museum.
(803)259-1916
Jerry
Morris
|
|
National TV
Comes to Allendale
(an excerpt from an
article by Linda Lyly, managing editor, of the Allendale Sun
newspaper, published in the June 12, 2008
issue. |
|
Crews from
two public television stations were in Allendale County last
week (June 2008) to travel back in time to the days of
the earliest humans. A crew from Oregon Public Broadcasting
spent three days filming an episode of the television series,
Time Team America at the Topper Site- an ancient quarry in
Martin, where Clovis people who came into North America from
Asia across the Bering Sea land bridge 13,000 years ago are
believed to have lived.
Also at the
site last week, a South Carolina Educational Television Crew
was filming "Finding Clovis," a program set to air in Sept.
2008, which is South Carolina Archeology
Month.
But
this isn't the first time the Topper Site has been in the
limelight, according to University of South Carolina
archeologist Dr. Al Goodyear. It has previously been
featured on the History Channel as well as on
CNN.
The actual
date for airing of the SCETV Program is Sept. 25,
2008.
|
|
Bluffton
Discovery |
|
Archaeologists working
at Heyward Point in Beaufort County, SC, have unearthed the
remnants of Altamaha Town, the principal settlement of the
Yamasee Indians of South Carolina. Eric Poplin, Vice
President of Brockington Cultural Resources Consulting, led
the team that has exposed the first houses associated with the
Yamasee in South Carolina, and continues to examine other
portions of this important Native American settlement. Pottery
fragments and the remains of fish, deer, and bear indicate the
Yamasees’ continued reliance on traditional technologies and
foodstuffs, while numerous beads, gunflints, musket balls, and
bottle glass demonstrate their intimate relationships with the
early Carolina colonists and the market economy of the British
Empire. The Yamasee were the primary Native allies of the
Carolina colony, providing Indian slaves for early
plantations, deer hides for the expanding skins trade, and
military assistance and protection from Spanish colonists and
less friendly Native American groups. Altamaha and nine other
towns were occupied by the Yamasee circa 1700-1715. In 1715,
war between the Yamasee and the Carolina colonists would
resulted in the Yamasee leaving Carolina forever, settling
first in Florida and eventually in Cuba. The ongoing
investigation of Altamaha Town provides an opportunity seldom
available to study Native American lifeways within an
extremely narrow timeframe and the interactions of these
Native Americans with the expanding British colony of
Carolina.
“We have been told that
this is one of the most extensive archeological digs ever
conducted in the state of South Carolina,” stated Skeet
Sherman, President of the organization now developing Heyward
Point. “This project has been a true attribute to Heyward
Point and the people with Brockington have taken great care to
preserve and study what the Native American settlers left
behind on this land.”
Construction of the
amenities and Phase Two homesites will commence this year and
there are plans for dedicating areas of the Riverhouse, which
is in close proximity to the archeological dig, and the
Commons House to cultural and educational centers in which
some of the artifacts and information regarding the Altamaha
Town and Yamasee Indians can be explored.
Altamaha Town
The acreage included the “60-acre Altamaha town site,
which served as the seat of the Yemassee people from the 1690s
to 1715 and is listed in the National Register of
Archaeological Sites since the late 1970s.” Also included in
the site are two cemeteries, one white and one black, as well
as American Indian mounds that were used as burial
sites.
(This excerpt was taken from the
website link above.)
|
|
