Berry Site - The Wall Center For Archaeological Research Morganton NC And Joara Native American Town

Love to travel to history making places? Imagine visiting a town that has newly discovered that European Spanish Explorers had actually been there 2 decades before the English settlement of the Lost Colony. The Spanish Settlement at Joara Predates The Lost Colony at Roanoke by 20 years and was the home of one of the largest Native Indian Towns in the Eastern United States.

Below : The Berry Site Morganton NC - Archaeological Digs and Berry Site Stream



Above : The Wall Center for Archaeological Research Below : David Moore Senior Archaeologist and Dana Mathews

Below: Dana Mathews with Mary Charlotte Safford - Dean of Humanities & Social Sciences at Western Piedmont Community College

Below: The Ribbon Cutting at The Wall House - Carl and Linda Wall

Above: Wall Center Artifacts Room - Dana Mathews and Lorie Hansen

This weekend was not only beautiful in weather but also gave me the opportunity to visit the Grand Opening of the Wall Center in Morganton, North Carolina. There I spent hours looking at artifacts from the many digs that have been ongoing each summer since 2001. This new facility is beautiful and serves as a great information center for travelers wanting to learn more about the BERRY SITE , the Spanish Explorers who built forts there and the large tribes of Native Americans that lived and prospered in the same area - 20 years before the establishment of the Lost Colony.

The Carl and Linda Wall Center for Archaeological Research will be a facility for large-scale public involvement in regional archaeological research and education and it will house the Exploring Joara Regional Public Archaeology Program which was developed by David Moore, Robin Beck, and Christopher Rodning.

The BERRY SITE is only a short 8 miles from the Wall Center and during the summer months allows volunteers to come and participate in the archaeological digs and discoveries of artifacts that date back to the 16th century. See links below for more information on the BERRY SITE, it's history and the process to visit or volunteer for a summer dig.

The New Wall Research facility was made possible by the generosity of Carl and Linda Wall and the many others who donated their time, energy and monies. Visit the Exploring Joara Foundation and NC Office of State Archaeology at:
http://www.warren-wilson.edu/~arch/ejf.php

http://www.joarafoundation.org/

http://www.archaeology.ncdcr.gov/default.htm