The 2003 UNC Archaeological Field School excavated at Catawba Old Town from May 21st until May 29th. The area excavated represents the location of one or two Catawba log cabins that were occupied during the 1770s. The site may date as early as 1760 and also may have been occupied during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. A brief summary of what we found at Catawba Old Town is provided below.

The excavations were directed by RLA staff archaeologists Steve Davis and Brett Riggs, with supervisory assistance from UNC graduate students Michelle Schohn and Jon Marcoux, and UNC undergraduate student Rebecca Richman. Twelve UNC students participated in the excavation. The pictures below give a glimpse of our experience at Catawba Old Town.

Click on any thumbnail image below to view a larger picture.

Map and digital photographic mosaics of 2003 excavations.

Excavation Summary

Catawba Old Town (RLA-SoC 634) was discovered in January 2003 and is named after an adjacent stream depicted on an 1843 land plat as “Old Town Branch.” It is located along ancient terrace remnants that flank the Catawba valley. This site has yielded artifacts and contexts that reflect occupations during the 1770s and the late eighteenth-early nineteenth centuries, and it also may be the location of a Catawba town near Kings Creek which is depicted on Samuel Wyly’s 1764 map of the Catawba Indian Reservation boundary.

Limited reconnaissance at Old Town has identified at least five cabin sites and one of these--likely dating to the 1770s--was excavated in May 2003 by the UNC Archaeological Field School. Twenty-eight one-by-one-meter squares were excavated, and these exposed: a shallow, circular pit (Feature 1); two deep, rectangular cellar pits (Features 2 and 7); two overlapping, shallow, rectangular pits (Features 5 and 6); a large, shallow, circular pit (Feature 4); and a probable extended burial (Feature 3). The edge of another possible burial (Feature 8) also was detected. Neither burial was excavated. The topsoil had been previously eroded from the site due to poor plowing practices, and as a consequence, almost no artifacts were recovered from the thin, clayey plowzone.

Most artifacts came from Features 1, 2, and 7. While less than about 10 cm deep, Feature 1 contained several large fragments of at least four Catawba burnished vessels, including three flat-bottomed pans, glass beads, wrought nails, and a snaffle bit. Feature 7 was much deeper, extending more than 40 cm into subsoil, and contained numerous Catawba burnished sherds, the basal third of a green case bottle, glass beads, a horseshoe, and an iron hoe.

Feature 2 was similar in depth to Feature 7 and contained by far the largest collection of artifacts. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of these artifacts is the vessels represented by the Catawba-made potsherds. Catawba vessels were exceptionally well-made, often with smudged and highly burnished or polished surfaces. Vessel forms reflect English influence, with basal sherds from bowls having pronounced footrings and rimsherds from a plate having an octagonal edge. Some sherds even have hand-painted designs-a trait more commonly seen at New Town. In addition to fragments from broken Catawba vessels, Feature 2 also contained numerous fist-sized lumps of potter’s clay and several large, unfired fragments of vessels made from that clay. Sherds of English-made vessels also were recovered, including several pieces of a white, salt-glazed stoneware teacup or bowl and two fragments of a soft-paste porcelain platter. More than 1,700 glass beads were recovered. While most are small white seed beads, more than 200 large dark blue and red-white-blue cane beads also were found. Some of the other artifacts from Feature 2 include: numerous Catawba-made pipe fragments and kaolin pipestems; four coins, including a 1769 British Hibernia halfpence; brass tacks, cones, and rolled tubes; bottle glass fragments and a glass bottle stopper; two triangular silver nose bangles (one with chain still attached) and several small cut silver scraps; lead shot and sprue; and several iron artifacts.