Artifacts uncovered from 1800s UNC college dining hall

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

New archaeological work has begun at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s New East site off Cameron Avenue.

New archaeological work began on Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025, at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s (UNC) New East site off Cameron Avenue. Work began after plans for a new park bench were halted under the discovery of artifacts. These artifacts were found at the former Steward’s Hall site—the first dining facility on the University of North Carolina campus at Chapel Hill. Archaeologists Heather Lapham and Mary Elizabeth Fitts led the UNC archaeology department's project, which involved excavating the site with their students.

According to The Daily Tar Heel, “Steward’s Hall, built in 1794, was the second building completed on campus. It served as a dining hall and commons area for students until 1816, when it was repurposed as a private boarding house." Lapham explained to their students that the dining hall was seemingly not well-liked by the students at the time and was known for serving “invariable service of mutton and of bacon too fat to be eaten.” Archaeology Magazine reports, “The building eventually became a private boarding house in 1816, before it was dismantled in 1847.”  

Fitts continued, “We're very easily careful digging where we did because we know we're keeping a permanent record. We're keeping all the things forever, and the permanent record of all the photos and all the information we generate.” 

Junior communication major Snow Liu is an active volunteer at the Archaeology Labriaterity. Liu explained, “Volunteers learn skills such as washing and categorizing the artifacts, saying he was looking for pottery shards and metals and trying to avoid unnecessary, irrelevant discoveries like rocks and plastic.”

According to Lapham, the team has uncovered pottery, window glass, and animal bones. “We have a bag somewhere with a number of pig bones in it,” Lapham said. “And we had a pig tusk come out [Tuesday].” 

Lapham goes on to assure the public that “we have everything washed up, so probably, I'm guessing, three to four weeks with everything else we have going on is [when] we'll invite folks back, and they can see all the artifacts that came out and we'll have more interpretations.” 

The discoveries will soon be available to look at the Ancient North Carolinians. This virtual museum shares aspects of North Carolina’s history and archaeology.

Ben Arbuckle, the associate chair of anthropology at UNC, explained, “Archaeologists will take historical texts when they're available, and then also do excavations, and look at the physical remains in the ground to reconstruct how people were living, what they were actually doing.”

Arbuckle later explained that archeology finds the remains “revealing the lives of regular people, not just elites, telling their real stories.” he goes on to state, “[Archeologists are] relevant to both ancient, the modern and new world, the old world," he said. "It's just another way to know more about the world through its either recent or distant past."

It is exciting to see new archeological work done on a historic campus that is so accessible to archeology students and staff in the area.