Archeologists always want to find that extra special something while engaging in an archeological dig. Sometimes that special something is a dinosaur bone, an ancient artifact, or a sword, but for a group of archeologists in the Maryland area,
(prHWY.com) May 26, 2012 - Seattle, WA -- Archeologists always want to find that extra special something while engaging in an archeological dig. Sometimes that special something is a dinosaur bone, an ancient artifact, or a sword, but for a group of archeologists in the Maryland area, that special something
was a yearbook.
"We were engaging in a mock archeological dig for a school project", explains Branson Travis. "We didn't expect to find anything really big, but what do you know one of my mates ran into an old tattered book."
That old tattered book turned out to be an ancient copy of George Washington's yearbook. The time period was before cameras were officially invented, meaning that each photograph in the book was hand painted by a local painter.
"I really couldn't believe our luck", said Greg Connors. "I mean who finds something so historically important on their first archeological dig? I never would have thought that this would happen to us. Never."
The group preserved the book according to protocol and took it directly to a historian to be authenticated. The authentication process involves looking at the photos, comparing known portraits of George Washington, and running a test known as carbon dating. After all tests and analysis were done, it was determined that the book that was discovered was a lost yearbook from George Washington's class.
"This is indeed amazing", said historical researcher Fred Thompson. "We have no idea how many copies of this book were made, but it has to be extremely rare. But I think it is the backstory of this book that really makes it valuable."
Historians have assessed both the book and the land that is was found on, and came to a prediction to determine how the book came to be found underground. It is believed that one of George Washington's classmates lived on the land, and when he became famous the classmate buried the book underground to preserve it.
"We don't know for a fact that is what happened, but we can guess", said Thompson. "We looked for DNA evidence of Washington on the book, and really can't find any, but that could be because it was decomposed from being underground for so long. But we do know that it is real, and a part of our nation's history."
The nation will be able to view the ancient yearbook as it is scheduled to make a nationwide tour of national libraries. The tour will start in early fall and last for 6 weeks.
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