Archaeology in Action: South Conception Street Site
Posted on January 10, 2024 by Rachel Hines
The South Conception Street Site was one of three sites at “RV City” that we investigated for the I-10 Mobile River Bridge Archaeology Project. This site was the closest to downtown Mobile of any of our 15 sites for the I-10 project, but it also was the most disturbed by the interstate construction.
The 1904 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map showing our 2022 excavations at the South Conception Street Site (left). Courtesy of the Library of Congress. The map on the right shows the location of the site (in red) and the other sites for the I-10 MRB Archaeology Project (in gray).
The South Conception Street Site was primarily a residential area during the 19th-20th centuries. This site exemplifies many of the challenges of urban archaeology. It was covered by up to 2 meters of fill from the construction of I-10 in the 1960s-1970s, and many of the archaeological remains in this area were disturbed during construction.
Nearly two feet of different fill episodes at the South Conception Street Site. The
depth of the fill, as well as previous construction activities, hampered our excavations
here. Learn more about stratigraphy, or soil layers.
The available excavation area was also reduced due to the proximity to interstate ramps; we couldn’t get too close or we’d risk destabilizing them. We were also limited by potentially live utility lines that were buried at this site. For all these reasons, our excavations at this site were limited to the southwest corner of the site.
A brick chimney base dating to the late 19th century and affiliated with the houses
near 157-165 Eslava Street
The area around 157-165 Eslava Street had been excavated in 2014, revealing a brick wall and a chimney base associated with the homes in this area. When we returned in 2022, we focused on the area near 156-158 Eslava Street. The artifacts recovered from this area were mostly household debris, such as ceramics and bottle glass, and structural material, like nails and brick; however, there were less artifacts than we found at other sites in RV City.
These items were left behind by the people who lived on Eslava between S. Conception and St. Emanuel: (a) decorated shell button (b) thimble (c) glass bead (d) pipe bowl fragment (e) clay marble (f) ceramic marble
The South Conception Street Site is one of 15 sites we excavated for the I-10 Mobile River Bridge Archaeology Project, and one of three sites at RV City. Though this wasn’t the most archaeologically rich part of RV City, we did learn a lot at these sites. Learn more about our excavations at RV City and continue to follow along as we share our results from this project!