In December, I had the pleasure of being invited up to South Carolina by a colleague with the State's Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) to work on a critically at-risk archaeological site, Pockoy Shell Ring. Archaeologists with the State have been monitoring the site for years, tracking erosion and other changes. At this point, they give the site about five more years before it has completely washed away. In order to save what information they can, SCDNR has been excavating portion of the site for the past two years.
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| Pockoy Shell Rings are located right on the Atlantic coastline. |
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| SCDNR staff and volunteers excavated a trench in the middle of one of the shell rings. |
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| Talk about beach-front property! |
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| Selection of ceramics found on the beach in the tidal zone at the site. |
Pockoy Shell Ring is located at the Botany Bay Heritage Preserve/Wildlife Management Area on Edisto Island, SC, right along the Atlantic coast. It's a series of Late Archiac Period shell rings constructed more than 4,000 years old. The site features some of the oldest ceramics in the United States - a type archeologists have dubbed Thom's Creek, notable for its sand tempering and bold punctated designs. The site also contains animal remains, shell tools, stains from structures and other evidence of life in the past.
While the site has always been a coastal site, it was once a little further inland, even in recent times. Since SCDNR started working at the site in 2017, they estimate the maritime hammock along the coast has lost at least 50 yards. Trees that once stood now lay fallen on the beach. Storms are a constant issue at the site and cause more damage through erosion, wash-out and flooding. Erosion control and shoreline stabilization efforts would be difficult and expensive to deploy at the site - and may not be that effective, especially long-term. So SCDNR decided the best option is to retrieve data from the site while it still has integrity. This is a tactic they've deployed at other sites including the nearby Spanish Mount.
The project also included tours of the site for the public. This is a strategy we love at FPAN! Let people enjoy, explore and learn from the site while we still can.
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| SCDNR staff and volunteers conducted site tours during the excavations. |
For more information on SCDNR's work at Pockoy Island, check out
this article in SC Wildlife Magazine.
