Laura Seifert

Curator of Exhibits and Archaeology for the Coastal Heritage Society Rita Elliott, left, and CHS archaeologist Laura Seifert sift through the dirt excavated from a small section of Emmett Park. (John Carrington/Savannah Morning News) (Photo: John Carrington)

Curator of Exhibits and Archaeology for the Coastal Heritage Society Rita Elliott, left, and CHS archaeologist Laura Seifert sift through the dirt excavated from a small section of Emmett Park. (John Carrington/Savannah Morning News) (Photo: John Carrington)
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Much of that work was undertaken by Laura Seifert, a CHS archaeologist and museum technician.

"We're using ArcView," a high-powered, high-priced geographic information system that overlays historical maps on modern ones, Seifert said.To make it work, there must be at least three points of reference between the two maps.

In this case, CHS archaeologists had three - the Spring Hill Redoubt and two street intersections that have maintained their location since the battle.Using those visual anchors, the CHS staff tried to fit more than 20 historic maps over the city's present boundaries, Seifert said.

"We sort of visually averaged these maps," Seifert explained.If the same features, such as trenches and strongholds, are found in approximately the same place on several maps, that information is likely to hold up in the field.

Seifert's work, along with the acquired documentation, showed that Emmet Park and Madison Square were good candidates for excavation, and so she and the Elliotts began excavating there last week.