The past met the present when remnants of the former New College building and its occupants were unearthed after being buried for almost 200 years.

Garbutt Construction found the artifacts during the $3 million renovation of New College on North Campus. Since the renovation began the site has been teeming with construction workers, geologists and architects.

Danny Sniff, campus architect, said the team has found about 200 different artifacts – including salt-glazed pottery and pharmaceutical bottles. Also uncovered were door keys, test tubes, hand crafted nails and a wallet.

Other items found were a University-issued paper baseball ticket priced at 50 cents and a piece of Indian pottery dating back to about 1400 AD.

“The find was pure serendipity. The crews must have had a magic touch,” Erv Garrison, the University archaeologist overseeing the findings, said in a University news release. “What they’re finding is basically intact and it’s from the very beginning of the University.”

Garrison and his students have been using radar technology to find other hidden historical treasures buried underground. He said he is convinced there will be more findings in the days to come.

Garrison said many of the glass items are hand-blown and the metal items are handmade. He said these are good indications the artifacts are from the early 19th century.

They have also found old wood and charcoal in the basement. They have been submitted for radiocarbon dating.

Garbutt Construction project superintendent Earnest Lee said that this is the oldest building the company has ever worked on. The interior was all constructed of wood and the outside was simply brick and stucco.

Curiosity seemed to exhude from students walking by the New College construction site.

“I think it’s exciting,” said Rachel Goodrich, a third year law student from Milledgeville. “I feel lucky to have class on North Campus. I have had many family members go to school here. The findings seem to form a special connection between me and my family’s past, as well as the University’s more notable alumni.”

According to the “History of a Selected Group of Buildings on the University of Georgia Campus,” compiled by Max Gilstrap and Susan Tate, construction was completed on the building in 1823 at a cost of $25,000.

In the fall of 1830, the building was destroyed by a fire. No students were killed, but the following spring the ruins left behind claimed the life of Thomas Grant, a grammar school student, after a wall fell on him.

In 1831 New College was rebuilt and remained mostly unchanged until it was remodelled in 1952. At one time, the main floor housed the University post office and the Georgia Cooperative Bookstore.