In Belvoir: An Archaeology of Maryland Slavery, Julie M. Schablitsky excavates more than just artifacts; she uncovers stories of survival, resistance, and restoration of enslaved African Americans who lived and worked at Belvoir during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Through archaeological discovery and collaboration with descendant communities, Schablitsky reshapes how we remember slavery in America and offers a model for ethical archaeology rooted in justice and care.
Unearthed truths, buried lives: Belvoir reveals the pain, resilience, and reckoning found beneath the soil of a Maryland plantation.
Near Annapolis, Maryland, a former tobacco plantation dating to the 1730s holds centuries of untold history. In Belvoir: An Archaeology of Maryland Slavery, Julie M. Schablitsky leads readers on an archaeological narrative to unearth the lives and stories still buried there.The book begins with an introduction to the estates history, detailing its ownership by prominent families such as the Rosses, Scotts, Worthingtons, and Welshes. Schablitsky highlights the landscape of the estate, including the unique thirty-two-square-foot stone quarter built for enslaved people.
With sensitivity and scientific rigor, Schablitsky shifts focus to the enslaved people who lived and labored at Belvoir for more than eighty years. Through detailed excavation of the stone quarter and analysis of everyday artifactsbuttons, tobacco pipes, food remains, ceramicsshe reconstructs the daily life, acts of resistance, and the cultural endurance of a community forced to navigate brutality.
Yet what makes Belvoir especially vital is its ethical compass. Schablitsky centers the voices of descendants, allowing their questions, memories, and presence to shape the narrative. The result is a groundbreaking archaeological case study and a blueprint for restorative justice at sites of enslavement. Scholars, archaeologists, and general readers alike will find Belvoir a deeply human, profoundly necessary book, one that confronts the past with clarity, care, and the hope of reconciliation.
