Community Archaeology at Gamble Plantation Historic State Park

05/18/2021

A great virtual talk on some archaeology just across the river from the Gamble Plantation!

Don't miss MAY's Zoom lecture - Wednesday the 19th at 6pm - https://mailchi.mp/55bda874fb67/time-sifters-news-and-events-4900245

12/30/2020

In our ongoing efforts to catalogue the tens of thousands of artifacts from the site, we identified a padlock recovered in 2018! The lock is an 1890'S Slaymaker-Barry Co. Lock, listed in a catalogue for 12 cents! This would mean that it was purchased when the Pattens were living on the Gamble property.
Here is a 3d model of the padlock: https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/gamble-plantation-lock-by-blair-bordelon-0b2f7f16cafb486fa82e9d925b31cde9 created by a student through USF IDEx

12/10/2020

Some great recorded talks on the archaeology of plantations and enslavement, sponsored by the Department of Archaeology at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello and the Digital Archaeological Archive of Comparative Slavery.

11/17/2020

Still working hard on cataloguing Gamble materials. Until then, check out this great USF Webinar on Heritage Management and Community Engagement by USF Ph.D. student!

Be sure to register for next week's Strong Coasts webinar with fellow, Sherilyne Jones'(), "Heritage Management & Community Engagement". Tuesday, November 17, 2020, 2:00 - 3:00 PM ET. Reg: www.strongcoasts.org/events/category/strong-coasts-events/.

09/02/2020

Some great work being done locally by our colleagues at New College

A month-long excavation of soon-to-be-developed land is giving researchers a better look at how escaped slaves lived their daily lives in the Angola settlement along the Manatee River.

07/31/2020

Local cultural and environmental history of Weedon Island, with a great summary of the archaeology of this important place!

Weedon Island Preserve, at approximately 3,700 acres, is an ecological jewel within an urban landscape on the shores of Old Tampa Bay in St. Petersburg, Flor...

06/22/2020

For those who may be interested in additional information about tabby, the main component constructing the Gamble Mansion.

A question we are often asked is what is tabby? It is a building material found across the Gullah Geechee Corridor and was historically used to build structures such as cabins for the enslaved like these at the Kingsley Plantation outside Jacksonville. These tabby cabins represent a blend of Native American, West African, and Spanish cultures. Tabby is a mixture made from crushed oyster shells, heated over a fire and dissolved in water and sand, making a form of early cement. The oyster shells used to make the tabby were mined from shell mounds created by native peoples thousands of years before European and African arrivals in the New World. By the early 18th century, tabby was used both in Spanish Florida and in West Africa. It is unclear whether tabby’s origins lie in the coastal southeast or whether the technique was brought from West Africa.

The tabby buildings were constructed by enslaved workers who were skilled carpenters, tabby makers, and brick layers. Tabby could also be made into bricks. The layout of the cabins may also reflect the African heritage of the builders. The cabins at Kingsley Plantation extend in a semi-circle as opposed to the rows seen on many southern plantations. This layout is similar to the layout of Wolof villages in Senegal.

06/19/2020

Happy Juneteenth! Today marks the day the last enslaved people in the Confederacy were freed when Union troops marched into Galveston Bay, Texas, the last remaining state under Confederate control, on June 19, 1865. While the Emancipation Proclamation had been signed two years prior freeing slaves in Confederate States, including Florida, it could not be implemented. Freedom for all enslaved people was not granted until December 1865 when the Thirteenth Amendment was ratified. Descendent communities across the United States celebrate Juneteenth to commemorate the freedom of their ancestors in Texas. Here’s a link to an article by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture for more information:

Juneteenth is a monumental yet often overlooked event in our nation’s history. On June 19, 1865, enslaved African Americans in Galveston Bay, Texas, were notified by Union troops they, along with all other enslaved black people in the state, were free by executive decree.

06/11/2020

Are you interested in learning more about Ground Penetrating Radar and archaeology? This technique has been in the news a lot recently, related to relocating forgotten cemeteries in our area. FPAN is hosting a live today discussing this methodology!