Archaeological Sites in North Carolina

While some people may find visiting archaeological sites a task for the geeks, it still pays to set afoot in one and learn and be amazed on the (pre)history of the land. North Carolina has the following sites that will surely raise interest not just of the geeks but the general visitors as well. The Fort Raleigh National Historic Site is located in the National Park Drive in Manteo, North Carolina. This site has been known as one of England’s first New World settlements in the late 1500s, the Roanoke Colony. Known portions of the settlement are presently preserved, alongside with the cultural heritage of the Native Americans, European Americans and African Americans in Roanoke Island. The historic site is home to the Paul Green’s “The Lost Colony,” a symphonic drama about the Roanoke-based upon Sir Walter Raleigh’s failed attempts at establishing a permanent settlement. This is the longest-running historical outdoor play in the United States as it has been performed since 1937. Also found in the site is the Elizabethan Gardens which has been exemplified as a period garden. The garden was claimed to be placed where Sir Walter Raleigh made attempts to colonize the New World under Queen Elizabeth I. This garden’s highlights include the 16th-century style-gazebo, Virginia dare marble statue, the 400-year-old ancient live oak, the sunken garden, the Shakespearean Herb Garden and the Queen’s Rose Garden.

Also included in the list of North Carolina Historic Sites is the Somerset Place in Lake Shore Road, Creswell, Washington County, North Carolina. The site has remained as a realistic view of 19th century way of living in North Carolina, preserving 31 of the original lakeside acres, the main house and seven adjacent buildings of the site which was originally a plantation of rice, corn, oats, wheat, beans, peas, and flax. Among its historic structures include The Collins Family Home and the other buildings which are the Dairy, Kitchen, Smokehouse Kitchen Ration’s Building and Salting House. A picnic area is available in the Pettigrew State Park which is adjacent to the site. A visitor’s tour in Somerset is an exploration of the plantation’s history: the lives of owners and a locked up community.

Another North Carolina Historic Site is the Town Creek Indian Mound located in Town Creek Mound Road in Mt. Gilead North Carolina. It was in 1937 when excavation began at the site and eventually revealed that the mound was constructed as an earth lodge, over an early rectangular structure. During the archaeological excavations, sixty-one human burials were encountered, each of which was identified to be dated back during the phase wherein North American Indians were yet to be affiliated with Cherokee and Catawba. The diggings were funded by the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill. Definitely, a visit in Town Creek, transports visitors back to the pre-Columbian era. Those who aren’t that critical with archaeology will still find the interpretive exhibits and audiovisual programs an impressive display of the past.