NEWS
NEWS PODCAST WE'RE TALKING ABOUT NATHAN HARRISON, SAN DIEGO'S FIRST BLACK HOMESTEADER
.HE WAS BROUGHT WEST FROM
KENTUCKY AS A SLAVE IN THE LATE
EIGHTEEN HUNDREDS AND ENDED UP
MAKING HIS PERMANENT HOME ON
TOP PALOMAR MOUNTAIN THERE
RIGHT HERE ARCHEOLOGIST SETH
MALLEUS DISCOVERED HARRISON'S
CABIN IN TWO THOUSAND AND FOUR
AND OVER THE YEARS HAS
UNCOVERED FIFTY THOUSAND
ARTIFACTS. SETH, THANKS SO MUCH
FOR JOINING US THIS MORNING.
THANKS AND WELCOME TO THE BIG
DIG. THE FIRST THING I'D LIKE
TO START WITH IS WE FOUND A
BUNCH OF A LOT OF SMALL
ARTIFACTS BUT HERE'S THE BIG
ARTIFACT. THE STRUCTURE ITSELF
.THIS CABIN WAS COMPLETELY
BURIED AND COVERED IN WAIST
HIGH WEEDS WHEN WE START BUT WE
REMOVED ALL THE DIRT AND WHAT
HAD EXPOSED WAS THIS PERFECT
SQUARE CABIN AND WHAT'S SO
INTERESTING ABOUT THIS IS
NATHAN HARRISON SURVIVED
SLAVERY CAME OUT DURING THE
GOLD RUSH, ENDURED THE WILD
WEST AND THEN WHEN IT WAS HIS
TIME TO BUILD HIS OWN HOUSE, HE
BUILT A STRUCTURE THAT WAS JUST
LIKE A SLAVE QUARTERS FROM THE
SOUTH. WE'VE DONE A LOT OF WORK
IN VIRGINIA, NORTH CAROLINA AND
WE SEE THE SAME SORT OF SQUARE
STRUCTURE, A PERFECT DIAGONALS
TO IT SINGLE ONE ROOM HOUSE AND
SO IT TOOK US MANY YEARS TO
UNCOVER ALL THIS AND THERE ARE
ALL SORTS OF KEY DETAILS WITHIN
IT INCLUDING IF YOU LOOK REALLY
CLOSELY HERE IS THE CUT OF THE
ORIGINAL DOORWAY. IT WAS A
SUNKEN FLOOR WHICH KEEPS A
LITTLE COOLER IN THE SUMMER, A
LITTLE WARMER IN THE WINTER AND
THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN ABOUT FIVE
AND A HALF FOOT DOORWAY WITH A
SHINGLE ROOF. SO SO RIGHT NOW
I'M WALKING OUT OF HERE SOME
STRUCTURE AND ANOTHER THING
THAT IS UNIQUE TO
AFRICAN-AMERICAN TRADITION IS
THE PATIO. THE PATIO WAS WHERE
A LOT OF THE ACTIVITY WAS. WE
DIDN'T FIND THAT MANY ARTIFACTS
IN THE STRUCTURE BUT THE PATIO
WAS LOADED. BUT I'LL TELL YOU
IT GETS EVEN BETTER WHERE THE
STUDENTS ARE DIGGING NOW JUST
BEYOND THE PATIO. THAT'S WHERE
THE TRASH PIT IS. AND IF AND IF
YOUR VIEWERS KNOW ANYTHING
ABOUT ARCHEOLOGY, WE LOVE TRASH
AND THAT'S THAT'S WHERE THE
BEST STORY IS. WELL, OK. SO I
HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS FOR YOU
THAT THIS WASN'T DISCOVERED
UNTIL 2004. THAT'S REMARKABLE
IN ITSELF. HOW DID YOU COME
ACROSS IT AND WHAT'S THE BEST
THING YOU FOUND ON THIS DIG SO
FAR? WELL, IT'S FUNNY. WHEN WE
STARTED THE DIG WE WERE GOING
ON A LOT OF THE LOCAL LORE
ABOUT WHERE THE SITE WAS AND
THERE WERE SOME THERE WERE SOME
FALSE STARTS, SOME HITS AND
MISSES AND IT'S FUNNY WHEN WE
STARTED THE DIG I HAD TWO
SIMULTANEOUS STORIES. ONE WAS
THAT WE WOULD FIND NOTHING AND
THE OTHER WAS THAT WE WOULD
FIND TOO MUCH AND FORTUNATELY
WE HIT THAT SWEET SPOT WHERE WE
FOUND A LITTLE BOTH IN TERMS
OF THE MOST INTERESTING THINGS
AT THE SITE. IF YOU COME OVER
HERE TO WHERE WE'RE DIGGING
RIGHT NOW, LET'S SEE DO YOU
HAVE THAT SHIRT? WHAT WE HAVE
HERE IS A PIECE OF ENGLISH
PORCELAIN AND ONE OF THE
REASONS THIS IS SO INTERESTING
IS IN THIS AREA WE FOUND A
BUNCH OF ARTIFACTS FROM LONDON,
ENGLAND AND WHEN WE THINK ABOUT
THIS AREA, THIS WAS THE
FRONTIER MIDDLE OF NOWHERE AT
TIMES STILL FEELS LIKE IT'S THE
MIDDLE OF NOWHERE. BUT WE FOUND
A GAUDENS DRY GIN BOTTLE FROM
THE EARLY NINETEEN. THIS PIECE
OF ENGLISH PORCELAIN ALSO EARLY
NINETEEN HUNDREDS. AND WHAT'S
INTERESTING ABOUT THIS IS THIS
THIS IS KNOCK OFF CHINESE
PORCELAIN. IT'S NOT NEARLY AS
NICE AS THE FINE PLACE IN CHINA
BUT IT WAS PART OF THIS WILD
WEST ASSEMBLAGE THAT WE'RE
SEEING IN THIS PARTICULAR AREA.
SO WHERE THE STUDENTS ARE
DIGGING THIS IS ALL
UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY. I NEVER
KNOW WHAT'S GOING TO COME UP
NEXT. THAT'S WHY THEY'RE
DIGGING SO CAREFULLY AND THAT'S
ALSO WHY WE SCREEN THE TO MAKE
SURE WE DON'T MISS ANYTHING.
GOTCHA. SO THESE STUDENTS ARE
HARD AT WORK HERE. HOW DO YOU
MANAGE TO GET SAY A ONE HUNDRED
YEAR OLD RUSTY PIECE OF METAL
OUT OF THE GROUND WITHOUT
COMPLETELY DESTROYING IT? I
MEAN YOU REALLY GOT TO KEEP
THAT INTACT AND GO THROUGH
THINGS WITH LIKE A FINE TOOTH
COMB HERE OR BRUSH. YEAH, IT'S
A GREAT QUESTION IF YOU LOOK
HERE, KATHLEEN IS WORKING RIGHT
NOW. SHE IS WORKING ON A
SARDINE CAN EVEN THOUGH THAT
SARDINE CAN MAY LOOK RECENT.
IT'S NOT AND WHAT YOU HAVE TO
DO IS YOU HAVE TO CAREFULLY DIG
AROUND, PEDESTAL IT AND THEN
YOU CUT IT OUT IN A SINGLE
BLOCK. THERE'S NOTHING EASY
ABOUT THIS BETWEEN THE HEAT,
THE BUGS AND THE METAL
DETERIORATING BEFORE OUR VERY
EYES AND YOU SEE ALL THE ROCKS
WE'RE DEALING WITH AS WELL. IT
IS VERY TRICKY BUT THE GREAT
THING IS IT'S THE STUDENTS ARE
LEARNING ALL THESE SKILLS CAN
BECOME PROFESSIONAL
ARCHEOLOGISTS ON A DAY BY DAY
BASIS. THAT'S AMAZING. WELL,
PEOPLE EVENTUALLY BE ABLE TO
SEE WHAT YOU FIND. YEAH, THIS
IS A PUBLIC ARCHEOLOGY PROJECT
AND WHAT WE'RE SO PROUD OF IS
THAT WE HAVE AN EXHIBIT AT THE
SAN DIEGO HISTORY CENTER RIGHT
NOW WHERE EVERYONE CAN SEE OUR
BEST SCIENCE. WHAT'S FUNNY IS
THIS WE KEEP FINDING MORE AND
MORE STUFF AND THE SITE KEEPS
CONTINUING THIS WAY. SO WE'RE
GOING TO BE ADDING TO IT BUT
ESPECIALLY THIS COMING
SATURDAY, JUNE 18TH, WE'RE
HAVING A CELEBRATION AND THE
HISTORY CENTER WILL HAVE STORES
OPEN AND YOU CAN SEE OUR
EXHIBIT THAT INCLUDES RECREATED
CABIN AS WELL AS AS MANY OF OUR
BEST FINDS FROM THE SITE. IT'S
JUST SO FASCINATING. YOU KNOW A
LOT MORE ABOUT NATHAN THAN MOST
PEOPLE. WHAT ABOUT NATHAN? DO
YOU WANT OUR VIEWERS TO KNOW IS
THERE SOMETHING SPECIAL ABOUT
HIM THE GUY, THE TRAVELER, THE
EXPLORER? WHAT DO YOU WANT US
TO KNOW ABOUT NATHAN? I THINK
THAT WHEN YOU LOOK AT ALL
HISTORICAL FIGURES IN SAN
DIEGO, I CAN'T THINK OF ANYBODY
THAT OVERCAME MORE ADVERSITY.
IT TRULY IS THE QUINTESSENTIAL
AMERICAN STORY IN TERMS
OF ENDURING SLAVERY AND DURING
THE GOLD RUSH AND DURING THE
WILD WEST, THE VOLATILE TIMES
IN WHICH HE LIVED, THE CONSTANT
VIOLENCE THAT HE FACED I CAN'T
THINK OF ANYBODY THAT FACED
MORE AND THEN THIS IS SOMETHING
THAT'S REALLY HARD FOR EVEN ME
TO WRAP MY HEAD AROUND THIS
THAT WAS BORN INTO SLAVERY
BEFORE THE CIVIL WAR BUT
ACTUALLY MET THE SURVEYORS WHO
ENDED UP SERVING THE LAND FOR
THE PALOMAR TELESCOPE. SO
SOMEHOW HE WAS BOTH BEFORE THE
CIVIL WAR AND HE WAS ALSO PART
OF WHAT WOULD BECOME THIS
MODERN AGE OF SPACE
EXPLORATION. IT'S PRETTY
AMAZING TO THINK ABOUT THE SPAN
OF HIS LIFE. INCREDIBLE STUFF.
MALLEUS WITH THAT INTERVIEW AND
SHOWING US AROUND THERE WHAT A
SIGHT THAT IS. THANKS FOR THAT.
I HAVE TO TELL YOU THANK YOU SO
MUCH FOR EDUCATING US. PROBABLY
ONE OF MY FAVORITE INTERVIEWS