4,000-year-old Sea Pines shell ring dig begins next week. This time might be the last
The 4,000-year-old Indian shell ring buried in Sea Pines will be excavated for the third time by researchers from Binghamton University beginning Monday — but this dig might be their last.
It also could lead to a first-of-its-kind discovery.
Shell rings — circular mounds formed by shellfish shells deposited by Native Americans — have long stumped archaeologists because no one knows what they were used for.
Matt Sanger, assistant professor of anthropology and director of the public archaeology program at Binghamton University in New York, will once again lead a group of students as they try to find answers.
The group will be in Sea Pines between Monday and July 13 until about 2:30 p.m. each day. Their work is being funded by National Geographic, but is nearing an end, Sanger said.
"We're getting pretty close to getting all the data we need," he said Thursday. "Once you've gotten the answers you need, it's ethically important to stop digging."
Before Sanger and his group began their work in 2016, the ring had been excavated once before in the 1960s or 1970s, he said previously.
A clue discovered at the end of last year's dig might hold the answer that he and others have long searched for.
A few thick, gray lines in the sand forming half a rectangle could be the remains of a subterranean house wall, likely made of mud and reeds.
If the group can confirm that what they found is a wall, it would be the first discovery of its kind, proving ancient people lived within the shell rings.
"We've never found a home before," Sanger said. "I'm assuming we'll be able to answer if it is (during this dig)."
Next to the possible house foundation is a circular stump made of bone, shell and ash. Sanger said last year it’s as hard as concrete and was likely a “processing pit,” although the group is unsure about the purpose of the mound.
The Sea Pines shell ring is one of 50 such rings in the southeastern United States, Sanger said last year. It’s small compared to others, at about 120 feet in diameter and 3 feet high. It cannot be traced to a specific Native American tribe.
Hilton Head has one other shell ring — called Green’s Shell Enclosure — located on Squire Pope Road.
In the last two years' digs, the team found thousands of artifacts, including pottery, bone and arrow points.
Sanger said the group plans to give a tour of the ring July 12.
The shell ring is in the Sea Pines Forest Preserve near Lake Joe.
A map of the forest preserve can be found here.
This story was originally published June 22, 2018 at 10:02 AM with the headline "4,000-year-old Sea Pines shell ring dig begins next week. This time might be the last."