Artifacts believed to have dated back nearly 300 years ago were discovered last month buried at the property of one of the oldest churches in Elizabeth City. Now, church members are discussing next steps.
Christ Episcopal Church members were digging up an old magnolia tree to prepare the area for a new playground for the church’s youth at their church when crew members hit several bricks buried underground on the church property.
Rev. Daniel Cenci, rector of the church, initially said he feared they had hit an old, unmarked-grave, likely from the Civil War. But to his surprise, several historical items such as glassware, pottery, wine bottles and animal remains were buried below.
“There’s a protocol when you find old things in the ground,” Cenci said. “It’s never a good idea to just ignore them.”
The church contacted the Museum of the Albemarle to help better understand the discovery and soon, archeologists from the North Carolina Office of State Archeology were called in to possibly further identify and date the items found.
Cenci, a lover of history, said this discovery is important not only for the church, but for the history of the community as well.
“I feel like it's almost like God gave us a time capsule, that we've uncovered and we're seeing, you know, what were people doing back 200 years ago,” he said.
State archeologists spent a full day uncovering more items buried at the church and has given the church options on how to move forward including:
- Contacting nearby universities to see if they’d like to continue excavating for educational purposes
- Contacting a private archaeological firm to continue excavating
- Leaving the grounds alone as is
Cenci hopes to continue the excavation process. He and members of the church plan to meet next Tuesday to discuss the next steps the church will take for future excavation.
