Dig into the past at Joara, site of Indian village and Spanish fort

MORGANTON - Burke County boasts evidence of a Spanish fort built and then abandoned 20 years before Sir Walter Raleigh's ill-fated Lost Colony on Roanoke Island.

Now you can help dig into that past with area archaeologists with a series of free Dig Days in September and October.

Warren Wilson College archaeologist David Moore has been digging for clues in the Catawba River valley for 30 years. They struck pay dirt on the Berry farm off Highway 181 near Morganton, locating the moat and palisade wall surrounding Fort San Juan — believed to be the oldest European garrison in the interior of the continental United States.

The Spanish fort was built atop an Indian mound at a powerful Native American town known as Joara, home to perhaps 200 to 400 people, ancestors of the Catawba Indian tribe.

Hernando De Soto had passed through the town in 1540 on his excursion through the Southeast.

In 1567, captain Juan Pardo brought 125 men to Joara and built a permanent fort, interested in mining the gold rumored to be in the region.

But the tribe chafed at the Spanish occupation. By 1568, Fort San Juan and five other Spanish outposts in the region were destroyed, and the Spanish colonial capital on the coast of South Carolina abandoned its inland quest.

“This is one of the few instances when you have indigenous people in a successful act of resistance against the colonizing Europeans,” said Moore, who first excavated the site in 1986. “In the short run, this was a victory for Native Americans, but we know that didn’t last. Even so, it forever changed the history of the United States, and as a result, that of the world.”

The political and economic dynamics of the Catawba Valley, coupled with disease, led to a decline in indigenous populations. By the time new European settlers arrived roughly 150 years later, the area was devoid of Native Americans, according to Moore.

Through Warren Wilson College’s Work Program, students use the Berry site to enhance academic study with applied learning. Undergraduates on the Archaeology Crew process this material every summer.

They contribute to all of our studies and publications. We have to understand what we uncovered each year. Their work helps us do all the fundamental analysis,” Moore said.

Warren Wilson College, Tulane University and the University of Michigan are the primary supporters of the research project, while the site is also affiliated with Western Piedmont Community College. Through Moore and his research partners, professors Robin Beck of the University of Michigan and Christopher Rodning of Tulane University, students connect with their peers at other schools.

“Different institutions have different institutional cultures,” said Rodning. “Students learn more about the field of archaeology and how to do archaeology, and they find out more about the diversity of opportunities and experiences their peers are having across the country.”

Moore estimates over 600 students from across the U.S. have worked at the site since 2001. As of 2016 and after 16 years, he thinks the project is less than halfway to completion.

“There’s so much here,” said Moore. “There is nothing like this site anywhere else so far. This is the most intact 16th-century colonial fort in the U.S.”

Led by Exploring Joara Foundation and Warren Wilson staff members, “Dig Days” are slated for Sept. 9, 10, 16, 17 and 30; and Oct. 1, 14, 15, 21 and 22. Cost is $15 per day, and registration is required. No experience is necessary, but participants 14 and younger must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. For more information about fall Berry site “Dig Days” and tours, email ed@exploringjoara.org or visit https://exploringjoara.org/upcoming-events/fort-san-juan-field-school.