Secret cellar unearthed beneath America's oldest Black schoolhouse reveals artifacts

Archaeologists at William Mary University in Virginia unearthed a piece of American history tied to the oldest surviving schoolhouse for Black children A secret cellar was located with plenty of artifacts such as slate pencil fragments and jewelry The Associated Press AP announced The building belongs to the Williamsburg Bray School which taught mostly enslaved students in the s using a religious framework to justify slavery ARCHAEOLOGISTS SOLVE GRIM MYSTERY OF -YEAR-OLD BUCKET UNVEILED AT HISTORIC TOURIST SITEThe Williamsburg Bray School was later transformed into a dormitory for selected of the first women to attend college William Mary s Center for Archaeological Research Tom Higgins mentioned the cellar was likely dug soon after the foundations were laid as it was not lined with bricks broadcasted AP CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTERHandmade ceramics associated with sites of enslavement and a shard of glass depicting Minerva Roman goddess of wisdom justice war and the arts were also located Katherine Rowe William Mary s president mentioned The roots of our city and university entwine here For more Lifestyle articles visit foxnews com lifestyle Every layer of history that it reveals gives us new insights into our early republic from the Williamsburg Bray School through the generations that followed up through the early th century she added according to AP The structure was discovered in by historians and is being restored by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation The Associated Press contributed to this description