LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — The pursuit of uncovering history is never ending.
There is always more to uncover about the past and technology of today can help unearth our roots.
Cultural Resource Analysts is on the hunt for history everyday, using tools like a gradiometer.
"It measures the Earth's kinetic field and any magnetic fields that are local. Anything that's in the ground may produce a magnetic field. We're going to measure what that is and difference it from the Earth's background magnetic field," CRA director of Geophysics and Remote Sensing Jeremy Menzer said.
CRA is a group of archaeologists and architectural historians based in Lexington, dedicated to learning more about the history of our area.
"We do a lot of archaeological survey, recording history for any significant old buildings and try to learn as much as possible about these places before they're gone forever," CRA president Mason Niquette said.
The CRA team dragged gradiometers throughout the grounds of The Henry Clay Estate on Wednesday to help curators like Eric Brooks validate what used to be on the historic soil.
"There's an awful lot that's not here anymore between the development of the neighborhood and the changing of the sight for various purposes over the years. Things like the slave quarters for instance are gone," Brooks said.
"There was a building at what is now the intersection of Sycamore and Fincastle that was built in 1866 as part of the creation of what is today known as the University of Kentucky. It was the first structure ever built for that institution."
Brooks hopes this work will expand the knowledge of one of Lexington's most historic sites, which the CRA team was happy to assist in uncovering.
"I grew up coming up here with my parents almost every night during the spring and summer. It's fun to be able to come back and give back to Henry Clay while trying to learn more about the area," Niquette said.
