Foundations of Harriet Tubman’s Birthplace Identified in Maryland
Unveiling images of the excavation.
Harriet Tubman was an American abolitionist and social activist who, after escaping slavery herself, used the network of safe houses known as the Underground Railroad to bring others to freedom. The home belonging to Tubman’s father Ben Ross was found on private property near Maryland’s Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge. The home’s brick foundation of was excavated, along with hundreds of small items including buttons, pottery fragments, a West African spirit cache, and a glass heart-shaped stopper, which was typically placed in front of the fireplace to prevent the entrance of bad spirits.
