Residents of Florence will have the chance to excavate artifacts at one of the city’s most historic buildings at Junior Archaeology day at The Pope’s Tavern Museum on June 8 from 9am to 2 p.m.
This free event is geared towards kids and adults who are interested in learning more about archaeology. Participants will be allowed to excavate, sift, clean and sort artifacts at different stations throughout Pope’s Tavern archaeological site.
The building that is believed to be constructed as a boarding house in the early 1830’s serves as a gateway into the history of Florence. Junior Archaeology Day at the Pope’s Tavern will give residents a chance to discover some of the city’s past for themselves.
“We like to talk about archaeology as a as a way into having conversations and discussing and learning about history. So people who are interested in that part of it can find something that they that they can learn more about at this event,” said Brian Murphy, director of the Florence Arts and Museums.
Through opening and excavating at two test sites on the property, archaeologist have discovered items that have provided insight into the building’s age. Murphy said that participants can expect to find a number of things though excavating at this event.
“We typically find a lot of nails, bits of pottery and glass. Sometimes, we'll find buttons, bone or a personal item like a marble,” said Murphy. “The interesting thing about all these is that we can date them relatively. That helps to fill in a little bit of the story of Pope's tavern.”
In addition to the excavations, the event will also feature workshops such as Artifact Drawing, Plant Identification 101, a blacksmith demonstration, and Flintnapping. That's the process of chipping away at a piece of stone flint to create tools.
Junior Archaeology Day at Pope’s Tavern and Museum is on June 8 from 9 to 2 p.m. The event is hosted in conjunction with Moundville Archaeological Park’s Education Department and Florence Arts and Museums. More information can be found here.
