Governor Proclaims North Carolina Archaeology Month 2021

WHEREAS, archaeology illuminates the conditions and cultures of the inhabitants of North Carolina, including people whose stories remain obscure due to their social or economic circumstances, from prehistory to the modern day; and

WHEREAS, access to the Atlantic Ocean, along with a vast network of more than 37,000 miles of rivers and inlets, has served the people of North Carolina for thousands of years, providing food, a means of transportation, entertainment, and other resources; and

WHEREAS, the waters off North Carolina contain National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)'s Monitor National Marine Sanctuary and hundreds of years of maritime history, including one of the most significant battles in American History, World War II's Battle of the Atlantic; and

WHEREAS, the interactions of past North Carolinians with these environments have left visible evidence, all part of our state's unique underwater cultural heritage, which includes ocean shipwrecks, dugout canoes made by American Indians, fish weirs, inundated towns, as well as mills and irrigation features along rivers; and

WHEREAS, North Carolina's Office of State Archaeology (OSA), part of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (NCDNCR), fulfills its state law role to protect, preserve, survey, and recover submerged resources inland and within three nautical miles of the North Carolina coast, and works closely with Federal agencies like NOAA to protect and interpret shipwrecks important to North Carolina's history in Federal waters; and

WHEREAS, over the last four decades, NOAA and the OSA have worked together to document, preserve, and honor this underwater cultural heritage and commemorate the sacrifices and accomplishments made by generations before us, and are currently presenting a series of digital lectures titled Submerged NC;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, ROY COOPER, Governor of the State of North Carolina, do hereby proclaim October, 2021, as “NORTH CAROLINA ARCHAEOLOGY MONTH” in North Carolina, and commend its observance to all citizens.