I wasn’t sure what to write about for this post, so I visited the MSU Campus Archaeology Program website and was immediately interested in an article titled, ‘Rethinking the ‘Sacred Space’.’
The article informs the reader of the ‘sacred space’ here at MSU that was where campus construction first began. In the 1870s, the MSU president declared that no further construction would take place in the oak area.
“It is perceived as one of the last historic and authentic feature of MSU’s campus, which has led to the it being discussed as a static, preserved landscape.”
Recently, the MSU Campus Archaeology Program excavated the ‘sacred space’ to gain a better understanding of the early years of the college. Their findings led to 5 conclusions about the ‘sacred space’.
1. Because the space was deemed as ‘sacred’ artifacts that are discovered here have been well preserved. They would have been otherwise destroyed by construction of the area. Because of the space’s historic attributes, the majority of MSU’s historic artifacts are found there.
2. Even though the site is supposed to be ‘sacred’ and out of reach from the hands of construction, utilities run through the space. Campus development and technological advances were inevitable, however, steam tunnels, utility lines to supply water, gas and electric throughout the campus, and the replacement of the lampposts with electric versions have led to destructive alterations of the ground of the ‘sacred space’. The most apparent is College Hall’s building structure, which utility lines run through, has been damaged. The damage decreased the amount of information we can learn from the building’s past.
3. Old pathways from roads and sidewalks were discovered during the excavation. The evidence shows that they were once much smaller and more winding to create a park. Changes in the pathways are also due to technological advances such as the cement hybrid used for heated sidewalks along with the popularization of cars.
4. Brick, new soil, and building materials were found buried at the ‘sacred space’ leading the MSU Campus Archaeology Program to believe that these items were scattered around campus to level out hilly areas. In the area of the ‘sacred space’ there is a single, small, rolling hill that is believed to have been much larger in scale in the early days of the college. Brick, new soil, and building materials have also been found in North neighborhood sprawled in a similar matter.
5. The work of any archaeologist is destructive, including the work that the MSU Campus Archaeology Program did at the ‘sacred site’. Although they usually try to stick to areas that will be further destroyed regardless, they argue that the work they did at the ‘sacred site’ helped expand knowledge about MSU’s history.
I found this blog post topic quite fascinating. I vaguely remember Ethan mentioning archaeology and excavations on campus, but I was not aware Michigan State had a “Sacred Space,” so thank you for bringing that to light.
I looked into where exactly was designated “Scared Space” and I found that the protected area spans basically around old campus to the Red Cedar River, but it’s not clearly defined. I also stumbled across a detail that there used to be a brook that ran from East Grand River area to the Red Cedar River to help drain the swamps by East Grand River. This brook ran through the botanical gardens, but was filled in at some point around the early 1900s. Who would have guessed there used to be a stream running through campus?
When I first read through your blog post, I immediately thought that if this space was considered so sacred, then why were excavations allowed? However, I then realized that is the main problem with all excavations. They are essential and necessary to further understand culture, history, and the lives of the people who came before us. On the other hand, they are destructive and pretty much irreversible. So in short, archaeological excavations are kind of a moral concern – should we destroy history to learn more about said history? Or should we preserve the sites and maybe prevent more discoveries and the expansion of knowledge? It’s a difficult situation, but personally I believe it is important to try to gain as much knowledge as we can about these sites and their rich history, so I think the excavations of MSU’s “Sacred Space” were justified.