The Great Dismal Swamp covers a vast area of southern Virginia and eastern North Carolina. For 200 years, the main residents of the swamp were escaped slaves and their descendants, people who found safety in the place that was too dangerous and unpleasant for those who would look for them. Water moccasins, mosquitoes, thorns, and steamy humidity beat a life of slavery any day. Historical archaeologist Dan Sayers is digging up evidence to supplement what meager historical documentation we have on these communities.
In early 2004, one of the refuge biologists strapped on his waders and brought Sayers to the place we’re going, a 20-acre island occasionally visited by hunters, but completely unknown to historians and archaeologists. Before Sayers, no archaeology had been done in the swamp’s interior, mainly because conditions were so challenging. One research party got lost so many times that it gave up.
When you’ve been toiling through the sucking ooze, with submerged roots and branches grabbing at your ankles, dry solid ground feels almost miraculous. We step onto the shore of a large, flat, sun-dappled island carpeted with fallen leaves. Walking toward its center, the underbrush disappears, and we enter a parklike clearing shaded by a few hardwoods and pines.
“I’ll never forget seeing this place for the first time,” recalls Sayers. “It was one of the greatest moments of my life. I never dreamed of finding a 20-acre island, and I knew instantly it was livable. Sure enough, you can’t put a shovel in the ground anywhere on this island without finding something.”
Sayers had planned to spend a few months digging and then write his dissertation. Instead, he worked for years and wrote a book on his findings. Read about the archaeological digs that tell the story of the people who found freedom in the Great Dismal Swamp at Smithsonian.
(Image credit: Flickr user U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)