The results of an archaeological study of one of Island’s oldest homes will become the first site in Bermuda to feature in a renowned international archive.

The Gardener’s Cottage was examined by archaeologists and architectural historians last summer and their findings are now being catalogued in the Digital Archaeological Archive of Comparative Slavery (DAACS) based at Monticello, Virginia.

The crumbling cedar structure, which had been incorporated into a newer brick building and occupied a small lot on The Fairmont Southampton property, is believed to date back to the 1690s.

Last year, the house was saved from the wrecking ball by conservationists who meticulously took the structure apart so it could be reassembled as a historic exhibit.

The project to transfer the data on to the DAACS has been undertaken by Dr Brent Fortenberry, a research scientist at Clemson University in South Carolina, who was involved in the original salvage work.

“The remit of the DAACS is the broader study of enslavement in the early modern Atlantic World and to investigate the lives of enslaved Africans from a comparative perspective,” Dr Fortenberry said.

“This site will be the first from Bermuda to be catalogued into the DAACS database.

“Once compiled, this archaeological data can be compared to other sites associated with enslaved Africans from Virginia, South Carolina, Jamaica and Barbados, among others.”

This month, Dr Fortenberry is undertaking a fellowship at the International Centre for Jefferson Studies at Monticello.

The fellowship involves the study of the archaeological material from Gardener’s Cottage that was deframed by the National Museum and the Bermuda National Trust last summer.

“It is my hope that this will be the first of a battery of projects, using both newly excavated sites and existing archaeological collections, that focus on the experiences of enslaved Bermudians during the historic period,” Dr Fortenberry told The Royal Gazette.

“Such experiences form an invaluable part of Bermuda’s broader cultural heritage mosaic.”

During the archaeological survey of the cellar area of the cottage last year, experts discovered ceramics dating back to the 17th century.

The archaeologists found an uncovered oven cut into the bedrock and an ash pit cut into the bedrock floor.

They also discovered a small writing slate, a late 17th century chamber pot and possible etchings on the north wall.