2018 Summer Lab School

The 2018 lab school crew! From left to right: Brianna, Karla, Elizabeth (museum curator), Alix, Cassie, Alex, and Emma.

Hi! We just finished the second week of the lab methods field school here at Strawbery Banke! This was the first year that we were doing a summer lab methods session, rather than a second field school session. The main goal of the lab session was to introduce students to archaeological lab work and the idea of how archaeologists can go from excavation to interpretation. During the second week, the students chose individual research projects from the artifacts recovered at Yeaton Walsh House in 2015. They researched clay pipes, glass bottles, buttons, and transfer-printed pearlware ceramics. Their research will be incorporated into the future interpretation and exhibition of Yeaton Walsh. A post about each project will be published every week for the next four weeks. Check back next week to read more!

Yeaton Walsh House (c. 1803)

As part of the lab session, we went on field trips to local historic sites and historical societies to show the students different ways of incorporating archaeology and historical research into the interpretation of and visitor experience at these sites. Some of the sites we have visited in the past two weeks include the c. 1664 Jackson House, owned by Historic New England, and Warner House, built in 1718.

Jackson House, built in 1664

The crew outside of Warner House

During the second week we visited the Old Berwick Historical Society in South Berwick, ME, to see their fantastic exhibit "Forgotten Frontier: Untold Stories of the Piscataqua" and learn more about incorporating archaeology into exhibitions. We got to speak with Dr. Tad Baker, a local archaeologist and historian, and Nina Mauer, the curator at the Historical Society, about their work at the Historical Society and beyond!

Dr. Tad Baker speaking to the lab school crew at the Old Berwick Historical Society 

The lab methods session concluded with an outdoor archaeology open house on the last day! The students presented their research to visitors and interested Strawbery Banke staff and ran some kid-friendly activities like measuring pipe stems, sorting ceramic types, and labeling M&Ms. Everyone's projects were successful!

Cassie talking to staff members about her research on clay pipes