Russell Cave, located in northeastern Alabama, is one of the seven National Monument sites established to safeguard caves. The cave boasts significant archeological deposits, a testament to a human occupation that endured for over 9,000 years. It is one of the oldest rock shelters in the eastern United States and a vital part of our nation’s National Park System. The shelter, formed from a collapsed sinkhole, spans approximately 30 by 60 meters. However, the erosional impacts, particularly along the shelter walls and the floor areas where past archeological excavations were conducted, have led to the degradation of the shelter area.

Over the last few decades, erosion at this cave has increased, with several feet of debris, including rock, sand, and silt from upstream deposits, making their way into the dry creek stream bed associated with this cave system. Land management practices further upstream and beyond park boundaries, such as timber harvesting, are impactful and accelerate these erosion processes. Serious undercutting continues to occur at the cave entrance, along with erosion within the shelter floor and along the walls, with potential loss and impact on archeological materials.

Using a combination of survey strategies, including terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) and imaging techniques, our project design examined the conditional and management concerns. It provided baseline and comparative analytics for stabilization and monitoring strategy efforts. These newly collected imaging and spatial data will be used to examine areas of change and delineate areas where stabilization efforts have recently occurred. The project is a collaborative effort between researchers at The University of South Florida Center for Digital Heritage and Geospatial Information (USF CDHGI) and the National Park Service Southeast Archeological Center (NPS SEAC). As a broader impact of our research, some of the materials emerging from the survey will be made available online and in digital collections for viewing and engaging, encouraging accessibility balanced with cultural ethics for display. Resultant tools and applications are designed to assist resource management and apply more broadly for educational and curricular applications.

View our GIS interactive StoryMap here.