MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. — This week, archaeologists in Milledgeville returned to Andalusia Farms to uncover pieces of history with their second excavation.
Georgia College partnered with Southern Research Historic Preservation Consultants to set up dig sites at the site Southern Gothic author Flannery O'Connor used to call home.
The over 500-acre tract of land was originally settled in 1814 as a cotton plantation and dairy farm before O'Connor's family purchased it in the 1930s.
Now, teams hope found artifacts reveal historical information to assist in restoring the property.
"It's a great time capsule of this enormous period of history," says Southern Research Principal Investigator, Liz Williamson. "In my parents time this person was alive and now we're doing work on the property. And the property itself has a very long history."
Williamson says that returning to Andalusia after months offsite has been a nice change in pace.
"This is the best of both worlds with the beautiful ground but also getting to do the things we don't do as often," says Williamson. "It's a treat to get to do a project like this."
The team plans to be there all week and so far, they have found pieces of pottery, nails, and brick work.
Southern Research and Georgia College plan to do yearly digs at Andalusia and with over 500 acres to cover, those excavations will be ongoing.
Georgia College Director of Historic Museums Matthew Davis hopes to uncover more pieces of Milledgeville history to share with the world as research continues.
"All it does is give us a better understanding, so that we can tell a more complete story," says Davis. "Engaging in this type of activity, doing this discovery, and seeing what we find, it makes me extremely happy and we just can't wait to bring the results to the public."
While teams will be working all week, Andalusia Farms is open for tours Tuesday through Sunday.
You can find the historic site at 2628 North Columbia Street in Milledgeville.