ECDP participant Ellie Azulay holds up a piece of prehistoric pottery found while excavating a mound left by ancient Indigenous peoples. Photo courtesy of Kathy Couturier. BY JENNIFER HOFFMAN
Archaeology intern Ellie Azulay spends her days seeking out the forgotten stories and hidden relics of Avon Park Air Force Range in central Florida. She landed the position through the Early-career Development Program offered by the Center for Environmental Management of Military Lands at Colorado State University. The job was just the ticket she needed to gain hands-on experience in her field, public history, while learning from experts to help her forge a path to a future career. Her boots are often muddy, but her role with CEMML satisfies her taste for adventure.
Azulay recently graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science, specializing in public history, from Pennsylvania’s Bryn Mawr College. She’s now five months into her internship. Trading the comfort of lecture halls for open fields and dig sites has given her a new appreciation for archaeology, she said.
As a CEMML intern, Azulay focuses on documenting historic turpentine industry sites from the early 20th century on what’s now Avon Park Air Force Range. One site, Nalaka, which operated from 1918 to 1930, was one of the nation’s largest producers of turpentine. It employed primarily African-American workers who, after the Civil War and the abolition of slavery, sometimes took jobs in turpentine camps. They tapped pine trees and boiled the sap into turpentine for paints, cleaners, medicines, and ship sealants. Turpentine was a major export of the South. “It’s actually a vastly understudied industry,” Azulay explained. “But it played a major role in Florida’s development and the broader story of American industry.”
Many of the workers at the Nalaka site couldn’t read or write, and traditional records are scarce, making her work even more challenging. She has to combine fieldwork and archival research to unravel the site’s mysteries. “I spend a lot of time digging in the dirt, and then I spend hours cross-referencing newspapers and historical maps to make sense of the things we find in the field.”
Azulay, originally from New Jersey, discovered the CEMML position through her membership in the National Council on Public History. She said the listing immediately stood out to her. “I had heard about CEMML and some of the amazing projects they’ve worked on. I thought, ‘This is something I want to be a part of.’”
Most days, Azulay and her mentor, Kathy Couturier, the cultural resources manager at Avon Park, are out in the field. “Sometimes the military personnel come to help us out, which is fun,” she says. “But it’s usually just the two of us. We have the freedom to chase questions that have been bugging Kathy for years, and I get to be part of that.”
Azulay explained that some of the most exciting moments are unexpected discoveries in the field. “We recently found what we think is a carved bone pipe—possibly from the 1920s,” she said. “It was mixed in with ceramics and whiteware pottery from the same era. It’s unusual and a little confusing, which makes it even more interesting.” The team also uncovered a piece of ancient pottery at an Indian mound—a find vastly different from the 20th-century artifacts they usually work with. “That was really cool,” she said. “It reminded me how deep the layers of history really go here.”
While Azulay was working on her college degree, the COVID pandemic hit, shifting her perspective. Faced with having to complete her education virtually, she decided instead to begin working as a nanny and homeschool instructor. “That experience really sparked a love of education and helped reignite my passion for learning,” she said.
Once the pandemic restrictions were lifted, she returned to college in person, took history and archaeology courses, and eventually discovered public history—a field connecting politics, culture, and archaeology that’s a perfect fit for her interests. “I always knew I wanted to do something where I’d be constantly learning and discovering. The artifacts we find don’t just go to a museum; the knowledge we uncover is shared with the public when we publish articles and share our findings, so the stories we find don’t just stay buried.”
Azulay said her experience at CEMML has been far different from her other jobs because she has support from mentors both at Avon Park and at CEMML. She gets the autonomy to explore her interests further while at the same time supporting the installation’s mission.
Under federal law, military installations must have a cultural resources manager or an archaeologist to identify, protect, and document sites that have cultural or historical significance. Azulay’s work directly supports the military mission by ensuring that important areas are either preserved or safely opened for training.
For example, at Avon Park, large quantities of unexploded WWII-era bombs have been identified through archaeological surveys and archival research. Once located, the old weapons are cleared by explosive ordnance disposal teams, making these areas safe for military use.
When asked about her interest in continuing her work with CEMML once her internship is complete, Azulay didn’t hesitate:
“Absolutely! I get to do real, hands-on archaeology every day. Many archaeology jobs just involve walking survey lines and not discovering much, but at Avon Park I find something nearly every time I’m out there.” She added, “I’ve learned so much: not just about archaeology, but about adapting, troubleshooting, and navigating new environments. I’ve gained confidence, field skills, and knowledge I never imagined I’d have. And I’ve had the chance to be part of something meaningful—to help tell the stories of people whose lives have been overlooked by history.”