South Glastonbury, CT —The Connecticut State Museum of Natural History (CSMNH), the Office of State Archaeology (OSA), and the Friends of the Office of State Archaeology, Inc. (FOSA) are pleased to be offering their annual weeklong Archaeology Field School for Adults.

Participants will gain hands on experience contributing to an authentic and significant archaeological investigation, working with primary sources at a 17th-century colonial site in South Glastonbury, Connecticut. Days will start at 9am and end at 3pm, with a break for a brown bag lunch.

The Office of State Archaeology has had an ongoing research program at this site since 2015. To-date they have uncovered a range of archaeological features, including filled cellars, storage pits, and evidence of earth-fast construction. The filled cellars have incredibly well-preserved assemblages of domestic, architectural, and food-related artifacts, including animal bones, charred plant remains, and European and Indigenous-made pottery. The site has tremendous potential to shed light on early Colonial period cultural interactions, trade relations, economic practices, architecture, foodways, and lifeways.

This year’s field school will explore the area south of the palisade where a number of large posts were found last summer. They will be working to further expose the top of the North Cellar (left) to better understand it’s construction and relationship to the other cellars in the north part of the site.

Recent excavations revealed two rectangular stone footings off of the east side of the North Cellar (left). While the stones are jumbled and collapsed, it was discovered that there is a clearly rectangular area of rubble just west of the stone footings, with reddened soil, charcoal, burnt bone and brick fragments, and clay chunks. It is believed that this was the footing for a fireplace and chimney – the first such feature found at the Hollister Site!

The field school will continue work at this important site while covering the basics of field methods, paperwork, mapping, data management, and artifact identification. The program is designed to provide a deeper appreciation of the importance of archaeology as a tool for learning about Connecticut’s fascinating past. Learning proper archaeological methods will develop the participant’s understanding of the ethical aspects of archaeology and the archaeologist’s responsibility to preserve the data they retrieve so that it will remain valuable to future researchers.

The Archaeological Field School is taught by Connecticut State Archaeologist Dr. Sarah Sportman with assistance from FOSA, a non-profit organization whose mission is to support the Connecticut Office of State Archaeology through education, public outreach, partnerships with local communities, financial support, and public assistance.

While the program is open to all adults 18 years and older, it may be of special interest to educators who teach history or social science in a classroom or museum setting. This year the Museum and OSA are proud to be offering discounted registration for educators and veterans. Please contact us for more information before you register. Details of the specific location and appropriate attire will be sent after registration closes.

Space for this program is limited and registration closes on Monday July 14 or when all spots are full.

If you require accommodations to participate, please contact the CSMNH at 860-486-4460 or [email protected] by Friday July 11.

Visit https://csmnh.uconn.edu/programs/ for more information and to register. 

The Office of State Archaeology is a part of the Connecticut State Museum of Natural History, at the University of Connecticut.

Contact: Elizabeth Barbeau

860-486-4460 | [email protected]

Web: csmnh.uconn.edu or osa.uconn.edu

Instagram: @ctnaturalhistory | Facebook: @CSMNH  or @CTArchaeology

Photos available upon request.