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Archives For December 31, 2014
Graduate Student Digs Up Old Charleston City Wall for Thesis Research
College of Charleston historic preservation student Justin Schwebler is literally in the trenches proving his thesis.
Schwebler, who will earn his Master in Science later this year, is tracking and analyzing the use of Bermuda stone in Charleston, South Carolina. His research showed the stone was used as the foundation of the city’s original sea wall, built in 1769, and he wanted to prove it.
With the help of his professors in the joint master’s program between the College of Charleston and Clemson University, a dig was organized to uncover portions of the wall.
On the first day of the dig, Bermuda stone was uncovered, though not in the area believed to be the original sea wall.
Schwebler explains, “The stone is soft – it can actually be cut with a saw – so it is very possible the stone crumbled away after its lengthy exposure to water and waves.”
READ: Learn more about the dig in the Post and Courier.
Bermuda and Charleston had a strong trade relationship in the 1700s, with thousands of blocks of Bermuda stone coming into the Port of Charleston. That said, it’s now rare to find in the city, and even more rare in other U.S. locations.
“Bermuda stone is in at least two other notable places downtown,” Schwebler notes. “The ‘pink house’ at 17 Chalmers St. and ‘Pirate’s Courtyard’ at 145 Church St.”
The Friends of Drayton Hall are pleased to present the second season of the Drayton Hall Distinguished Speakers Series. Beginning with the opening event of the 2015 season, you’ll experience a range of thought-provoking presentations related to America’s history and culture by some of today’s most respected historians, archaeologists, and curators. Speakers will also highlight the connections of Charleston and Drayton Hall to their research interests and answer questions from the audience.
The series is held in downtown Charleston at South Carolina Society Hall, 72 Meeting Street, Charleston SC 29401.
Ample on-street parking and public lot parking is available within a block of the South Carolina Society Hall.
Doors open at 5:30 pm with a wine and cheese reception sponsored by the Francis Marion Hotel. Presentations start promptly at 6:30 pm. No advance reservations; please arrive early as seating is limited.
For more information and sponsorship opportunities, please contact Tara White, Development Events Coordinator, at 843-769-2627 or by e-mail.
“Sacred Houses in Early Iron Age Greece?”
Event Details: Thursday, January 22. 7:00pm, Simons 309
Speaker: Alexander Ainian, University of Thessaly
Sponsored by: Archaeological Institute of America, Charleston Society
About Alexander Mazarakis Ainian
Alexander Mazarakis Ainian is Professor of Classical Archaeology with the University of Thessaly in Greece. He studied History of Art and Archaology at the Université Libre de Bruxelles”, Belgium (1980-1983, degree conferred with “Grande Distinction”) and continued his postgraduate studies at University College London with a grant from the Alexander Onassis Benefit Foundation, obtaining his Ph.D. in 1987, under the supervision of Professor J.N. Coldstream. Since 2009 he has been the President of the Scientific Committee of the University of Thessaly Publications and a Member of the Board for the Management of the Assets of the University. He has been the Scientific Director of several major European Union Research Programs as well as personal research programs and several other scientific projects. He has directed the excavations at Skala Oropou in northern Attica (and Early Iron Age metalworking site), at the ancient capital of Kythnos (Archaic-Hellenistic sanctuary), at Soros in Thessaly (Late Archaic-Classical sanctuary of Apollo at ancient Amphanai or Pagasai). Professor Ainian’s areas of specialization are the archaeology and architecture of Early Iron Age and Archaic Greece, and Homeric Archaeology, as well as ancient Greek religion and sanctuaries of the Geometric through the Classical periods. In recent years he has also specialized in underwater archaeology. Professor Ainian is a 2014/2015 Kress Lecturer for the AIA.
“Charleston’s First Battery Sea Wall, 1768 – 1769”
Event Details: Tuesday, January 27. 6:00pm, Charleston Public Library Auditorium
Speaker: Nic Butler
Sponsored by: Charleston County Public Library
About the Lecture
A few years before the outbreak of the American Revolution, the S.C. legislature funded a large-scale project to erect a half-mile long brick wall around the fortifications at White Point. Designed to keep out the waters of the Ashley and Cooper rivers, this massive work set the stage for the current stone “battery” seawall that was built in the early 1800s. Although it was superseded, the first wall may not be gone. Join CCPL’s historian, Dr. Nic Butler, for an illustrated review of the wall’s history and the clues to its present location.
Just out – an edited volume by Bill Caraher on 3D applications in archaeology, Visions of Substance. The contributions began as a series of blogposts entitled “3D Thursday“. Expanded and edited, the volume is available now for free download, with availability on Amazon by the end of the month.