Red Bay dig unveils artifacts, old home

By Staff
Melissa Cason
Franklin County Times
RED BAY – State Representative Johnny Mack Morrow unveiled the findings of the 2007 archeological dig on his property yesterday.
Project Manager Hunter Johnson said his team found artifacts dating back as far as 10,000 years ago, along with feature materials believed to be from a housing structure.
While the findings at the site continue to provide pieces of a puzzle in the past, Hunter and Morrow both agreed that this year's dig provided a positive learning environment for local students as hundreds of students from both the Franklin County and Russellville School Districts participated in the dig.
"When I started this project, I had two components in mind," Morrow said. "The first component was to educate. The second was to find out what Red Bay was like thousands of years ago."
Morrow added that each student deserves the opportunity to learn what life was like when Native Americans inhabited the area.
"When I was in school, we learned that American history started when Columbus discovered the new world," Morrow said. "We are finding artifacts that tell us that was a lie. There were people here, living 8,000 years before Christ."
Johnson added that the people who once called the Red Bay Bottoms home were a complex people with complex lives and family relations much like we have today.
"When you think about these people having families, relatives, and friends, that's when the pieces come together to tell what life was like during their time," Johnson said.
Johnson added that the Morrow site contributes considerably to the archeological record of the region and provides an excellent educational opportunity for students and educators to learn by doing and exploring.
Morrow said that he plans to host the dig every year until they have a clear picture of the history of Red Bay.
"We'll probably be here 20 years from now trying to paint a clearer picture of life before us," Morrow concluded.