AIPD Community Day

The public is invited to join us Saturday, October 3, 2026 from 1:00 – 4:00 pm for AIPD Community Day, presented by the Archaeological Institute of the Pee Dee and FCM. This free event will showcase a pop-up exhibition of recent findings from archaeological sites in our area, a family activity demonstrating how Colonial Americans set their table, and a demonstration of ceramic-making techniques used by local Native Americans. This is a great way to connect with and learn from experts who are active in local archaeology. All ages and interest levels are welcome! Guests are also cordially invited to a reception from 5:00 – 7:00 pm honoring Christopher Judge’s appointment as South Carolina’s fifth state archaeologist. Event Schedule 1:00 – 3:15 pm | Dr. Andrew Agha – Exhibit of Recent Highlights from Pee Dee Archaeology | Lobby 1:30 – 2:45 pm | Nicole Isenbarger – Setting a Patriot Table | Classroom 1:00 – 3:15 pm | Bobby Southerlin – Exhibit of Native American Pottery Techniques | Front of the Building 1:00 – 3:15 pm | Allie Sea – Ground – Penetrating Radar & Archaeology DEMO | Location TBD 3:30 – 4:30 | Chris Judge Lecture – Archaeological Monitoring at 38RD1598: Sourcing a Modern Midden | Lobby 5:00 – 7:00 pm | Reception Honoring Christopher Judge’s Appointment as South Carolina’s Fifth State Archaeologist | Lobby Event Details 1:00 – 3:15 PM – Lobby Event: The Best of the Best: Exciting Artifacts from Local Florence-area Archaeology Sites. Description: Excavations sometimes produce thousands of artifacts from a site. Archaeologists use those artifacts to learn about daily life in the past. But within those thousands of artifacts are sometimes just a few that reveal rare, interesting, and exciting information that completely changes what we thought we knew about the site and what happened there in the past. See and learn about some of those artifacts at this display. About the Archaeologist: Dr. Andrew Agha has conducted archaeology since 1997 in South Carolina and the Southeast and obtained his PhD at the University of South Carolina in 2020. His primary research focus centers on the influences enslaved Africans and white indentured servants had on the origins of South Carolina agriculture in the 17th century. He also investigates the intersection between African cosmologies and enslaved African culture, specifically within rice agriculture in the South Carolina Lowcountry. He has worked for both private and public sectors and is currently CEO of Aghatech Industries LLC. Agha has been principal investigator on several AIPD archaeology projects in and around the greater Florence area. 1:00 – 3:15 PM – Front Walkway Description: Bobby Southerlin’s archaeological experiences often focused on studying the lifeways of Native Americans who lived in North Carolina and South Carolina. Now, he specializes in replicating the different pottery types found at Native American archaeological sites in the Carolinas to better understand both the artifacts and the potters. A variety of pottery vessel replications will be on display.. These represent examples of Native American pottery from the last 4500 years. Mr. Southerlin digs and processes his own clay and uses pottery fragments from archaeological sites as his inspiration/template. Vessels are open-fired in a shallow pit. On display will also be a variety of tools I use to construct different pottery types, and, conditions allowing, I will demonstrate my construction techniques by working on a small pot. Replica pottery vessels will be available for purchase. About the Archaeologist: Bobby G. Southerlin was born in North Carolina and graduated from Spring Valley High School near Columbia. He earned an undergraduate degree (BA) in Anthropology at the University of South Carolina and did graduate studies focusing on Southeastern Native American archaeology at the University of Georgia (MA). He worked in cultural resource management for many years before founding Archaeological Consultants of the Carolinas, Inc., in 2003. He is now enjoying his retirement playing with clay. 1:00 – 3:15 PM – Location TBD Description: See a demonstration of ground-penetrating radar in action. Learn from an expert at the forefront of this technology how its is being used to assist local archaeologists today. Allie Sea of ArchaeoSpatial Analytics will showcase how ground-penetrating radar (GPR) is being used to help inform archaeological work in our area. She has assisted with work at Site DA25 in Darlington County and Aimwell Cemetery in lower Florence County. About the Archaeologist: Allie Sea, president of ArchaeoSpatial Analytics, has spent more than a decade working as an archaeologist in the southeastern United States. She holds degrees in anthropology from Auburn University (BA) and the University of Mississippi (MA) and a GIS certification from Auburn University at Montgomery (AUM). Allie has directed numerous archaeological and remote sensing projects at all phases of investigation at the academic and professional levels in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee. She is a member of several professional organizations and has written articles for professional journals and edited volumes. 1:30 PM – 2:45 PM – Classroom Event: Setting a Patriot Table Description: Step into the past and shop like a colonial family during the American Revolution. Choose dishes for your table and discover which items Patriots used – and which they gave up – during the boycott of English goods. This hands-on activity invites kids and families to explore how big ideas and tough choices shaped everyday life. About the Archaeologist: Nicole Isenbarger has over fifteen years of experience conducting archaeology in the South Carolina Lowcountry for both local and private entities. She has worked on a variety of projects, including plantations throughout the Lowcountry and Bahamas; urban gentry houses, gardens, and markets; and historic and prehistoric Native American sites. Her most meaningful research has explored how the enslaved at Dean Hall Plantation (Berkeley County, SC) made their own pottery for personal cooking and religious uses within their households, and as a commodity in the local markets to earn money to buy necessities beyond their rations. Her current work is uncovering the lives of the colonists and early defenses of the original seventeenth-century British settlement in Charleston. 3:30 PM – 4:300 PM – Lobby Event: Lecture – “Archaeological Monitoring at 38RD1598: Sourcing a Modern Midden” Description: Archaeological monitoring of a manhole installation on the University of South Carolina campus this summer revealed a 1950’s era community dump associated with the Wheeler Hill community. Wheeler Hill, a working-class African American neighborhood, was condemned and razed as USC expanded in 1965. In recent years, researchers with USC’s Center for Civil Rights History and Research and others have documented the insensitive manner in which this occurred through historical, photographic, archival, and oral history projects. My project included monitoring and photo documentation of artifacts before the removal of soil transfer to a modern sanitary landfill. Artifacts include evidence of foodways, ceramics, glass, cutlery, and zooarchaeological remains, containers from soda and beer consumption, toiletries, medicines, cosmetics, cleaning supplies, insect repellent, toys, and clothing. We are fortunate in South Carolina to live in a day and age where Town and Gown relations between colleges and communities preclude such behavior. Or do we? About the Guest of Honor: Christopher Judge has studied Native Americans in South Carolina for over thirty-five years. The lens that informs my research is the anthropological archaeology of precontact cultures. Additionally, Judge has conducted oral history research in living Native American communities throughout South Carolina. Currently, he is the Assistant Director of the Native American Studies Center at USC Lancaster, teaching anthropology and archaeology courses. Judge holds a B.A. (1983) and an M.A. (1987) degree in Anthropology from USC Columbia. He was recently appointed as South Carolina’s Fifth State Archaeologist. 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM – Lobby Event: Reception Honoring Archaeologist Christopher Judge Description: Guests are also cordially invited to a reception from 5:00 – 7:00 pm honoring Christopher Judge’s appointment as South Carolina’s fifth state archaeologist. AIPD Chairman Ben Zeigler will share remarks honoring Chris Judge’s commitment to regional archaeology. About the Guest of Honor: Christopher Judge has studied Native Americans in South Carolina for over thirty-five years. The lens that informs my research is the anthropological archaeology of precontact cultures. Additionally, Judge has conducted oral history research in living Native American communities throughout South Carolina. Currently, he is the Assistant Director of the Native American Studies Center at USC Lancaster, teaching anthropology and archaeology courses. Judge holds a B.A. (1983) and an M.A. (1987) degree in Anthropology from USC Columbia. He was recently appointed as the fifth State Archaeologist in South Carolina.