City teams with MTSU archaeologists
and other partners to protect site
Well known among
Rutherford County locals as the reputed location of a speakeasy during the
1920s Prohibition Era, Black Cat Cave recently became the subject of an
archaeological excavation by a team of MTSU professors and students.
Conducted in spring 2014, the
MTSU field study came soon after the City of Murfreesboro discovered vandalism
and heavy looting to the cave, including graffiti and illegal digging. The study
confirmed the presence of a prehistoric cemetery at the site, and through radiocarbon-dating
it was determined that the human artifacts and human remains recovered from the
cave date back 5,000 to 7,500 years to what is known as the Middle Archaic
Period.
“The discovery of ancient
human remains within the confines of Black Cat Cave has required sensitivity to
the peoples and rituals of the ancient past,” said MTSU archaeologist Shannon
Hodge. “As a scholar of prehistoric culture, I appreciate the efforts of the
City of Murfreesboro to protecting and preserving this cultural resource.”
“Because this site has a
previously unknown prehistoric Native American cemetery on it, Murfreesboro
Parks & Recreation officials have been conscientious about treating the
site with respect and marking sure that the site is secure. We couldn’t have
asked for better partners.”
The public-private
partnership to protect and preserve the archaeological site has resulted in an
innovative gate system to prohibit public access to the north Murfreesboro property.
The new cave gate consists of steel columns supporting horizontal bars spaced
approximately 5 inches apart. The design balances cave security with biological
transparency, an important part of the design because it allows air and water exchange
in the cave system as well as habitat for cave-dwelling species.
“We recognize, with the
help of our MTSU partners, that Black Cat Cave is a cultural resource that must
be preserved,” said Lanny Goodwin, director of the Murfreesboro Parks &
Recreation Department. “We appreciate the work of the university’s scholars and
students, as well as the engineering firm Griggs & Maloney to preserve and
protect this newly found evidence of prehistory.”
Griggs & Maloney Inc.,
a Murfreesboro engineering and environmental consulting firm, teamed up with
the City of Murfreesboro Parks & Recreation Department, the MTSU Department
of Sociology and Anthropology and Rollins Excavating Company to plan, design
and construct the new gate system. The Native History Association also
participated in the planning.
The cave’s entrances had
been closed and fenced by the City due to the vandalism and potential liability
for injuries. A man-made concrete floor had covered-up the natural cave
flooring. Until last year’s vandalism drew its attention, the City had no
knowledge of any evidence of prehistoric or ancient activities within the cave.
The City partnered with
Aaron Deter-Wolf, a prehistoric archaeologist with the Tennessee Division of
Archaeology, and MTSU’s Hodge and fellow
archaeologist Dr. Tanya Peres. Peres and Hodge directed the team of MTSU
student volunteers to do the study, with their work including cleanup of
garbage and an assessment of the damage done to the natural cave walls and
cultural features.
Peres was able to
radiocarbon date charcoal samples from the site with funds from a Tennessee
Historical Commission grant.
“The ultimate goal is to
protect this Native American site from future episodes of vandalism and
looting, while gaining important archaeological information to better
understand the long-term use of the cave by various groups that lived in
Rutherford County,” said Peres, who recently left MTSU to take a position at
Florida State University.
Traditionally, historians
and archaeologists believed that for thousands of years much of Rutherford
County was a “no-man’s-land” between neighboring groups, used simply as a
hunting ground. But this site proves
that prehistoric people lived and thrived in the rich environment and abundant
natural resources in the county, Hodge said.
In its natural state,
Black Cat Cave had a 5- to 6-foot limestone shelf which formed a horizontal
opening, approximately 120 feet in length. During more modern history, the
cave’s opening
was barricaded with boulders
and a failing, aged fence for safety. The boulders and fence have been removed
and replaced with the new design.
Griggs & Maloney Vice
President Ryan Maloney said the new gate system is designed to protect cultural
and natural resources and “prevent public access to a potentially hazardous
environment.” The new gate system includes a “heavy duty, hinged opening” that will
allow future archaeological study, Maloney added.
In addition to modern
artifacts, including glass fragments from the cave’s speakeasy days, the 2014 dig
and screening uncovered stone artifacts and other evidence from the Middle Archaic
Period dating back more
than 5,000 years. The evidence includes ancient remains of freshwater mussel
and snail shells brought into the cave and discolored soil layers which are evidence
of human activity such as a hearth for a fire.
“Despite previous historical writings to the
contrary, this new evidence shows that people lived in what is now Rutherford
County for thousands of years,” added Peres. “This is a rich prehistoric
cultural past in Rutherford County that we are just beginning to understand.”
Peres has studied other
prehistoric sites in Rutherford County, including what is known as the Magnolia
Valley Site in the southwestern corner of the county. The site at Black Cat
Cave will help tell part of the story of prehistoric occupation in the area and
could expand understanding of how Rutherford County was used by prehistoric
people.
“As archaeologists, one major focus is to preserve
these resources not only for us, but for people who are going to come a decade,
a hundred or a thousand years after us,” Hodge said. “We want them to be able
to know as much and gain even more.”
Study of evidence found in the cave by the MTSU team is
ongoing.
For City News online, visit www.Murfreesborotn.gov.
No comments:
Post a Comment