Jack Bergstresser looked at a handful of small artifacts spread out on a table Wednesday at Tannehill Ironworks and Historical State Park. "It's not a lot of stuff, but every piece has a really profound story," he said. "These were not people who had a lot of possessions."

The artifacts were found in a dig at what archaeologists are convinced is a former slave quarters at the park. Bergstresser, resident archaeologist and director of Tannehill's Iron and Steel Museum, said the site is one of 15 in two parallel rows with a common area between them. Each appears to be represented by a collapsed hearth and chimney and piles of stones that were likely four corner pillars. The dig is on a site about 36 feet by 39 feet.