Every October, Virginia celebrates archaeology through special events and programs at libraries, museums, historical societies, clubs, and at active archaeological sites. This year, DHR partnered with Jamestown Rediscovery to develop our Archaeology Month poster. The theme of the 2022 Archaeology Month poster is “Jamestown in the Land of Tsenacommacah” and it features a photograph of a small fraction of the Virginia Indian pottery recovered from pre-1610 contexts at Jamestown.

The flip side of the poster presents a photographic compilation of a variety of stone, shell, animal bone, and botanical artifacts of Indigenous manufacture excavated at Jamestown.

For more information about archaeology month, or to add an event to the calendar contact Laura Galke, Chief Curator, State Archaeology Division (804 /482-6441). To receive a free copy of this year’s poster, please fill out the form below.

To learn about some of the many activities being held during Virginia Archaeology Month, see the event list below. This event list will be updated regularly as new information is submitted to DHR.

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Virginia Archaeology Month 2022 Events

October 1: 11am-3pm                            THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELED
SeeWorthy Archaeology Festival
Ben Brenman Park
4800 Ben Brenman Drive, Alexandria, VA
Free
Celebrate Archaeology Month at Ben Brenman Park! Meet City archaeologists and learn more about why ship timbers excavated from the Robinson Landing construction site were submerged in Ben Brenman Pond this spring. Archaeology enthusiasts of all ages will find out how wooden ships were reused in the 18th and 19th centuries as landfill with Shoreline Engineering, discover the physics behind moving large ship timbers with Mini Forklift Hydraulics, and meet other maritime and terrestrial archaeologists working in the region. This event will kick off with a ribbon cutting of three new signs that tell the story of the ships’ journey from river to pond!
Alexandria Archaeology
703.746.4399
Archaeology@alexandriava.gov
www.AlexandriaArchaeology.org
Contact name: Emma Richardson

October 4: 6-9pm
Fairfield Lab Nights at the CAPE
6783 Main Street Gloucester, VA 23061
Free
The public is welcome to join us on lab nights at the CAPE. Lab activities cater to all ages, ranging from cleaning the artifacts, processing cleaned artifacts, and occasionally mending pottery!
Fairfield Foundation, https://fairfieldfoundation.org/
https://fairfieldfoundation.org/
Contact name: Rachel Boyd, outreach@fairfieldfoundation.org

October 7th: 10am-4pm
Fairfield Fridays
Fairfield Archaeology Park, 5777 Fairfield Ln, Hayes, VA 23072
Free
The public is welcome to join us in our excavations at the Fairfield Archaeology Park. We have ongoing test units surrounding the foundations of the late 17 th century home, and it will be an excellent opportunity for any age to enjoy digging!
Fairfield Foundation, https://fairfieldfoundation.org/
804-815-4467
Contact name: Rachel Boyd, outreach@fairfieldfoundation.org

October 7: 12pm
DAACS Conversations with Visiting Scholars
Online Talk
Join DAACS staff and DAACS collaborating scholars for a diverse range of conversations on ground-breaking new research linked to DAACS. This Fall, DAACS Conversations focus on recent and ongoing archaeological research that engage with legacy archaeological collections. Join the conversation to learn about these exciting projects, and their impact on the field. Conversations start with a short talk followed by questions and discussion. We look forward to seeing you at the next talk! No prior knowledge or experience required.
To Join the Conversation:
1. Register for the talk. Below you will find registration links for each conversation. Registration is capped at 300 people.
2. You will receive an email with a link to join the conversation. You will also receive a reminder the day of the talk.
3. DAACS Conversations live stream starts at 12 pm EST.
4. Each conversation will be recorded and available to watch after the live stream concludes.
Cost: Free to register
Sponsor/contact website, phone number, and/or email: https://www.daacs.org/research/daacs-conversations/, Jillian Galle, jgalle@monticello.org

October 8: 10-4pm
First Baptist Church Community Open House
105 S Nassau St, Williamsburg, VA 23185
Join the Colonial Williamsburg Department of Archaeology for a day of archaeology on the original site of the First Baptist Church of Williamsburg, one of the nation's earliest African American churches. Talk to archaeologists working in the field, check out artifacts discovered at the First Baptist site during recent excavations, and meet Gowan Pamphlet, the church's first ordained minister. Site open for free-flow exploration from 10:00am to 4:00pm. Stop by and see what’s new! All ages are welcome. Weather dependent.
This event is free and open to the public but does NOT include general admission to other sites at Colonial Williamsburg.
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Crystal Castleberry
ccastleber@cwf.org
(888) 965-7254
https://www.colonialwilliamsburg.org/events/first-baptist-archaeology-community-open-house/

October 10: 10am-11am
Indigenous Peoples’ Day Panel: Significance and Process of Eastern Siouan Mapping Project
Virginia Tech, Carole M. Newman Library, Multipurpose Room
560 Drillfield Drive, Blacksburg, Virginia
Free
Working in collaboration with a cartographer, a group of scholars of Eastern Woodland societies created maps of Eastern Siouan-speaking peoples during the 17th century based on primary sources and recent scholarship. Many of the Eastern Siouan-speaking groups were a part of the Monacan confederacy whose capital was Rassawek. Panelists: Sam Cook, Jessica Taylor, Thomas Klatka. Refreshments provided.

October 11: 11-4pm
Indigenous People's Day - Exhibit Case Unveiling
Alexandria Archaeology Museum
105 N Union St, #327, Alexandria, VA
Free
For thousands of years, Native Americans moved through the region, trading and drawing resources from the land and river. A new exhibit at Alexandria Archaeology maps past and present Native American tribes and nations and shows how archaeologists learn more about the lives of people living in the past by studying changes in stone projectile point technology. A virtual unveiling of the exhibit case will happen on social media and the museum website on Monday, October 10, and will be on view in the Alexandria Archaeology Museum on Tuesday, October 11. This exhibit case was made possible by Friends of Alexandria Archaeology.
Alexandria Archaeology
703.746.4399
Archaeology@alexandriava.gov
www.AlexandriaArchaeology.org
Contact name: Emma Richardson

October 11: 7pm
Ben Brenman Awards
Alexandria City Council Meeting
The annual Ben Brenman awards are given by the Alexandria Archaeology Commission to individuals and groups who have demonstrated high quality work, innovation, commitment, or extraordinary efforts in preservation, research, protection, enhancement, creation of historic parks and open spaces, documentation, education, public appreciation, and advocacy in relation to the archaeology of historic Alexandria.
Alexandria Archaeology
703.746.4399
Archaeology@alexandriava.gov
www.AlexandriaArchaeology.org
Contact name: Emma Richardson

October 13: 10am-4pm
King William Courthouse Digs
351 Courthouse Rd #130, King William, VA 23086
Free
The public is welcome to join us in our excavations at the historic King William Courthouse as we uncover the remains of a tavern and other buildings.
Fairfield Foundation, https://fairfieldfoundation.org/
Contact name: Rachel Boyd, outreach@fairfieldfoundation.org

October 14th: 10am-4pm
Fairfield Fridays
Fairfield Archaeology Park, 5777 Fairfield Ln, Hayes, VA 23072
Free
The public is welcome to join us in our excavations at the Fairfield Archaeology Park. We have ongoing test units surrounding the foundations of the late 17 th century home, and it will be an excellent opportunity for any age to enjoy digging!
Fairfield Foundation, https://fairfieldfoundation.org/
804-815-4467
Contact name: Rachel Boyd, outreach@fairfieldfoundation.org

October 15: 12-4 pm
Archaeology Along the Waterfront
Guided Tour Times: 12:30 p.m., 1:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. (30 min each)
7 Pioneer Mill Way
Free
Weather permitting
Celebrate Virginia Archaeology Month with Robinson Landing and Alexandria Archaeology! The current site of Robinson Landing included one of the two original deep-water landings in Alexandria, and was later added to during the late 18th and early 19th century banking-out process that created new land along the waterfront. Test your 18th-century engineering skills and figure out a way to make new land without having it wash away into the Potomac, take part in block-wide Scavenger Hunt, and join City archaeologists on timed walking tours of Robinson Landing. The event is free and open to the public, but tours are limited. To reserve guided tour slots visit: www.eventbrite.com/e/archaeology-along-the-waterfront-tickets-383760296377.
Alexandria Archaeology
703.746.4399
Archaeology@alexandriava.gov
www.AlexandriaArchaeology.org
Contact name: Emma Richardson

October 18: 6-9pm
Fairfield Lab Nights at the CAPE
6783 Main Street Gloucester, VA 23061
Free
The public is welcome to join us on lab nights at the CAPE. Lab activities cater to all ages, ranging from cleaning the artifacts, processing cleaned artifacts, and occasionally mending pottery!
Fairfield Foundation, https://fairfieldfoundation.org/
https://fairfieldfoundation.org/
Contact name: Rachel Boyd, outreach@fairfieldfoundation.org

October 19: 10-11am
Lancaster Community Library Wash Day
16 Town Centre Dr, Kilmarnock, VA 22482
Free
Come to the Lancaster Community Library and wash artifacts from Historic Christ Church! This is a perfect hands-on activity for children during the Storytime Hour at the Lancaster Community Library.
Fairfield Foundation, https://fairfieldfoundation.org/
804-435-1729
Contact name: Rachel Boyd, outreach@fairfieldfoundation.org

October 21-23
The Archaeological Society of Virginia 82nd Annual Meetings
Fort Magruder Lodge, Williamsburg, Virginia
See the ASV website at www.virginiaarcheology.org for more information.

October 22: 10am to 4pm
Monticello Archaeology Open House
Courtyard at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello Visitor’s Center, Charlottesville, Virginia
Monticello’s Archaeology Department hosts its annual open house, featuring displays, exhibits on recent discoveries in the field and the lab, lightning talks about current research, and walking tours of the vanished Monticello Plantation landscape. Archaeology staff members will be on hand to answer questions. Displays and exhibits are found in the Visitors' Center courtyard outside of the Farm Table café.
Walking Tours leave the Woodland Pavilion at 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 3 p.m. Be prepared to walk over uneven terrain; sturdy shoes are recommended. The walk roundtrip is approximately 1 mile.
https://www.monticello.org/exhibits-events/calendar-of-events/details/archaeology-open-house/2022-10-22/
Crystal O’Connor, coconnor@monticello.org

October 22: 10-4 pm
Custis Square Community Open House
134 South Nassau Street, Williamsburg, VA 23185
Join the Colonial Williamsburg Department of Archaeology at Custis Square Archaeological project, the home and gardens of early 18th-century resident, John Custis. Free flow exploration of the active excavation, character interpretation, and artifacts are on display throughout the day. Talk with archaeologists in the field about the history of Custis Square, earlier excavations that helped to inform our understanding of the Custis family, and current project goals. Meet Custis’ best-known relative, Martha Washington, and her new husband, George, as they explore Martha’s inherited property at Custis Square. Conversations with Mr. and Mrs. Washington are from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. Stop by and see what’s new! All ages welcome. Weather dependent.
This event is free and open to the public but does NOT include general admission to other sites at Colonial Williamsburg.
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Crystal Castleberry
ccastleber@cwf.org
(888) 965-7254
https://www.colonialwilliamsburg.org/events/custis-square-community-open-house/

October 22: 1pm to 4pm
Petersburg National Battlefield Archeology Day
Grant’s Headquarters at City Point, 1001 Pecan Avenue, Hopewell.
Join the park’s curator to see artifacts recovered from Grant’s Cabin on display. Visitors will be able to ask questions about the archeology that took place there in 1982. The park archeologist will have a hands-on activity for kids to learn about the complex stratigraphy at City Point. Petersburg National Battlefield’s Facebook and Instagram pages will feature daily posts highlighting archeology and artifacts within the battlefield. The public can also try their hand at, “What is that Wednesday?” Each Wednesday in October, we’ll feature a different artifact giving our Facebook and Instagram followers a chance to identify the object.
804-732-3571
Emmanuel Dabney, Emmanuel_Dabney@nps.gov
Alexis Morris, Alexis_Morris@nps.gov

October 26: 7-8pm
Virginia's Underwater Archaeology: Submerged History in the Commonwealth
Brendan Burke, Virginia State Underwater Archaeologist
Hampton Roads Naval Museum
1 Waterside Drive, Norfolk, VA 23510
FREE
Join the Hampton Roads Naval Museum as they host Brendan Burke, State Underwater Archaeologist with the Virginia Department of Historic Resources for a FREE evening presentation. The presentation will cover the activities of the Virginia Department of Historic Resources' Underwater Archaeology Program, which is tasked with the protection and inventory of submerged archaeological sites throughout all of the state-owned bottomlands. The program also frequently assists citizens of the Commonwealth with heritage management regarding maritime artifacts and sites. This presentation will cover the program's activities and duties throughout the state, from Assateague to the Alleghenies.

October 26: 7-8 pm
Virtual Lecture: “A City Built on Ships: Reconstructing 18th-Century Ships Excavated from the Alexandria Waterfront”
with Dr. Chris Dostal
Free, but registration is required here.
Between 2015-2018, construction crews excavating along the Alexandria waterfront revealed the broken remains of four 18th-century wooden ships in what was once the shoreline of the Potomac River. To study them, each ship was disarticulated and the individual timbers were laser scanned, allowing researchers to virtually reassemble the ships and develop theoretical reconstructions of how they would have looked when they were in use. These highly accurate digital timber models were 3D printed and assembled by a master ship model maker, further informing these reconstructions. The four ships are now on two different preservation journeys. The Hotel Indigo ship was sent to the Conservation Research Laboratory at Texas A&M University for conservation by freeze drying, and the three Robinson Landing ships were submerged in a pond at Ben Brenman Park this spring. Hear the latest findings and discover what was learned through digitally reconstructing the four ships.
Christopher Dostal is an Assistant Professor with the Department of Anthropology’s Nautical Archaeology Program at Texas A&M University, where he is also the Director of the Center for Maritime Archaeology and Conservation, the Conservation Research Laboratory, and the Director of the Analytical Archaeology Laboratory in charge of scanning the four 18th century ships excavated in Alexandria. He holds his degrees from Texas A&M University (Ph.D.), and the University of Colorado at Boulder. His research and work includes historical maritime archaeology of North America and Western Europe, the conservation and long-term preservation of waterlogged archaeological artifacts, preservation and documentation techniques for underwater archaeological sites, X-ray fluorescence elemental analysis of archaeological artifacts, and digital imaging and 3D modeling of archaeological artifacts.
Alexandria Archaeology
703.746.4399
Archaeology@alexandriava.gov
www.AlexandriaArchaeology.org
Contact name: Emma Richardson

October 27: 10am-4pm
King William Courthouse Digs
351 Courthouse Rd #130, King William, VA 23086
Free
The public is welcome to join us in our excavations at the historic King William Courthouse as we uncover the remains of a tavern and other buildings.
Fairfield Foundation, https://fairfieldfoundation.org/
Contact name: Rachel Boyd, outreach@fairfieldfoundation.org

October 28th: 10am-4pm
Fairfield Fridays
Fairfield Archaeology Park, 5777 Fairfield Ln, Hayes, VA 23072
Free
The public is welcome to join us in our excavations at the Fairfield Archaeology Park. We have ongoing test units surrounding the foundations of the late 17 th century home, and it will be an excellent opportunity for any age to enjoy digging!
Fairfield Foundation, https://fairfieldfoundation.org/