College students discovering a drinking establishment isn’t anything new. But this one isn’t your everyday bar.
Last year at the ruins of Brunswick Town, North Carolina — a once-thriving colonial port burned by British soldiers in 1776 and never rebuilt — East Carolina University doctoral student Matt Harrup found the remains of a tavern no one knew about.
Equipped with ground-penetrating radar, Harrup had unveiled a tavern – some speculate it could also have served as a brothel – measuring roughly 400 square feet and buried under 5 feet of leaves and soil. It was on a spot of land that should have been empty, according to historic maps of the town.
Now, following a monthlong excavation by ECU students on a summer field class, experts say the building probably burned down years before Brunswick Town proper, its walls caving in to seal and preserve untouched artifacts from colonial America.
Originally publisehd July 2, 2019.