Charleston College Construction Reveals Civil War Artillery Shell

CHARLESTON, S.C. — Construction workers recently discovered a Civil War-era artillery shell while working on the expansion of the Sylvia Vlosky Yaschik Jewish Studies Center at the College of Charleston.

A hardened layer of sediment enchased the shell, which was about 9 inches in diameter and shaped like a pointed bullet, reported The Post and Courier. The shell was intended to be fired from a rifle, although it was unclear of whether it belonged to Union or Confederate soldiers. Although it was about 150 years old, the shell could have still posed a threat, which is why authorities asked construction crews to leave the property and evacuated nearby buildings.

“It is quite common to find Civil War artifacts on the peninsula, not always as spectacular as an unexploded shell, though they are found every once in a while,” College of Charleston Archaeology Professor Barbara Borg told The College Today. “From time to time battalions of soldiers came through and camped in large numbers, so it is common to find horse hardware, ceramics, cookware, buttons and buckles from clothing, pewter silverware and, where preservation is really good, items made out of wood, like drumsticks and the wooden parts of brushes.”

Construction on the expansion broke ground in February 2014. The expansion project will double the size of the current three-story, 12,000-square-foot facility, which houses the school’s Jewish Studies program.

Charleston, in fact, was once a hub of Jewish life and religious freedom, and the Center for Southern Jewish Culture will emphasize the 300-plus-year history that Jewish residents have in the city. The city is home to the oldest Hebrew Orphan Society, the oldest Hebrew Benevolent Society, the first temple sisterhood, the first Jew elected to public office in the western world and more, reported The Post and Courier.

A major part of the expansion includes space for a 5,000-square-foot kosher dining facility — the only one in the city — with fish, vegetarian, vegan and kosher options. While it will help attract prospective students who have strict diets, it will also attract local residents looking for the option to eat kosher or vegetarian.

It will be named in honor of Jewish Studies Program Director Dr. Martin Perlmutter, who has a passion for ethical eating and is a vegetarian. As such, the dining facility will be also used as a classroom, educating students, faculty and the Charleston community about ethical eating through workshops, lectures and experiential learning.

The expansion will also include additional classrooms for the School of Languages, Cultures and World Affairs, the Center for Southern Jewish Culture and Zucker/Goldberg Center for Holocaust Studies.

A $1 million pledge was made by donors towards the $10 million A Time to Build campaign, which launched in fall 2011 supporting the construction projects and the future of the school’s Jewish Studies program.

The project is on schedule to be completed in late 2015 — that is, if no more Civil War artifacts delay the process.