CR 12: Digging Up History in Tuskegee - WSFA.com: News Weather and Sports for Montgomery, AL.

It takes patience and a steady hand.   One scrape at a time they are uncovering history.   The dig site is south of Tuskegee.  It's a chance for students at Tuskegee University to work with archeologists and get their hands dirty.   This path has witnessed history.   "During the Civil War troops came through here going from Montgomery to Columbus," said Glenn Drummond with the Ridge Project.  

It was known as the federal road, a key path used for transportation when horses and buggies ruled the road.   But this road goes back much farther than that.  Native Americans walked this same route 10,000 years ago.

Archeologists aren't digging alone.  They are getting help from students at Tuskegee University. "Most of them haven't had much time out in the dirt and heat,"  said archeologist Rob Perry.  

"It's not like we are Indiana Jones or anything but we are finding artifacts, we find something everyday," said TU student Raymond Lanphere.

There's no telling what they'll find.   From Indian pottery to ancient tools, they've picked a great spot.  "A lot of people don't get to do stuff they learn in the classroom, you usually can't do this stuff until you're in a master's program," said Lanphere.   It's hands in the dirt, hands on learning, that allows us to look back in history.

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