From staff reports
A free public symposium to discuss the Search for Stuarts Town, the project to look for evidence of the lost Scottish colony, will be held from 1 to 4 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 4, at the USCB Center for the Arts Auditorium.
In August of 2022, a team of archaeologists from the University of South Carolina’s Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology (SCIAA) and the University of Florida spent a week doing an exploratory dig in The Point neighborhood of Beaufort – searching for the lost 17th Century Scottish colony of Stuarts Town.
All of the collected materials have been at the SCIAA laboratories in Columbia where, for these past few months, they have been meticulously cleaned, examined, and catalogued. The symposium on Feb. 4, will be the first public presentation of what was found, what it may (or may not) mean, and future plans for The Search for Stuarts Town project.
The symposium will include presentations on the history of Stuarts Town, the archaeological search for its remains, the history of the Yamasee Indians who were allies of the Stuarts Town colonists, and the archaeology of the nearby Yamasee town of Pocotaligo – where the 1715 Yamasee War began.
Professors participating from the University of South Carolina are Chester DePratter and Larry Rowland; from the University of Florida is Charles Cobb; from the University of Texas is Peter Moore; from the University of North Florida is Denise Bossy; and from the University of Michigan is doctoral candidate Hannah Hoover.
Learn about the findings, future plans, and the latest scholarship regarding both Stuarts Town and the Yamasee Indians. Afterwards, take the opportunity to meet the speakers and purchase a signed copy of Dr. Moore’s new book, Carolina’s Lost Colony: Stuarts Town and the Struggle for Survival in Early South Carolina.
Lobby doors open to the public at 12:30, and seating begins at 12:45 on a first-come first-served basis.
Sent out by the City of Beaufort, SC on behalf of the: Stuarts Town Action Group, Dr. Chester DePratter, StuartsTownActionGroup@gmail.com, www.stuartstown.com
