City of Savannah Hosts Meeting on Archaeology Ordinance! September 23, 2019

Our history is beneath our feet.

City of Savannah’s official press release:

City hosting meeting to discuss potential archaeology ordinance

Office of Public Communications
City of Savannah
Media Release
Sept. 19, 2019
For Immediate Release

City hosting meeting to discuss potential archaeology ordinance

SAVANNAH, GA (Sept. 19, 2019) — The City of Savannah will be hosting a meeting to discuss the formation of an archaeology ordinance on Thursday, Sept. 26, 6 p.m. at the Coastal Georgia Center.
Since the early 1970s, the City has developed and approved ordinances to protect the National Historic Landmark District, as well as other locally designated historic districts, during development. Yet, one feature not included in any of these regulations is an archaeology ordinance. Through the creation of such an ordinance, the community will be better able to recognize our archaeological resources as well as understand and celebrate our community’s unique and diverse history. Please join us on Sept. 26 to discuss the City’s effort crafting an archaeology ordinance.
Parking is available in the Visitor Center Parking Lot accessible from Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard.

For more information, please contact Bridget Lidy at 912-525-3097 or planning@savannahga.gov.

Abby the Archaeobus in Savannah, ONE DAY ONLY! March 20, 2018

ArchaeoBus at Forsyth Farmers Market 3-24-18

Abby the Archaeobus, the dreamgirl of the Society for Georgia Archaeology, will make a one-day only appearance in Savannah’s Forsyth Park on Saturday, March 24 from 9-1PM. Free and open to the public. Be there!

Our history is beneath our feet.

Georgia Archaeology Month Reveals Many of Savannah’s Archaeological Sites Facing Destruction May 3, 2017

Georgia Archaeology Month 2017

While May is officially Georgia Archaeology Month, Savannah has little to celebrate. This year’s Georgia Archaeology Month poster features the CSS Georgia ironclad shipwreck site in Savannah. This site is being excavated and documented for the future. Unfortunately, it is one of the very few important archaeological sites in Savannah that is being saved. Most of Savannah’s archaeological sites – whether they are Civil War sites, colonial sites from General Oglethorpe’s day, 8,000 year old Native American sites, or many others – have no protections from destruction. The City of Savannah has no archaeology ordinance to protect its valuable, unique, and non-renewable history located underground.

These archaeological sites are the only places that can reveal unique history of African Americans, Native Americans and European and Asian Americans. Once destroyed their information, stories, and artifacts are gone forever. A comprehensive archaeology ordinance would protect this information by preserving such sites, or in cases of development, by excavating the sites before they are destroyed forever by construction.

Daniel Elliott, President of The LAMAR Institute, in Savannah notes that, “Savannah leaders continue to fall victim to the myth that archaeology will slow or stop development. In reality, archaeology benefits development, heritage tourism, education, and a better quality of life for residents. It is unfortunate that Savannah city leaders have failed for thirty years to recognize this fact. Unlike educated, cultured cities such as Alexandria, Virginia, St. Augustine, Florida, and dozens of others in America, Savannah has been a poor steward of the very cultural resources that can benefit it.”

Buy Stuff at Amazon Smile and Earn LAMAR Institute Some Bucks! March 15, 2017

Buy stuff at Amazon Smile and Amazon will donate 5% of the object’s cost to the LAMAR Institute, This offer is good only for Thursday, March 16, 2017. On other days Amazon Smile will still donate a portion of your purchase price to the LAMAR Institute, but only if you register it as your preferred charity on the Amazon Smile webpage. Here is a link to get started shopping today:

Amazon is celebrating its #1 ranking in customer satisfaction by the ACSI! Today, March 16, Amazon will donate 5% (10 times the usual donation rate) of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to Lamar Institute, Inc.. Get started at smile.amazon.com/ch/58-1537572.

CSS Georgia Teacher’s Workshop 2016 April 29, 2016

Teacher Institute flier CEISMC

From STEM to Stern: CSS Georgia Shipwreck
Teacher’s Institute

Dive into Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) as well as English Language Arts, and History/Social Studies in this exciting Teachers’ Institute focusing on the Civil War ironclad shipwreck sunk in 1864 in the Savannah River adjacent to Savannah and recovered in 2015 by underwater archaeologists. Use elements from the wreck, its history, and underwater archaeology to engage your students in learning state performance standards as well as Next Generation Science Standards. As a workshop attendee you will participate in a variety of hands-on activities that you can replicate in your classroom, have the opportunity to question underwater archaeologists following presentations, collect sonar data with underwater archaeologists in a boat over the wreck site, gather and interpret data, create your own lesson plans, and obtain resource materials for your classroom. The workshop is recommended for 4th-12th grade teachers and is open to a total of 20 teachers from Bryan, Chatham, Effingham, and Liberty counties, Georgia and Jasper and Beaufort counties, South Carolina. The workshop will be held May 31-June 3, 2016, with the final presentation and luncheon day on Friday, July 29, 2016. Participants will earn 4 PLUs and receive a $400 stipend. Except for the field trip, the workshop will be held at Georgia Tech Savannah, 210 Technology Circle, Savannah, Georgia 31407. The workshop is funded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Savannah District as part of the public outreach for its CSS Georgia recovery related to the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project. The workshop is hosted by Georgia Tech, Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics and Computing (CEISMC) in partnership with the USACE. Space is limited. To register please go to: pe.gatech.edu/teacher-institute. For questions contact: Rita Elliott at ritafelliott@gmail.com

Civil War ironclad’s ‘treasures’ to be shown, discussed in free lecture June 2 May 22, 2015

SAVANNAH, Ga. – The long-buried life of the Confederate ironclad CSS Georgia is being resurrected and will be discussed in a free lecture given by two of the lead archaeologists preserving the ship’s artifacts. Speakers will bring recently recovered artifacts to the free event June 2 at 7 p.m., at the auditorium of the Savannah History Museum, 303 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., in Savannah, Georgia.

Underwater archaeologist Stephen James, M.A., with Panamerican Consultants is a principal investigator on the project. He and underwater archaeologist Gordon Watts, Ph.D., of Tidewater Atlantic Research, co-principal investigator, will share the discoveries about the CSS Georgia in a free public presentation. Topics will include the unique ship’s construction, its funding, and life aboard the civil war gunboat. Attendees will also learn how divers are documenting and recovering the vessel, the laboratory work involved, and what happens next in this complex project.

The Savannah History Museum will be open at no charge from 6-7 p.m. and light refreshments will be served in the auditorium lobby before the lecture. The lecture is sponsored by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah District and is free of charge and open to the public. The lecture and museum entry is hosted by Coastal Heritage Society.

This lecture was previously announced for an earlier date. The date of the lecture has changed.

Quick Facts:
• Deepening the Savannah River channel for the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project would damage the vessel; therefore, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is overseeing archaeological excavation of the CSS Georgia to comply with the National Historic Preservation Act.
• Divers have been excavating the 150-year-old wreck since January and are preparing in June to recover cannons and large portions of casemates.
• This lecture marks the first of eight public outreach efforts focused on the CSS Georgia.
Follow the project and discover additional outreach opportunities at http://1.usa.gov/1G6S2Hn