Archaeology club preps for archaeology month

By Joshua Santos | gargoyle@flagler.edu

For the Archeology Club of Flagler College, Saturday is just another day to preserve history. The club caravanned deep into the woods down a two-mile dirt road just north of Jacksonville to visit the historic Kingsley Plantation for what was meant to be a day of historic reenactments.

Many of the club members knew about the life many of the slaves endured while living and working on the plantation. There were demonstrations on how “Tabby” was created, an old building material used along the coast that was made of lime, water, sand, oyster shells and ash.

Archeology club president, Alicia Maskley, said the trip was meant to “come out and look at cabins,” but they were really looking at “how it’s preserved.” The slave cabins were hand built by slaves using the tabby building material.

The original tabby cabins have been slowly deteriorating thanks to acid rain and years of vandalism and neglect. The park has done its best to reinforce what is left of the structures.

This trip served as a kick-off for the end of Black History Month and the start of Florida Archeology month. The Flagler College Archeology club will be participating in many events throughout the month. Those interested are encouraged to visit www.flpublicarchaeology.org for more information.