Archaeology of an 18th Century Blacksmithing Complex

Location: The Montpelier Foundation, 13384 Laundry Rd, Montpelier Station, VA 22957, USA

Season: January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2026

Session Dates: MARCH LAB EXPEDITION (MARCH 30-April 3, 2026); APRIL COOKING AND ARCHAEOLOGY EXPEDITION (APRIL 19-24, 2026); MAY ARCHAEOLOGY FIELD AND LAB EXPEDITION (MAY 10-15, 2026), ANNUAL FIELD SCHOOL (JUNE3-JULY 10, 2026), EARLY JULY HIGH SCHOOL EXPEDITION (JULY 13-17, 2026), LATE JULY HIGH SCHOOL EXPEDITION (JULY 20-24, 2026), COLLEGIATE ARCHAEOLOGY EXPEDITION (AUGUST 3-7, 2026), HISTORIC MASONRY EXPEDITION (AUGUST 31-SEPTEMBER 4, 2026), REVOLUTIONARY WAR ERA TRADE FESTIVAL (SEPTEMBER 14-19, 2026) ALUMNI EXPEDITION FOR MORE EXPERIENCED EXPEDITIONERS (SEPTEMBER 27-OCTOBER 2, 2026) ARCHAEOLOGY AND BLACKSMITHING EXPEDITION (OCTOBER 12-16, 2026), ARCHAEOLOGY EXPEDITION FOR RETIRED ADULTS (OCTOBER 26-30, 2026), EQUESTRIAN LANDSCAPE EXPEDITION AND HUNT RACE EXPERIENCE (NOVEMBER 4-NOVEMBER 6, 2026)

Application Deadline: December 31, 2026

Deadline Type: Rolling

Website: https://www.montpelier.org/visit/excavate-archaeology-expedition/

Program Type:
Field School, Volunteer

RPA Certified:
This project is an RPA certified field school

Affiliation:
The Montpelier Foundation

Project Director:
Matthew Reeves

Project Description:

What makes Montpelier a wonderful property for surveys and excavations is its relatively undisturbed condition. All of the sites we excavate have never been plowed–and most were abandoned in the 1840s, leaving the archaeological features in pristine condition.

During the 2026 Expedition Season, we will be working at an 18th-century blacksmith shop located adjacent to the Temple. Documentary evidence suggests that the enslaved artisans that worked in the shop had an extensive network of customers and even made items in support of the Revolutionary War effort.  Additionally, this year we are offering a number of programs that feature experimental archaeology including cooking, masonry and blacksmithing.  We will even be offering one program that focuses on learning a number of different trades that would have been commonplace in the Revolutionary War Era.  As part of our commitment to educating and inspiring the next generation of archaeologists, we will also be offering two high school archaeology programs, a collegiate archaeology program as well as our annual field school  As part of our commitment to the clientage model, we will continue to work in conjunction and consultation with the Montpelier Descendants Committee during the excavation season.

The LEARN Archaeology Expedition program has been operating at Montpelier for a decade-and-a-half, with many of the same attendees returning year after year. That being said, we love to see new faces on our programs! All of the excavation programs give participants actual excavation experience on an archaeological site working side-by-side with trained professional archaeologists. We have a staff of eight archaeologists who work with participants both in the lab and in the field, which means you have personal interaction with archaeological staff and this allows you to work on sensitive features, artifacts, and deposits that normally one would not get to handle. You are treated as a member of the research team and we step you through the entire excavation process. While you are here at Montpelier, you will also be engaged in lectures, and take tours of various archaeological sites on the property in an effort to enhance your understanding of the context of the archaeology.

You can learn more about our LEARN Archaeology Expeditions at the following link.

https://www.montpelier.org/visit/excavate-archaeology-expedition/

As noted above, we also host a month-long university archaeology field school. For more information on this, please see our field school web page.

https://www.montpelier.org/events/archaeology-field-school/

For more information about the Field School or any of our programs, please contact us at dig@montpelier.org

Period(s) of Occupation: Colonial and Federal Periods

Notes:
The Montpelier Archaeology Department believes in the democratization of knowledge and focuses extensively on Public and Community Archaeology. We endeavor to make our programs available to all members of the public and regularly have individuals participate from their teens to their nineties including individuals with physical challenges and/or learning challenges. We endeavor to make Montpelier an inviting and engaging learning environment for all who wish to participate and learn about Archaeology. For those who can only participate remotely we offer monthly Lunch and Learn zoom meetings where you can follow our progress and learn more about our upcoming events. If you would like to be included on our mailing list to learn about the Lunch and Learns and any new programs that we offer please drop us a line at dig@montpelier.org

Project Size: 1-24 participants

Minimum Length of Stay for Volunteers: We have both 5-day and 2-day Programs

Minimum Age: 12

Experience Required: None. Participants living on the property who are under 18 years old need an accompanying guardian or parent. Participants under the age of 16 need to be accompanied by a guardian or adult.

Room and Board Arrangements:
Email us at dig@montpelier.org for housing options.