Archaeologists in northwest Alabama have unearthed pottery, glass and nails at the site of an inn and tavern that played a pivotal role in the Civil War. Some of the artifacts predate construction of Pope’s Tavern in the 1830s; others are even older, predating Alabama’s admission as the nation’s 22nd state in 1819, reports Connor Todd for Alabama Public Radio (APR).
The team, from the University of Alabama’s Office of Archaeological Research, conducted the excavation on the grounds of what’s now Pope’s Tavern Museum, a local history museum in the city of Florence.
“They pulled out a bunch of artifacts that are being cleaned and processed right now,” museum curator Brian Murphy tells the Times Daily’s Bernie Delinski. “They will give us a really good image of the types of materials and type of utensils used, and really a glimpse into the daily life of the people who lived there and used that space.”
As the museum notes on Facebook, the work was funded by a Historic Sites Grant from the Alabama Historical Commission. Among the artifacts found during the dig were a glazed ceramic vessel and window glass.
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