WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (WAVY) — An excavation in Colonial Williamsburg is hoping to dig up the past to learn more about the roots of an early African American church.

The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation announced last month that they would dig at the site of the original permanent foundation of First Baptist Church.

The church, which is still around today, traces its congregation back to the 1770s and was made up of free and enslaved African Americans living in the Williamsburg area.

“They want to dig and find artifacts or bones just to confirm we have been a part of American history. We want to tell the whole story of American history,” said Dr. Reginald Davis, who is the senior pastor at First Baptist.

Davis and many others from the church gathered Tuesday morning for the first day of digging. They say it’s a monumental occasion — and one that’s long overdue.

“Black history is American history. There’s an African proverb that says that until the lion tells his side of the story, the tale of the hunt will glorify the hunter. We want to tell our side of the story,” Davis said.

Jack Gary, who is the director of Archeology at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, says the story of First Baptist is not only integral to Williamsburg’s history but also America’s.

That’s why they will be digging to look for foundations to the original church, which they believe was built in the early 1800s, and a second foundation, which was built in 1856 and torn down in the 1950s.

Gary says the church was torn down in the 50s as a part of the restoration of Colonial Williamsburg. All buildings in the area that were not built in the 18th century were taken down.