Historic Travellers Rest Digs into the Deep Past Without Lifting a Shovel

This week Historic Travellers Rest is utilizing ground penetrating radar to survey the property in an effort to better understand life years ago.  This technology is able to scan deep into the ground to see previous artifacts, structures, and more.  This allows a glimpse into the past without disturbing the site.  Before this type of technology, archaeologists would need to dig and excavate to try and understand the history of a location, but now, ground penetrating radar technology allows for a safer way to paint a picture of life before us.  This survey has been made possible through the generosity of The Henry Laird Smith Foundation, The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee through a discretionary grant and their Big Payback program, and the support of individual donors.

According to Travellers Rest Executive Director, Katie O’Bryan, “This survey report will allow us to provide a more inclusive history of Travellers Rest and learn more about all those that have resided on this property previously. This Ground Penetrating Radar survey will also help shape future site planning to ensure Nashville and Tennessee history is preserved for years to come.”

New South Associates, who are conducting this survey, will be on site January 25 through January 29. On January 29th there will be special guided archeology grounds tours and guests will be able to observe this survey process in action. Tours begin at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. and last approximately 45 minutes.

For more information on this valuable survey or to schedule your tour, please visit https://historictravellersrest.org.

Media Contact:

Margaret Tolbert

Margaret@tolbert.social

Interim Sales and Event Coordinator

615-832-8197

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