ALBANY, N.Y. -- A group of UAlbany students experienced history first-hand. They performed an archaeological dig at the Myers Residence in Albany.

"The individual artifacts that we found there can really tell us about Stephen & Harriet Myers and their lives and something about their personalities and that's what you really get from the archeology," curator for the NY State Museum Michael Luca.

Stephen and Harriet Myers were African-Americans whose Arbor Hill home served as an Underground Railroad safe haven for freedom seekers in the mid-19th Century.

The historical Residence is being restored through the non-profit Underground Railroad History Project founded by Paul and Mary Liz Stewart. 

"There are many places like the home of Stephen and Harriet where African American activists, black activists welcomed people into their home, were connected to the other anti-slavery works that were going on in the community,” Paul said.

Paul and Mary allowed nine students with the University at Albany's first Historical Archeology Field School in conjunction with the New York State Museum to conduct the dig last summer. 

The students dug trenches more than 6 feet deep and located a cistern. The depth helped preserve the items.

"It was just incredible watching these pits get bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger," said Mary.

 "Well first of all we found a lot of artifacts that it looks like a typical middle class household any middle class household you'd find in Albany during the 1850s," said Michael.

Mary says the artifacts which are being cataloged by the museum are important to understanding who the Myers were.

"We find so many people that we engage with make the assumption that if one was black before the civil war either that black person was enslaved or perhaps the person was free but they didn't have much and so we're trying to counter the stereotypic images," she said.

The Stephen and Harriet Myers residence is open on Saturdays for tours. The UAlbany Anthropology Department is having another field school this summer and anyone even non-students can register. 

To donate to the residence, head to undergroundrailroadhistory.org.