magnetometer to systematically investigate a one-thousand-square-foot parcel where the
Regulator camp presumably was situated. Magnetometers are employed by archaeologists
to measure the signal strength and/or direction of the magnetic field within the range of
the instrument and thus locate iron deposits, such as fired or dropped smoothbore or rifled
projectiles. Members of the Old North State Deteetorists made two north-south and two
east-west sweeps of the area. Volunteers followed with small flags, carefully marking the
location of each hit. At the conclusion of the survey, locations were transferred to a paper
diagram of the grid pattern, and the flags were removed. These findings helped to confirm
and refine the results of the magnetometer. The hits were marked with GPS coordinates
for further investigation.
Although several preliminary excavations failed to turn up any eighteenth-century
artifacts, the amount of data collected appears promising. The historic site staff will use
the information from Howard’s research report and the archaeological investigation to
enhance its interpretation, with a proposed interpretive trail around the battleground that
will feature informative wayside exhibits.
Freedom Monument Project Launches Fund-Raising Campaign
In June, the board of directors of the North Carolina Freedom Monument Project
initiated a “Friend-Raising” campaign to attract the necessary public and private donations
to finance the development of “Freedom Grove” in downtown Raleigh. The goal of $4. 5
million is to provide funding for preparation of the site on the half-acre lot behind the
Archives and History/ State Library Building, and for the fabrication and installation of the
twelve interactive works of art and wide winding walkways that will comprise the monu¬
ment. The artworks will include a serpentine wall, a circular fountain, glistening sheets of
cascading water, and an auction block, as well as a brush arbor, reading benches, and an
amphitheater that will seat three hundred.
The mission of the project is to create a public monument to the concept of Freedom
as expressed through the African American experience in North Carolina. At the urging of
the Paul Green Foundation, fifty community leaders gathered in Raleigh in the summer of
2002 to determine how to involve the people of the state in the planning of the monu¬
ment. The resulting town meetings generated a host of ideas and a wellspring of commu¬
nity support for the project. An international competition solicited conceptual proposals
for a monument to freedom, and more than one hundred artists applied for consideration.
The schematic design of the selected artistic team — public artist Juan Logan, professor of
studio art at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; liis colleague, art historian
Lyneise Williams; and landscape architect David Swanson of Carrboro — was approved by
the North Carolina Historical Commission in May 2008.
The project board also received a grant to develop, in conjunction with the State
Department of Public Instruction, a curriculum concerning the African American struggle
for freedom for use in North Carolina schools. The curriculum is now available on com¬
pact disc. For further information concerning the project or how to make a donation,
contact campaign chair Marsha Warren at (919) 942-6434 or by e-mail at
info@ncfmp.org.
Flighway Historical Marker Erected at Site of Fort San Juan
On August 15, a North Carolina highway historical marker commemorating Fort San
Juan, a sixteenth-century Spanish outpost, was dedicated in Morganton. Four miles north¬
east of Morganton, the archaeological site on twelve acres of land belonging to the Berry
family (hence the name, the Berry site) continues to produce artifacts that support the
theory that this was the location of the fort constructed by Juan Pardo in 1567.
The dedication program at Quaker Meadows was sponsored by the Exploringjoara
Foundation. David G. Moore, professor of archaeology and anthropology at Warren Wilson
College and a director of the Exploringjoara Archaeological Project, spoke about his long
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