Source: Charleston.net
By Robert Behre
The foundation recently uncovered near the Ashley River in Dorchester County is thought to be:
A) The oldest bricks discovered so far in the Carolinas.
B) The remains of Lord Anthony Ashley Cooper's fortified frontier settlement.
C) Part of a chimney.
PROVIDED by CARTER HUDGINS
The experts say it's likely all of the above, and they want to learn more about a site possibly settled just a few years after 1670, when British settlers first arrived at Albemarle Point downriver and began the Carolina colony.
The foundation dig took place about a month ago on private property. Those involved are reluctant to pinpoint its exact location but say its archaeological significance could be on par with Charles Towne Landing.
Andrew Agha, an archaeologist with Brockington and Associates, thinks it's the first British frontier settlement discovered outside Charles Towne Landing.
This brick foundation recently excavated in Dorchester County could be the oldest bricks in South Carolina, possibly dating as early as 1674, just four years after the British founded the colony. Most expect it's connected to a trading outpost owned by Lord Anthony Ashley Cooper.
"If someone can contest that, I want to know," he says. "I want to know what that site is."
http://www.charleston.net/news/2009/mar/02/the_oldest_bricks_carolinas73512/