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Local contractors wary of what’s ‘under’ construction
By Shelia Watson
Contributing Writer
Construction typically signifies the production of something new and contemporary. It suggests progress and development, an appeal for the modern.
Discovering historic artifacts on a job site can be the antithesis of construction, with projects slowed while the discovery is examined and authenticated. In some cases, an entire development can be shut down while archeologists determine the value of the find.
This is true especially in Charleston, a city that prides itself on treating history with reverence. Founded in 1670, the city has nearly four centuries of historically significant items that occasionally are unearthed during construction projects and renovations.
“We come across a lot of things,” said Bud Hay, vice president of Palmetto Craftsmen, which does renovation and restoration work, 95% of it in the old and historic sections of the peninsula. “Charleston was basically built on marsh and a landfill, so you can usually find something six inches down. If you have to go down 24 inches, you can easily find stuff.”
Hay said his staff is trained in how to handle a discovery.
“They’re not trained as archeologists, but most of them know what the old bottles and slave tags look like,” he said. “We go over things like this in our staff meetings. If they find something, they’ll stop construction and notify the property owner.”
When items are found on a construction site, Grahame Long, curator of history at the Charleston Museum, is often the person called.
“It happens all the time,” Long said. “A few weeks ago, a construction company found some graves at the Circular Congregation Church. They plan to re-inter the remains, but they had one coffin intact, which is what I was interested in.”
Long is amazed at the number of artillery shells found at random around the city, he said.
“One man was redoing his carriage house and they found a 9-pound Revolutionary War cannon ball,” he said. “It was a solid shot, so there was no danger involved. If it had been a Civil War cannon, there could have been danger because the black powder will last a long time and can still go off.”
Slave tags are a popular find, primarily because of their worth, Long said.
“The slave tags are copper stamped pieces,” Long said. “Fortunately, metal lasts longer in the ground than organic materials, so many of them are in fairly good shape.”
Harlan Greene is an archivist at the Avery Research Center for African-American History and Culture who wrote the book on slave tags—literally. He co-authored Slave Badges and the Slave-Hire System in Charleston South Carolina: 1783-1865, with Harry S. Hutchins Jr. Greene said there could be tens of thousands of slave tags around Charleston.
“These tags were issued yearly between 1800 and 1865, and at the end of the year, slaves threw them away,” he said.
Not all slaves wore them. Only those being rented out to neighbors were issued the tags, which amounted to about 25% to 30% of slaves, and only slaves in the city wore the tags.
Greene said the tags were a type of tax for owning slaves.
“The owner had to go down to the city, buy the tags and pay ‘x’ number of dollars depending on the particular type of work the slave did,” he said. “It was a way for the city to make more income, but it also was a way for them to regulate these slaves who they felt had too much freedom, being able to walk around the streets unguarded.”
Greene said other cities throughout the South had these same laws, but Charleston is the only city where the artifacts have survived. He said the tags were issued only in the city, but are sometimes found in other parts of the tri-county area. Depending on the rarity of the tag, they are worth as much as $25,000.
Greene cautions construction crews to be wary of individuals coming on to sites to dig.
“Unfortunately, there are unscrupulous people who will jump fences and dig sites,” he said. “Sometimes they do it after hours, but sometimes they’ll walk up to a job site and ask to come in and look around.”
Greene said a good rule of thumb is to ask for references to determine whether the person is an authentic historian or archeologist.
“Trustworthy people usually offer a 50-50 arrangement between them and the property owner,” he said. “But it’s very important to check references.”
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