NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — A team of archaeology students from the University of New Orleans excavated a part of the foundation underneath St. Louis Cathedral in the French Quarter as part of a planned restoration project.
According to the school, the Archdiocese of New Orleans had contractors come in to excavate two areas to determine the foundation’s condition ahead of the restoration project.
Church leaders said St. Louis Cathedral, the oldest active cathedral in the country, was finished in 1851 and that its foundation was laid in 1849. It was built on top of the foundation of a colonial 1727 church.
As contractors worked, they saw signs that the foundation may be older than expected. That’s when the archdiocese asked UNO’s team to come in.
“We were able to determine that these earlier foundations were almost definitely those of the St. Louis Church constructed in 1724-1727, the first permanent structure built on the site,” said UNO Professor Ryan Gray.
He explained why this was a prized find, stating, “It’s rare to have well-preserved French colonial era sites, even in the French Quarter because there’s been so much building that has happened on top of them.”
The school reported the team also found artifacts like French and Native American pottery, glass, clay smoking pipe fragments, fish bone, part of a religious medallion, a bead and nails.
The first excavation site is located in an interior side foyer. It’s about six feet deep.
According to Gray, the next excavation location will be at the front right doorway of the cathedral. He said he hopes to work closely with the contractors on the next site to “help refine the chronology of the site in the 18th century and use the layers to think about the social history of this area at the center of the city.”
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