Christopher DeCorse, an archaeologist, carefully spreads out the priceless artifacts on a temporary table near to the excavation site.
Prof Christopher DeCorse (C) is leading the team of archaeologists in Ghana
The jawbone of a goat, tobacco pipes, shattered earthenware, and gunflint (used in vintage firearms) are all artfully arranged. These abandoned pieces, uncovered from millennia of compacted soil, provide hints about a vanished history.
The lecturer from Syracuse University in the US said with a big smile that "any archaeologist who says they are not delighted when they find something are not being totally true."
He claims that these remains are evidence of "the first English outpost built anywhere in Africa."
Speaking over the wind and the thunder of the Atlantic Ocean waves slamming Ghana's shoreline, the archaeologist is standing in the Fort Amsterdam ruins.
The professor's team is actively excavating what are believed to be the remains of an ancient fort called Kormantine that was lost beneath the ground inside that current fort.
Using soft-bristle brushes and trowels, they are meticulously sifting through separate layers of soil and stones. The trenches' disturbed dirt is properly sieved after removal.
The team and the site are covered from the elements, and the archaeologists continue their work despite the blazing sun and the sporadic downpour.
The name of the neighbouring town, Kormantse, is unmistakably tied to the reference to a Fort Kormantine on ancient maps. Moreover, some of the enslaved people in the Caribbean who were subsequently notorious for slave rebellions were given another name, Coromantee, which was assumed to have been carried from this location.
Yet the precise location of the fort remained a matter of conjecture, which may have now come to an end.
Fort Kormantine, which dates to the 17th century, was located on the Atlantic coast right when Europeans began to become more interested in the trade in people rather than gold.
That was a turning point in their history in Africa that would have a significant impact on the region.
The archaeologists' find may provide some insight into the activities of those early traders as well as those who were sold and their effects on the neighborhood.
The coastal fishing communities of Ghana, famous for their colorful boats and the tunes sung by the fisherman, are still marred by the atrocities committed by the Europeans and by wicked people in the past.
A looming reminder of that time are the slave forts scattered over the area formerly known as the Gold Coast.
Before being carried across the sea in appalling circumstances, hundreds of thousands went through them.
One of the early locations where that voyage began was Fort Kormantine, which the English built in 1631.
Nigerian Omokolade Omigbule says it was "mind-blowing" to see the remains of the English fort
It started off as a trading post for goods like ivory and gold.
Only in 1663, when King Charles II awarded a license to the Company of Royal Adventurers of England Trading into Africa, did the slave trade actually start from there (later the Royal African Company). He granted it exclusive control over the trade in people.
Fort Kormantine was only in English hands for two more years before the Dutch took control of it, but during that time, it was crucial in the development of the slave trade.
It served as a storage facility for the things used to purchase slaves. It served as a temporary detention facility for people who had been abducted in various regions of West Africa before being transported to the Caribbean to work on plantations to advance the sugar industry.
One of the factors that makes locating the Fort Kormantine's foundations interesting, according to Prof. DeCorse, is the lack of information regarding the actual appearance of these early slave trafficking outposts.
The Dutch constructed Fort Amsterdam on the same position as the fort after taking control of it, so its precise location could not be determined, especially after it was designated a United Nations World Heritage Site, which made excavation challenging.
However, preliminary excavations in 2019 in and around Fort Amsterdam, which uncovered some early 17th Century artifacts, provided a possible location.
Early this year, archaeologists visited the area again and started further investigations.
When they began by discovering numerous plastic items that must have been dropped more recently, there was first some dismay. But later a stone that Professor DeCorse identified as a component of a larger construction was discovered by Nigerian graduate student Omokolade Omigbule.
The University of Virginia student describes seeing the remains and the footprints of an actual building that had been buried beneath a new fort as "mind-blowing."
"Being a part of such a dig transports me back a few hundred years, it feels like I was there," the participant said of seeing the effects of these outside forces in Africa firsthand.
A six-metre (20-foot) wall, a door post, foundations, and a drainage system made of red brick were discovered as the excavations went on.
These all point to an English presence earlier than the Dutch fort.
These bowls of tobacco pipes were among the artefacts found at the site
Prof. DeCorse returns to the collection of artifacts that are properly labeled in zip-lock bags and points out the rusted gunflint that he claims was used in England in the early 17th century.
The professor adds that the pipes' small bowls, where the tobacco was placed, are "also extremely unique of the time that we are talking about here." He continues by saying that as tobacco became less expensive and more widely available, the bowls grew larger over time.
Prof. DeCorse offers an answer to the question of why the goat jawbone is significant by stating that it may be evidence of how English settlers domesticated local animals as an alternate source of protein despite living on a beach where fish were abundant.
Work in archaeology is laborious. Each historical relic that it produces must be questioned and analyzed.
The hard work has, however, really only begun in some ways. During the course of the next three years, archaeologists will work to understand Fort Kormantine's whole scope, including its architecture and overall aesthetic. This should help them understand its genuine significance.
