X Marks the Spot for Show and Tell: Texas A&M University at Galveston Researchers to Discuss Scientific Treasure Unearthed Below the Surface of Maison Rouge
Community Day on May 23 will showcase findings from two-week long field school
After two weeks of digging in the dirt where pirates and others once stood, a multidisciplinary team from Texas A&M University and LX Heritage is ready to reveal what they discovered below the surface at the Maison Rouge site.
On Saturday, May 23, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., a community day will be held at 1417 Harborside Drive, in Galveston to provide an opportunity to hear from the researchers and students who have been involved in a two-week-long Field School at the site of the former home of infamous pirate Jean Lafitte.
The field school was conducted as part of the La Maison Rouge Archaeological Project. Annaliese Dempsey, founder of LX Heritage and Texas A&M University PhD. student with the Department of Anthropology, serves as the principal investigator and project lead. Rachel Matheny, vice president of LX Heritage and Texas A&M University PhD. student with the Department of Anthropology, serves as field director.
“We have partnered with Professor Kristin Josvoll in order to offer opportunities with the project to TAMU students and blend archaeological training with the Museum Studies program,” Dempsey said.
TAMUG professors Adam Haney, Instructional Associate Professor, Maritime Studies College of Marine Sciences & Maritime Studies and Kristin Josvoll, Instructional Associate Professor & Internship Coordinator, Maritime Studies College of Marine Sciences & Maritime Studies led students from the Galveston and College Station campuses in unearthing hundreds of years of history.
In addition to unearthing artifacts, soil core samples collected at the site are undergoing analysis by Dr. Timothy Dellapenna, Professor, Department of Marine and Coastal Environmental Science, College of Marine Science and Maritime Studies, Texas A&M University at Galveston.
Although the site once bore footprints made by Lafitte’s feet, the history of the parcel of land on Harborside Drive goes far beyond a single resident.
From being the site of a hotel where Sam Houston once ran up quite a tab, to a place where local children once played, centuries of island history and lore are beneath the surface waiting to be uncovered.
Funding for the field school came from Urgent Care of Galveston, which contributed $15,000 to help unearth the secrets beneath the surface.
Although much has been unearthed, there are many discoveries waiting to be found. Jean Lafitte is long gone, but researchers at Texas A&M University at Galveston have only scratched the surface of items left behind.
