PRESS RELEASE
The Nevis historical and Conservation society announces that Archaeologists from Monmouth University will conduct a three-week archaeological project at Fort Charles. Fort Charles is one of the earliest British Forts in the Caribbean and was occupied for more than two centuries. Archaeology at the site will document the changing experience of colonial citizens from initial settlement in the mid-1600s to the eventual abandonment of the fort in the late 1800s.
The project’s leader, Dr. Edward González-Tennant is hopeful that this summer’s project will also provide new information regarding the non-plantation experiences of enslaved Africans, who were often forced to work at British Forts. He believes a more exciting potential is the ability to investigate the lives of free Afro-Caribbean individuals and groups who were sometimes enlisted by the British military following emancipation in 1834.
This season’s field work is part of a larger, multi-year project to document many aspects of Nevisian heritage. Two cultural anthropologists will accompany the archaeologists this summer. Their research concentrates on collecting oral histories related to Nevisian culture. These researchers are particularly interested in collecting personal testimonies related to bush medicine and the MV Christena wreck of 1970. The cultural anthropologists will also document the archaeological work at Fort Charles.
A public day is scheduled for Saturday, June 1st. School groups who would like to visit are invited to contact Edward González-Tennant via email egonzale@monmouth.edu or cell phone 667-6510 (available beginning May 20th).
