By Michael R. Ebertmichael.ebert@newsday.com
When Jamie Cohen heard that a Hofstra University archeological team would be digging near the Joseph Lloyd Manor House in July, he instantly wanted to get involved.
Cohen, a graduate student and adjunct professor, had been fascinated by the hidden mysteries of the historic site, which is rumored to have once housed Colonial-era slaves. So for five weeks, the outgoing Cohen and fellow student filmmaker Nicole Samartino decided to videotape the 16-person team on their unique quest to unearth Long Island’s past.
"We were a little anxious the first two weeks, because they didn’t find anything," explained Cohen. "But then, they started to uncover old ceramics, pipes and oyster shells. Long Island’s slavery is not well-recorded, so this project is very important in that respect."
According to team leader Chris Matthews, historical records reveal the Lloyd family owned 10 slaves in 1790, while a map shows a structure with a chimney at the dig’s location, but does not label it. During the project, the Hofstra team dug nine holes that revealed the foundations for three of the structure’s four walls. They also found about 1,000 artifacts, which they plan to analyze this winter to surmise whether slaves lived in the building.
Cohen’s documentary tells the story. Entitled "A Sense of Place," the brief piece is currently available for viewing on Current TV’s website, which is an independent media led by former U.S. Vice President, Al Gore. For the most part, the website features "pods," or short programs, of which 30% are created by viewers and are documentary in nature.
"My goal with the documentary is to spread the newly-researched genre of archeology to as many people as possible," explained Samartino, 20, the video’s associate producer, who admitted she was "blown away" by the dig. "All our lives in school we’ve been taught that slaves were in the South and came to the North to be free, but that’s a generalization. These slaves were living right here in our backyards. That’s a pretty intense subject."
Matthews agrees, which is why he’s employing proper archeological processes, so not to "ruin" the site. His team of students and local volunteers dug in horizontal layers, letting the soil tell the story. So far, some of the more noteworthy findings include piles of shells and markings on doorways that might be symbolic of African religious beliefs.
"We’re looking for evidence that shows the space was used by an African culture, versus a European culture," said Matthews, whose team will continue the dig next summer. "Archeological digging is like reading a book from back to front. It’s quite fascinating."
Cohen added that archeology essentially "gives a voice to things forgotten."
"It’s truly amazing to know that people, seemingly slaves, once sat there," he said, noting that Jupiter Hammon, America’s first published black poet, was one of the 10 slaves.
So far, Cohen’s Lloyd Harbor documentary has been viewed about 400 times and garnered positive feedback. If it collects a high number of a "green lights" from viewers, Cohen says it will be aired on Current TV’s nationally syndicated station available via a number of television providers, such as DirecTV and Dish Network, but not Cablevision.
"There’s not an exact number of green lights that leads to a television appearance," said Cohen, who plans to expand the documentary into a longer piece this fall. "So far, we have 45 votes. We’d love to get it on TV and share it with as many people as possible."
To view "A Sense of Place," click on the following link: http://www.current.tv/watch/133242702.
Cohen, a graduate student and adjunct professor, had been fascinated by the hidden mysteries of the historic site, which is rumored to have once housed Colonial-era slaves. So for five weeks, the outgoing Cohen and fellow student filmmaker Nicole Samartino decided to videotape the 16-person team on their unique quest to unearth Long Island’s past.
"We were a little anxious the first two weeks, because they didn’t find anything," explained Cohen. "But then, they started to uncover old ceramics, pipes and oyster shells. Long Island’s slavery is not well-recorded, so this project is very important in that respect."
According to team leader Chris Matthews, historical records reveal the Lloyd family owned 10 slaves in 1790, while a map shows a structure with a chimney at the dig’s location, but does not label it. During the project, the Hofstra team dug nine holes that revealed the foundations for three of the structure’s four walls. They also found about 1,000 artifacts, which they plan to analyze this winter to surmise whether slaves lived in the building.
Cohen’s documentary tells the story. Entitled "A Sense of Place," the brief piece is currently available for viewing on Current TV’s website, which is an independent media led by former U.S. Vice President, Al Gore. For the most part, the website features "pods," or short programs, of which 30% are created by viewers and are documentary in nature.
"My goal with the documentary is to spread the newly-researched genre of archeology to as many people as possible," explained Samartino, 20, the video’s associate producer, who admitted she was "blown away" by the dig. "All our lives in school we’ve been taught that slaves were in the South and came to the North to be free, but that’s a generalization. These slaves were living right here in our backyards. That’s a pretty intense subject."
Matthews agrees, which is why he’s employing proper archeological processes, so not to "ruin" the site. His team of students and local volunteers dug in horizontal layers, letting the soil tell the story. So far, some of the more noteworthy findings include piles of shells and markings on doorways that might be symbolic of African religious beliefs.
"We’re looking for evidence that shows the space was used by an African culture, versus a European culture," said Matthews, whose team will continue the dig next summer. "Archeological digging is like reading a book from back to front. It’s quite fascinating."
Cohen added that archeology essentially "gives a voice to things forgotten."
"It’s truly amazing to know that people, seemingly slaves, once sat there," he said, noting that Jupiter Hammon, America’s first published black poet, was one of the 10 slaves.
So far, Cohen’s Lloyd Harbor documentary has been viewed about 400 times and garnered positive feedback. If it collects a high number of a "green lights" from viewers, Cohen says it will be aired on Current TV’s nationally syndicated station available via a number of television providers, such as DirecTV and Dish Network, but not Cablevision.
"There’s not an exact number of green lights that leads to a television appearance," said Cohen, who plans to expand the documentary into a longer piece this fall. "So far, we have 45 votes. We’d love to get it on TV and share it with as many people as possible."
To view "A Sense of Place," click on the following link: http://www.current.tv/watch/133242702.
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