Exploring Daily Life at Drayton Hall – An Antebellum Charleston Plantation

Location: Charleston, SC, US

Season: June 3, 2018 to June 29, 2018

Application Deadline: March 15, 2018

Deadline Type: Contact for details

Website: https://vimeo.com/100349078

Program Type:
Field school

RPA Certified:
no

Affiliation:
Salve Regina University

Project Director:
Dr. Jon Bernard Marcoux

Project Description:

The Cultural and Historic Preservation program is pleased to offer an archaeological field school this summer at Drayton Hall—an iconic 18th– and 19th-century Lowcountry plantation. For more than 250 years, Drayton Hall has stood witness to the American South. Among the best and most complete examples of Southern colonial life open to the public today, the property is also an active archaeological site.

The field school excavations will be located within Drayton Hall itself – in one of the only rooms in the entire house without a fireplace.  This “dirt floor” room in the basement of Drayton Hall poses many questions to archaeologists. Our project will employ archaeological methods to determine the possible functions of this room, as well as to explore the daily lives of the free and enslaved people living and working on this plantation.

This class will also provide students with a modern cultural experience of the region, which is called the “Lowcountry.”  Students will be housed on the campus of the College of Charleston in the heart of the city and are encouraged to explore all it has to offer. Students will see, hear, and taste the uniqueness of Charleston through excursions to important historical and cultural sites, attractions, and restaurants.

 

Period(s) of Occupation: North America - early Colonial through Civil War

Notes:
Experience the unique history and modern culture of Charleston, South Carolina! Be one of the first to excavate within Drayton Hall - one of the best preserved Antebellum plantation houses in North America. This season's excavations will focus on a unique room on the ground floor of the house. We will be recovering artifacts related to the daily lives of enslaved workers and plantation owners, with the goal of determining what this space was used for in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Project Size: 1-24 participants

Minimum Age: 18

Experience Required: No experience necessary.

Room and Board Arrangements:
All accommodations will be organized by the College of Charleston and are included in the program fee. Students will lodge in suites with kitchens. All bed linens will be provided, but students must supply their own bathroom linens. The program fee also includes three group meals at well-known Charleston restaurants. Students are responsible for all other meals. Cost: Room and board are included in tuition.

Academic Credit:
3 or 6 credits credits offered by Salve Regina University. Tuition is $3174 (3 credit) $4549 (6 credits) .