In 2023 the archaeology department at George Washington’s Mount Vernon undertook an intensive excavation of the mansion cellar. The cellar has been expanded twice in the eighteenth century and altered several times over the course of time. These changes have added various architectural components and changed others. While many of these changes were documented and known, certain elements of them were not fully understood such as the expansive drainage system or how the cellar’s rooms were utilized over the last two and a half centuries. The evolution of various architectural elements will be highlighted through the use of images, GIS, and drawings alongside the historic record. This poster will explore how newly uncovered architectural and archaeological features have enhanced the understanding of room evolution and function, including the location of the living quarters of Frank and Lucy Lee, an enslaved valet and cook.

This poster presents comparative research of 18th century ceramic assemblages from Charleston, SC and St. Augustine, FL. Founded as British and Spanish ports, these colonial cities were interconnected and contested in the Southeastern United States, with the British gaining control of St. Augustine in 1763. This work seeks to identify dining practices in relation to political rule and urban slavery through archaeological evidence across these two different cities with contrasting history. Drawing on collections-based research from house lots in both cities owned by prominent patriots and loyalists, interpretive questions of feature assemblages are addressed with mean ceramic dates, TPQs, and the reconstruction of complex stratigraphy from available context records. With that, this research considers the archaeological evidence as a material implementation of British rule in St. Augustine alongside disintegrating colonial control in Charleston during the political turmoil surrounding the American Revolution.

In 1828 Fort Winnebago was built as the third U.S. Army fort in Wisconsin. The three forts were built to guard the Fox and Wisconsin River waterways which connect the Atlantic’s Saint Lawrence Seaway to New Orleans. Fort Winnebago overlooked the single portage on that route. The fort other purpose was to protect American traders after the Winnebago War of 1827. Jefferson Davis, future Secretary of War and Confederate President was a young Lieutenant at the fort. While there, he mapped the fort and nearby buildings. The fort was said to have burned down and the site thought to be disturbed in a plowed field. Using the surviving fort well and the extant off-site Surgeons quarters as locational references, Davis’ map was overlaid on an aerial photo of the site. Ground penetrating radar surveys verify its location and ground truthing show that up to 90% of the forts footprint still exists.

In October 2023, archaeologists with Drayton Hall Preservation Trust reopened one of the dependency buildings of a circa 1738 plantation home located in the Ashley River Historic Corridor of Charleston, SC. This north flanker building, contemporary with the main house, was dismantled at the turn of the 20th century. Prior fieldwork had exposed the foundation and partially excavated the interior of the structure, but the building’s original use had not been determined. Newfound documents within the last four decades aided in the reopening and renewed investigation into the structure. Thousands of artifacts have been recovered during the excavation, shedding light on the building’s potential uses during its one hundred and fifty years and providing a deeper understanding of the historical function and significance of the flanker buildings at Drayton Hall.

In the mid to late 19th century, food, beverages, medicine, and various other household supplies were packaged and shipped all over the United States and its territories while housed in a variety of packaging. One type of packaging is the ubiquitous glass bottle or jar. This poster will present a sample of the various types of bottles and other glass vessels from a collection of artifacts from the Fort Ellsworth (14EW26) Site, Kansas, which was excavated in 1999 and 2000 for the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, and is in the process of being rehabilitated by the Veterans Curation Program in St. Louis, Missouri.

During summer of 2024, a project at Drayton Hall Plantation was undertaken to look into the assemblage of transfer-printed wares found on site. The project centered around the historic core of the property, including the main house and dependency buildings. The project involved over 2500 sherds from 106 different contexts from excavations taking place over the last fifty years at Drayton Hall. The goals were to identify cross mends between the various contexts, as well as to identify the patterns and genres found in the collection of transfer print. This project focused on collections of artifacts from previous excavations and included finds from the more recent excavation of the North Flanker completed in summer of 2024. The project resulted in the identification of numerous crossmends helpful in clarifying the site's timeline and relationship, as well as the classification of genre types that were preferred by the Drayton family.

The Pearl Harbor attack in 1941 brought the U.S. into WWIl spurring the development of the Alaska-Canada Highway (ALCAN). Amongst the battalions deployed, African American soldiers of the 97th Regiment United States Army Corp of Engineers began construction of the Alaska portion of the ALCAN in the Spring of 1942. After the construction came to completion in late October 1942, the 97th regiment received orders to remain behind to ensure the bridges and roads were kept clear from snow and ice during the winter. With temperatures below -40 degrees Fahrenheit the 97th somehow endured with inadequate tents, unsuitable clothing and ration shortages during one of the harshest winters on record. Collaborators from the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities; and the University of Alaska Fairbanks Anthropology Department are currently investigating the military winter encampment.

In 1862, the Confederate government passed the First Conscription Act. In Alabama, Camp of Instruction #1, Camp Watts, was created in Notasulga. It was a tent-city training camp reportedly with a railroad spur and train depot, a supply station, administrative buildings, and a multistory permanent hospital. In July 1864, Union forces burned the camp but spared the hospital. Local lore claims the hospital stood into the 1950s, albeit altered for use as a barn. In keeping with the theme of landscapes in transition, the Camp Watts Archaeological Project seeks to locate the barn remains whether through historical records, photographs, maps, or via archaeological survey techniques. The extant cemetery is presumed to be located close to the hospital remains, but foundational and other archaeological evidence could be obscured by erosion-stemming earth moving and terracing activities from 1930s agricultural extension programs known to have been implemented on this property.

During World War II, leaders of The Manhattan Project searched for suitable laboratory space to develop the world’s first nuclear devices to end the War. Los Alamos in northern New Mexico was selected. An appealing aspect of Los Alamos was the Ranch School, which had housing and infrastructure readily available. The Project also utilized existing ranches and homesteads with cleared fields, and other useful infrastructure. At the Gun Site, where the Little Boy Gun-type device was developed, existing farm fields and arroyo from the former Anchor Ranch were transformed into a testing area with concrete bunkered buildings and testing structures. Existing ranch buildings were used as laboratories until more permanent structures were completed. Recent archeological survey at Gun Site has found a significant mix of pre-Manhattan Project artifacts, along with Manhattan Project era artifacts. This poster will describe the intersection of the two time periods at Gun Site.

My poster will demonstrate the significant relationship between photography and archaeology, in the context of Caribbean archaeology on the island of Nevis, West Indies. Working with archaeologist, Dr. Marco Meniketti in 2019 and 2024, I contributed to the knowledge of Nevisian culture, as both photographer and archaeological field crew member. My poster will feature my photographic work on the island of Nevis, as I documented both the Bush Hill sugar plantation site and a pre-contact Saladoid-era indigenous site. The former is threatened by the jungle and human intervention, and the latter will be lost to erosion and sea level rise. Both sites occupy landscapes that are in transition, and photographic documentation will be a crucial resource for their study in the future.

“Discover Old D’Hanis” represents an interdisciplinary collaboration between an archaeologist, Computer Science students, and a Music student at Western University. The game is a virtual reconstruction of the old town of D’Hanis, settled in 1847 by Alsatian and German migrants to Texas. Over time, it became home to Black and Mexican families following the Civil War and Mexican Revolution. Drawing from the Old D’Hanis Archaeological Mapping Project (2018), the game recreates the village plan based on archival and archaeological data, including photogrammetry from seven ruins. Players can wander the town and collect information – archival fragments, archaeological photos and fieldnotes, oral history excerpts, reconstructions of ruins – to piece together the stories of the town and its residents. The game features historic sound design and an original composition based on German folk music. Here, we share our process, the game itself, and our presentation to the D’Hanis community in June 2024.

Musket balls were used by military personnel, settlers, and traders for hunting, warfare, gifting and exchange throughout New France. These small finds at archaeological sites can provide information about eighteenth-century firearm use and life at military forts, trading posts, and settlements. Recently, an analysis of musket balls recovered from Fort St. Joseph, an eighteenth-century mission, garrison, and trading post, revealed the caliber size of each and offered additional evidence on the types of firearms in use at the site. To build on this research, a spatial analysis will be performed in hopes of locating specific areas on site where musket balls were recovered through excavation. From this analysis, a better understanding of daily life and firearm use at Fort St. Joseph will be gained and can contribute to our understanding of military and trading operations in the Great Lakes area.

Made of glass, ceramic, and bone, hundreds of beads have been recovered through archaeological excavations at Fort St. Joseph, an eighteenth-century mission, garrison, and trading post located in present-day Niles, Michigan. Beads were selected by residents of the fort for use and trade based on accessibility, functionality, and personal preferences. To gain a better understanding of these complexities, a comparison of all bead types recovered over the past twenty-five years at the site will be performed. This work expands on previous bead analyses at the site in hopes of learning more about their significance to people residing at the fort.

Defined as archaeology for the people and by the people, community archaeology not only involves academic- and community-based excavations but also various outreach events to establish strong ties with members of the public. This approach is central to the Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project. Whether their ancestors lived at the fort or they are newcomers to the area, each person represents an opportunity for meaningful conversations and sharing of knowledge. Each year, the Project undertakes various public outreach initiatives throughout the field season, including the annual archaeology open house, summer lecture series, summer camp programs, community meals, and much more. To expand our local reach, we aim to increase our social media presence on platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and Blogger to not only reach a younger demographic in the area, but also increase public awareness of our activities and opportunities for public involvement.