Date of Award
5-2026
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Historic Preservation (MHP)
Department
Architecture
Committee Chair/Advisor
Laurel Bartlett
Committee Member
Luke Pecoraro
Committee Member
Jon Marcoux
Committee Member
Johanna Andrea Rivera-Diaz
Committee Member
Claire Achtyl
Abstract
Many historic sites across the United States including plantations such as those in the South Carolina Lowcountry are increasingly at risk of development pressures, environmental changes, and the general loss of more ephemeral buildings associated with these sites. There is a growing preservation need to understand these more ephemeral buildings, especially their connection to enslaved individuals. However, with so many having been lost already or in the process of deteriorating, this area of study is increasingly becoming the purview of archaeologists who can study non-extant examples. Traditional methods of archaeological survey such as open-area excavations and shovel tests are not ideal for identifying the locations of these non-extant examples. Therefore, a new methodology blending established methods such as ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and light detection and ranging (LiDAR) with more cutting-edge methods like metal detecting offers a unique path to formally identifying these sites. This new methodology can also be used in a non-invasive way, safeguarding the archaeological record for future study while still going a long way towards pairing down locations for full-scale excavations.
This thesis investigates such a methodology, looking at metal detecting, GPR, and LiDAR surveys utilized in a non-invasive way to locate non-extant buildings. It also combines archival research and on-the-ground surveys to both show that with proper information these surveys can be highly successful, but also that even without any site information or known locations of buildings, this methodology can still shine. In the latter case, the survey location of this study, the Oaks Plantation in Charleston County, South Carolina, fits perfectly. Not much is known about the site, and no information is known about building locations, save for the plantation house site. These are essentially worst-case conditions for anyone trying to locate non-extant buildings. By utilizing this site with the methodology, this thesis shows that this process can still prove highly effective even without much information. Therefore, it can be concluded that since the methodology works under worst-case conditions, that it will only perform better under more optimal conditions where more information about the site is available.
Ultimately, the research revealed that metal detecting surveys are highly successful at identifying areas of interest even when the entire site is covered in metal signals. It also shows that even when GPR does not identify anything found by the metal detector that there is still utility in the data collected by the detector. In this way, this thesis offers tantalizing evidence supporting the more widespread use of metal detecting surveys to locate concentrations of metal objects that may be indicative either of activity in that area or even possible non-extant building footprints. The findings of this thesis suggest that the metal detector ought to be a more used tool within the toolchest of archaeologists but also can be a tool for preservationists and site managers wishing to conduct survey work prior to hiring archaeologists for more invasive methods. The findings and implications of this research are far reaching and show promise for the future of the study of non-extant ephemeral and non-ephemeral structures that so far are generally understudied and poorly understood. This study offers a path for the continued development of this field of research and a growing knowledge of how plantations were laid out, why they were laid out in a certain way, how certain buildings played into the operation of the plantation, and how individuals, particularly those enslaved, utilized these buildings.
Recommended Citation
Teasdale, Thompson McCormick, "Using Non-Invasive Metal Detecting, Ground-Penetrating Radar, and Light Detection and Ranging Surveys to Locate Non-Extant Structures on a Plantation in Charleston County, South Carolina" (2026). All Theses. 4718.
https://open.clemson.edu/all_theses/4718