2022 Lab School

As the 2022 Lab School wraps up, I want to share our experiences from the last two weeks. Whether studying archaeology in college or as a visitor to a site such as Strawbery Banke, archaeology is most known for the digging and recovery of artifacts. But what happens after the artifacts are brought to the lab, and how can we understand what they are telling us about the site? 

Lab work involves the cleaning, identification, cataloging, photography, and interpretation of artifacts. As our archaeologist Alix says, every hour of fieldwork is accompanied by at least 10 hours of research and lab work. This practical knowledge is what the lab school aims to teach the five students, from high school to graduate school, who are joining us from Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Maine. Each participant has dedicated their two weeks to researching and mending a specific class of artifacts from the 1695 Sherburne House- from English earthenware and Westerwald stoneware, to first period architecture, to metal and weapons. 

A blue plastic tray with assorted pearlware sherds, fountain pen,
and catalog tag used to label the ceramic sherds.

Two participants have chosen to focus on ceramics, including Westerwald and Staffordshire Slipware. The identification, labeling, and mending of ceramics has been a large focus, both at Sherburne and the New Castle Historical Society. There, we sorted and mended glazed redware in the Demers Collection with the guidance of Dr. Tad Baker. One incredible aspect of this lab session is the ways in which the students have connected artifacts from the 2019 dig at Sherburne to the dig from 1977-1983, as well as an excavation at Deer Street between 1981 and 1986. This is exciting because it demonstrates how no archaeological site exists within a vacuum and captures the breadth of Portsmouth as a center for trade and cultural exchange, whether international or a few streets down. 

Picture from New Castle Historical Society of lab school students and Dr. Tad Baker, sorting glazed redware across four tables.

Lab student Geraldine sorting Westerwald sherds in the lab

Two participants have chosen to work with metal, including weapons and unidentified artifacts due to rust. Much of our excitement over metal is due to our trip to the Warner House, where Dr. Bob Barth gave us a tour of the Heavy Metal exhibit (which is currently on display) and their ceramics collection. The Warner House was a great model for how archaeology and written record can come together to appropriately furnish a historic house museum, and the importance of a deceptively unassuming silverware handle or small pottery sherd. 

In the dining room at the Warner House, where Dr. Bob Barth explains the pewter tableware.

Lastly, another participant has been working with first period architecture, including roofing, window glass and lead, and bricks to inform a historically accurate and sustainable restoration of Sherburne. All of these projects are participating in interpretation to contribute to future exhibits, and answering research questions such as “who interacted with these objects?” and “what caused them to be discarded and end up in the archaeological record?”

Picture of rusted artifacts cleaning in apple cider vinegar, one step in the conservation of iron to identify artifacts and remove rust.

To accompany our discussion of the ethics and practices of indigenous and African diaspora archaeologies, we visited the African Burying Ground and the colonial Point of Graves Cemetery.

Tiled Sankofa from the African Burying Ground, 

an Akan symbol from West Africa found at several burial grounds meaning "go back and get it."

Our final field trip was to the Great Bay Archaeological Survey site led by Dr. Meghan Howey, where we had the pleasure of observing what an active excavation looks like, from digging to documenting artifacts and features.

What I’ve taken away from this school is the amount of creativity archaeology asks from its practitioners and students. We start with a single broken gun flint or a thumbnail sized sherd of pottery. By investigating the material, decoration, and color (and sorting through dozens of bags of fragments for matching pieces), we can imagine the pottery and metal working techniques as the vessel takes shape.

Tomorrow, we will journey to the Visitor Center at Strawbery Banke for an archaeology open house from 10:00 to 12:00 where anyone is welcome to join as we share our research!