Richland County penny project might have wrecked an ancient archeological site
In June, when Columbia resident Alexis Norris was enjoying a weekend afternoon at the Saluda River along with other paddlers, anglers and hikers, she made an intriguing discovery.
An earth-moving project to build a parking lot for the new Saluda Riverwalk had uncovered a trove of what appears to be ancient Indian artifacts — arrowheads, scrapers and other stone implements.
Over the next few weekends, she collected about 10 pencil boxes full of the artifacts, posting pictures on an artifact collectors Facebook page under the name Lex Lane.
“The stuff was everywhere,” Norris said. “A lot of it was broken by the bulldozer and scraper.”
Now, the Richland County Penny Tax Program development team has called in a private archeology firm to determine the extent of the damage. They are scheduled to conduct a site survey Wednesday. The Saluda Riverwalk is part of the penny-tax program.
“Is it ruined? Maybe. Maybe not,” said state archeologist Jonathan Leader, who recently surveyed the site and has been invited to witness Wednesday’s field review.
Chris Judge, director of Native American Studies at the University of South Carolina-Lancaster, said that if a layman could find the material, those working on the project — which includes a parking lot and restrooms — should have noticed it as well.
“It raises some question about the oversight on this project,” Judge said.
Jamie Kendall, the penny-tax project manager for the development team, declined to answer questions about the site or the work, directing questions to Riverbanks Zoo. The zoo leases the property from SCE&G.
Zoo spokeswoman Susan O’Cain directed questions about the project and its oversight to the county.
Richland County spokeswoman Beverly Harris said work would continue on the project.
Scattered site
The area where Norris found the artifacts is a known archeological site, Leader and Judge said. Native Americans lived and hunted there for thousands of years.
The site was first surveyed about 40 years ago when a sewer line was installed along the river, according to Mike Dawson, executive director of The River Alliance, which encourages and guides development along the region’s three rivers.
But Leader said the area was considered a “scattered site” with material strewn over a large area for thousands of years. As such, it doesn’t qualify for the National Register of Historic Places, like, say, a burial grounds, and can be developed, he said
Native Americans frequented the area because it sits on the “fall line” between the Piedmont of upstate South Carolina and the coastal plain, Judge said.
The resulting boulders across the Saluda, Congaree and Broad rivers provided easy access to the waterways and convenient places to hunt, fish and live.
“That was an easy place to cross the river,” he said. “That would have been a major thoroughfare for native people moving around the Midlands.”
Michelle Mitchum, chief of the Pine Hill Indian Tribe, which once inhabited the area that is now Fort Jackson, said the relics should be returned and the site secured and some interpretation included in the new riverwalk.
“I believe they have an obligation ... to the tribe or tribes that are affiliated with the area, historically,” she said.
Another issue is how Norris found the artifacts and what she did with them. It’s against the law to remove artifacts from an archeological site and to enter a construction zone without permission. Also, a “No trespassing” sign is posted.
O’Cain said she has spoken with Norris, who had agreed to return the objects to the zoo.
“I have no reason to believe she has knowingly done anything wrong,” O’Cain said.
She added that there are discussions about what to do with the artifacts, whether they should be included in some way in the new park.
“We’re not really sure,” O’Cain said. “We need to get the artifacts back first.”
This story was originally published August 21, 2018 at 5:44 PM.