Archeological Survey, March 2004

Based on the oral tradition and written history of Portsmouth, the Norfolk State research team hired archeologists from AMEC Earth and Environmental to survey the downtown area. Archeologists Ryan Peterson and Duane Simpson traveled to Portsmouth in March 2004. They conducted an electrical resistance survey in three separate investigation areas.

1) West of the Emmanuel A.M.E. Church , an investigation was conducted to locate buried features that may have been associated with a former parsonage that was located in this area and possibly additional features that may pre-date the parsonage.

2) An area at the southeast corner of the Emmanuel A.M.E. Church was investigated to determine the potential presence of a tunnel associated with the Underground Railroad that was suspected to be located in this area.

3) The final location investigated as part of this project was the former Glasgow Street location of the church that burned in the nineteenth century.