Rediscovering Charleston's Colonial Fortifications

The big goal for today was to get a complete record of the exposed portions of the brick floor of the Lower Market, laid ca. 1786, before the predicted rainstorm arrived. After giving the units a thorough sweeping, the College of Charleston archaeology students and their instructors began the meticulous process of measuring, sketching, and photographing the exposed features.

(click on the images to enlarge)

Just as this work was wrapping up, the first band of heavy rain blew in. A few minutes later, however, the rain dissipated and the work resumed. The second task was to carefully remove the brick pavers of the market floor. These thin bricks, which were originally laid in mortar, came out rather easily using shovels and small hammers. We are confident that the redan wall will be found just a few inches below the market floor, and are eager to get to it. By the time the brick pavers had been removed, however, the rain returned with a vengeance. The students quickly covered the dig site with large tarps to protect the excavation and packed up for the day.

(click on the images to enlarge)

Despite the inclement weather, the students did manage to locate a few interesting artifacts. One noteworthy item is a nearly intact clay pipe bowl. Fragments of these disposable smoking implements are commonly found at eighteenth-century sites like ours, but it is rare to find an intact bowl. The maker’s stamp, “T. D.”, is even visible on this one. Another interesting find is a fragment of a piece of green Whieldon ware, a type of English ceramic dating from the era 1750–1775. It’s only a small fragment of a larger vessel, but it is a vivid reminder of the colorful utensils that were used in early Charleston. Both of these artifacts, by the way, were found in the thin layer of dirt immediately below the floor of the Lower Market, which was paved over ca. 1784–1786.

It was another sultry, hot day at the east end of Tradd Street in Charleston. Despite the heat, the College of Charleston students performing this excavation opened a few more square units and quickly dug them down to the level of the existing units. After a bit of whisking with a small broom, the result of their labor was a clearer picture of the stratigraphy of the site.

(click on the images to enlarge)

The main achievement of the day was revealing a much clearer view of the brick pavers that constitute the floor of the Lower Market, installed ca. 1784–1786. There is a clear layer of intact paving bricks throughout the open units. The bricks disturbed by later construction are seen strewn throughout the layer just above the market floor as well.

So, where is the redan? We still believe that it is directly below the bricks of the market floor, but the archaeologists wanted to clean, measure, document, and photograph the market brickwork before removing these features. A good example of these layers can be seen in this photograph. At the top of the photo is the brickwork of the foundation of Vanderhorst’s North Row, a large tenement constructed on this site ca. 1805. Just below that is an area of disturbed earth that represents the builder’s trench opened during the construction of that foundation. In the middle area of the photograph can be seen the brick pavers of the market, and the whitish bed  of mortar on which those bricks rest. The top of the redan wall, we believe, will be found immediately below that mortar.

Rain is in the forcast for Thursday, but we hope it will come later enough in the afternoon to permit the students to begin removing the market floor and thus reveal the top of the colonial-era redan.