Alternative title: “Rats as archivists.” Here is Amy Crawford at Atlas Obscura: SOMETIME DURING OR JUST AFTER the Civil War, a black rat in Williamsburg, Virginia, came into possession of a rare trophy: a solid silver fork. The rodent—a member of the...
Warren C. Riess is Associate Research Professor Emeritus at the University of Maine. This interview is based on his new book, Studying the Princess Carolina: Anatomy of the Ship That Held Up Wall Street (Texas A&M University Press, 2023). JF:...
Alison Bell is Professor of Anthropology at Washington and Lee University. This interview is based on her new book, The Vital Dead: Making Meaning, Identity, and Community through Cemeteries (University of Tennessee Press, 2023). JF: What led you to write The Vital Dead?...
Philip Levy is Professor of History at the University of South Florida. This interview is based on his new book, The Permanent Resident: Excavations and Explorations of George Washington’s Life (University of Virginia Press, 2022). JF: What led you to...
Over at Christianity Today, Dan Silliman reports on the excavation at First Baptist Church, an African-American church founded in 1776 by free and enslaved Blacks in Williamsburg, Virginia. Here is a taste: They dug up broken bits of lamp, the...
She was mother to six of Thomas Jefferson’s children. She was also Thomas Jefferson’s slave. Archaeologists at Monticello have discovered the living quarters of Sally Hemings. Here is a taste of a report from NBC News: CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Archaeologists...
Donald Trump’s current budget proposal will eliminate government funding for the humanities. This means that local communities and American citizens will need to come up with other ways to fund important programs. It is probably the greatest archaeological discovery in...
AHA Today, the blog of the American Historical Association, is featuring the work of several history graduate students who will be writing regular posts throughout the summer. I am thrilled to see that one of the students chosen to write...
Location of the home of James Oronko Dexter I came across this great story today at Philly.com. It is a story of archaeological research, historical detective work, and good old-fashioned perseverance.Here is a taste:In 2003, the National Constitution Center and...
(Maryland State Highway Administration) I can’t resist these kinds of stories. Recently a Maryland road crew working to repair the bridge that crosses the Nanticoke River on Route 50 discovered the remains of an eighteenth-century ship. It is unclear why...
I love this! This Gumby figurine was found during an archaeological dig at Mount Vernon. Read all about it here.A taste: Have you ever accidentally left something behind on a vacation or field trip? That might explain how a small,...
Yesterday morning I was part of a team that presented the Digital Harrisburg Project to senior administrators at Messiah College. David Pettegrew, my colleague in the History Department and director of the Digital Harrisburg Project, and Peter Powers, the Dean of...
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As some of you may recall, we recently revamped our public history concentration at Messiah College to include several new courses and a host of non-history courses that we believe students will find useful in the public history field. One...
In case you have never heard of Fort Christina, it was built in 1638 by Swedish settlers to the Delaware Valley who settled in and around what today is Wilmington, Delaware. With the 375th anniversary of the New Sweden Colony...
Workers in New York City have unearthed another remnant of the 18th century. This time it is a six-foot wall from a building that probably belonged to the Van Cortlandts or the Van Tienhovens. Here is a taste of the...
The Messiah College website is reporting on an archaeological dig that we in the History Department sponsor at a 244-year old farm near campus. We affectionately call the excavation: “The Big Dig at Stauffer Farm.” The dig is managed by...
My colleague David Pettegrew has started a fascinating new blog/website called “Corinthian Matters.” David is a historian and archaeologist of the ancient city of Corinth. As he puts it in his introductory post: Presumably you’ve stumbled on this site because […]
Early American history has been getting some good airtime on National Public Radio’s “Morning Edition.” Check out yesterday’s story on Henry Clay featuring David Heidler, the author of Henry Clay: The Essential American. Today, “Morning Edition” did a story on...
In case you did not know, there is an archaeological dig going on at Washington’s Headquarters in Valley Forge National Park. It is being run by several archaeology and anthropology students from Temple University. Keep up to date on the...
