[Reporter] Digging into the past the Archaeology
Club at Whale Branch Middle School school is
making history come to life right in
their backyard.
The school was built on the site of the
Rouplemond Plantation which began in the
1730's. It harvested rice indigo and
cotton. [Eugene Brugger] We just about in the area that
we're in right now we think it was the
first private privy for slaves it's the
only one that archaeologists have ever
been able to uncover in the United
States so that's sort of a sort of a
special thing for us. [Reporter] So far students
have discovered a door lock century-old
nails and a shotgun shell. Historians say
the site is significant because it's
where a major revolutionary battle was
fought. [Daniel Battle] This battlefield sits really
alone is one of the more important
battlefields in the south and that the
battle of Port Royal Island was the first
American victory because right here this
was the first time land forces actually
invaded into the state of South Carolina. [Reporter] The students armed with shovels and
metal detectors have really enjoyed
searching the area for artifacts. [Matthew Montgomery] The
medal detectors like pick up different
kinds of metals in the ground like coins
and iron and aluminum but the little
thing we use is like when you have a lot
of dirt and the pile instead of using the
metal detector we just like put it in
there and it'll detect where the metal
is. [Jeremiah Webb] Is real exciting  because you never know
what you're gonna discover next. [Reporter] The
teachers hope students are learning a
sense of community pride as they learn
about the area's history. [Pamela Storey] The archaeology
Club is all about experiential learning
so we know that with experiential
learning kids learning is more
meaningful we taught them about the
history of Whale Branch school of Rouplemond and we were able to give them
vocabulary new vocabulary about metal
detectors about pin pointers and
they were actually able to literally get
their hands dirty. [Reporter] The project is funded
through a grant from the Centers for
Educational Excellence. At Whale Branch
Middle School,  Ron Lopes Beaufort County
School District.
