Tree removal accidentally unearths centuries-old artifacts at North Carolina church

    ELIZABETH CITY, North Carolina (WTKR) -- A church in Elizabeth City is waiting to hear back from State of North Carolina archaeologists on how to proceed after digging up potentially 300-year-old artifacts on its property.

On June 20, Rev. Daniel Cenci, the rector at Christ Episcopal Church on Elizabeth City's McMorrine Street, says crews began to dig up a rotting magnolia tree to make room for a new playground.

"They started digging a pit for drainage and they hit all of these bricks," Cenci told News 3 from the site, adding that he believed it could be an old crypt. “We sent away our work crew and started poking around a little bit more to see what was here. We started finding dishes and china and glassware.”

Uncertain of how old the artifacts were, Cenci says the church called its Downtown neighbor, The Museum of the Albemarle.

“They determined that this was significant enough and that the pieces were old enough that we should contact the state archaeological office, which we did. The state sent down a team that began excavating this past Tuesday," he told News 3.

Cenci says that team found more artifacts, which all sit in a church office.

They include pieces of glass and pottery; Chinese porcelain, an old French wine bottle, even bones believed to belong to a pig. They're believed to date back between the early-to-mid 1700s and the mid-1800s. The oldest artifact appears to be an old clay jug or pot.

"The folks from the museum say it can date as early as 1720," said Cenci.

That would predate Christ Episcopal Church's current building by more than 130 years. It was built in 1856 — the oldest church building in Elizabeth City, Cenci says. The church itself was founded in 1825.

Cenci tells News 3 that the church is waiting to hear from state officials in Raleigh to find out if their office will continue the dig or if the church has to take it from here. But he says parishioners are excited, as is he.

As fate would have it, Cenci double majored at University of Alabama in religious studies...and history.

“One of the reasons I was attracted to Christ Church was the history of this place," he said. “We’re (soon) celebrating our 200th anniversary and made this discovery of a home that was in existence when the church was founded. It gives us a great insight into what life was like here 200 years ago.”

And it all started with an innocent dig that happened to dig up an old city's roots.