BRICK BRIGADE
 Mending Fences and Building Community
On April 30, 2008, Secretary of State Jay Dardenne welcomed 94 seventh and eighth grade students from McKinley Middle Magnet School and Riser Middle School of West Monroe, La. to the Old State Capitol’s annual Louisiana History and Heritage Day.
Each year the Old State Capitol Education Department highlights a special topic in Louisiana history. The 2008 Louisiana History and Heritage event, entitled LOSC Brick Brigade: Mending Fences and Building Community, brought students and archaeologists together to preserve an important part of Louisiana’s political and cultural history—the Old State Capitol’s 160-year old historic fence.
Guest archaeologists from the Louisiana Department of Archaeology and the Southeast Regional Archaeology Station at LSU helped students investigate layers of statehouse history and examine century-old bricks and artifacts. Student “Brick-a-diers” participated in a variety of computer-based and hands-on activities, including actual field work in which students screened for and catalogued historic artifacts.
Sponsors for the event included Secretary of State Jay Dardenne, Jerry Campbell and Associates, Cangelosi-Ward Contractors, and the Office of the Mayor. These sponsors supplied materials for the dig as well as t-shirts and lunch for the students.
Simulated Dig Site: Senate Chamber
In this activity, students examined simulated archaeological features, including fire pits and garbage dumps, which preservationists found on the Old State Capitol grounds. Students learned the importance of surveying a site before beginning an actual archaeological dig.
Dirt Detectives: Computer Lab
 Students used computers to learn about stratigraphy and the correlation between artifacts and soil layers.
Junior Field Archaeologists
Working beside field archaeologists, students sifted through dirt, which was uncovered by workers during the reconstruction of the fence’s foundation. Students screened for artifacts and placed their century-old treasures in specially marked bags to earn their Junior Field Archaeologist certificates.
Brick Brigade Archaeologists, Louisiana Department of Archaeology
 Seated clockwise from the center front of the table are Dennis Jones and Stacie Palmer, Louisiana Division of Archaeology; Freddie Deblieux, Louisiana’s Old State Capitol staff; Dr. Rob Mann, Southeast Regional Archaeologist; Nancy Hawkins, Louisiana Division of Archaeology Director of Outreach; Jessie Cohen, LSU; Meta Pike, Louisiana Division of Archaeology.
Student Artifact Collections
Dr. Rob Mann, Southeast Regional Archaeologist, took the artifacts to LSU for cleaning, identification and cataloguing. The artifacts will be returned to the Old State Capitol where they will be placed on display.
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