A new virtual museum that shows artifacts found at the Maryland home where abolitionist Harriet Tubman spent her teenage years was unveiled by the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT).

The home, located in the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Dorchester County, belonged to Tubman's father, Ben Ross. Harriet Tubman was the trailblazing leader of the Underground Railroad, which helped to free 70 enslaved people from the South to the North.

Archaeologists with the MDOT said the findings from an archaeologist dig at Tubman's father's home include pieces of plates, pitchers, and bowls. The department says these findings help understand life 200 years ago.

"The Maryland Department of Transportation is proud to highlight the state's untold stories from Ben Ross' home and share these artifacts with the world through our new virtual museum," said Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul Wiedefeld.

According to MDOT, this virtual museum also features photographs, 3D models and intact examples of certain artifacts with detailed descriptions.

"We've been digging on there for about four years, and now that we are done, we've analyzed all the artifacts and taken some of those artifacts, scanned them with a 3D scanner and loaded them to a virtual museum," said Dr. Julie Schablitsky, the chief archaeologist for the Maryland Department of Transportation.

Because the home is located so deep in the wetlands, it is not open to the public. The virtual museum and findings from the Ben Ross Homeplace can be found here .

How was Ben Ross' home found?

MDOT archaeologists found Ben Ross' home in 2021 through an extensive search. They used historic documents to identify a search area and dug 1,000 holes along a historic road before finding an 1808 coin and a handful of broken 19th-century ceramic sherds, according to MDOT.

Archaeologists' digging revealed outlines of bricks, window glass and nails, which helped confirm the site of Ben Ross' home.

Underground Railroad

Ross was enslaved until 1840. He was a timber foreman directing the cutting and hauling of trees.

Harriet Tubman also worked alongside her father and lived with him during her teenage years, according to MDOT. She self-liberated in 1849, returning to Maryland's Eastern Shore about 13 times to lead around 70 enslaved people north to freedom," the department added.

Tubman returned to get her parents when Ben Ross was under suspicion for being part of the Underground Railroad.