UConn Field School in Contact Period & Battlefield Archaeology

Location: Groton, CT, US

Season: May 20, 2019 to June 28, 2019

Application Deadline: May 10, 2019

Deadline Type: Rolling

Program Type:
Field school

RPA Certified:
no

Affiliation:
University of Connecticut Department of Anthropology

Project Director:
Dr. Kevin McBride, Associate Professor at the University of Connecticut

Project Description:

The University of Connecticut will offer a field school in Contact Period & Battlefield Archaeology focused on sites associated with the Pequot War of 1636-1637. The Battle of Mistick Fort: English Withdrawal & Pequot Counterattack took place on May 26, 1637 immediately following the English & allied Native attack on the Pequot fortified village at Mistick. Fieldwork will focus on documenting the intense fighting along the four mile route of the English withdrawal and on excavating the Calluna Hill site, a Pequot village burned by the English during their withdrawal. This domestic site has remained undisturbed since it was abandoned and provides a unique opportunity to examine Pequot domestic architecture and space, foodways, and material culture. The battlefield project is funded by grants from the National Park Service American Battlefield Protection Program and is part of a long-term effort to document the Battlefields of the Pequot War. 

The 2019 UConn field school will be based at the UConn Storrs campus with fieldwork taking place at Mystic (Groton), Connecticut. The 6-week, 6-credit field school will include training in standard archaeological field survey and excavation, artifact conservation, cataloguing, identification and analysis of 17th Century material culture, archaeobotany, radiography (X-ray), and analysis of primary sources. Training will also be provided in research and field methods specific to battlefield archaeology including use of military terrain models, metal detecting survey, and GPS/GIS applications. The field school provides a unique opportunity for students to work on a nationally significant collaborative research project alongside tribal members, archaeologists and military historians. In addition to the fieldwork, students will participate in training workshops in laboratory and research methods, attend guest lectures, complete assigned readings and maintain a daily field journal.

Period(s) of Occupation: Seventeenth Century

Project Size: 1-24 participants

Minimum Age: 18

Experience Required: None

Room and Board Arrangements:
University housing and meal plans are available as well as some other options. Contact Res Life at 860-486-2926 for a summer housing application or go to this website to learn more: http://www.reslife.uconn.edu/ Cost:

Academic Credit:
6 credits offered by University of Connecticut. Tuition is Summer Session courses are paid on a per-credit basis at a rate of $536 per credit hour. If you choose the full six-week program, your cost will be $3,216. In addition, there is a $75 lab fee, payable on the first day of class..