Sylvester Manor, Shelter Island, NY
Investigations of creolization on a 17th century provisioning plantation.
Magunkaquog, Ashland , MA
Magunkaquog, “a place of great trees” was the last of the original seven “Christian Indian” communities” established during the seventeenth century by the English missionary John Eliot. Established by 1660, Magunkaquog was located “Well South of Boston about twenty four miles, near the midway between Natick and Hassanamesitt” according to Daniel Gookin who served as superintendent of Indians for the Massachusetts Bay Colony during the seventeenth century. The Fiske Center has been involved in research surrounding the community at Magunkaquog since 1997 when excavations at the Magunco Hill Site in Ashland, Massachusetts were commenced. Since that time subsequent excavations and analysis as well as a program of documentary research has evolved into a larger collaboration with the Nipmuc Tribal Nation that focuses on the archaeological and documentary investigation of Nipmuc History that also involves Fiske Center excavations at Hassanamesitt Woods.
Sandy's Point, Yarmouth, MA
Investigation of a multi-component Native American occupation through lithic and ceramic studies, faunal and botanical analysis, and spatial analysis. Among the issues being examined for this site are gender relations, subsistence strategies, and foodways.
Central Artery/Tunnel Project , Mill Creek Site, Boston, MA
17th - 18th century mill at the head of the sluiceway from Mill Pond to Town Cove leading to the environmental and cultural reconstruction of early urban Boston.
Gore Place, Waltham, MA
The Center for Cultural and Environmental History will soon begin archaeological investigations at Gore Place, the late 18th and early 19th century mansion and estate of Massachusetts Governor and U.S. Senator, Christopher Gore and his wife Rebecca. Archaeological investigations will be used in this effort to help identify the locations of the original carriage drive, the 1793 carriage house foundation, the greenhouse, vegetable garden, flower garden and grapery.
Hassanamessitt Woods, Grafton, MA
The archaeological investigation of Hassanamessitt Woods in Grafton, Massachusetts is a collaborative project involving in the Town of Grafton, The Fiske Center and the Nipmuc Tribal Nation. The focus of the project is a 200 acre parcel purchased by the Town of Grafton that includes land that was once part of the seventeenth century Native community of Hassanamessitt. Excavations this spring and summer will concentrate on the eighteenth/early nineteenth century farmstead of Peter Muckamoag. Results of these and all subsequent investigations will be used by the town and the Nipmuc Tribal Nation in the development of interpretive and educational materials for the public..
African Meeting House
The African Meeting House project is a collaborative undertaking with the Museum of African American History (MAAH). The Meeting House was constructed in 1806
and served as the center for Boston’s free African American community for most of the 19th century. As part of the preparation for the bicentennial celebration in 2006, the MAAH isinitiating an important building restoration and improvement project. UMass Boston’s 2005 archaeological excavations around the Meeting House documented the archaeological deposits and recovered artifacts in areas slated for disturbance by the restoration work. Undergraduate and graduate students from UMass Boston carried out most of the fieldwork, assisted by undergraduate participants in the Center’s NSF-supported Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program.
Spanish Colonialism in New Mexico
During the summer of 2006, Dr. Heather Trigg traveled to Velarde, New Mexico and directed excavations at the Parker-Borrega Site, a Spanish Colonial homestead. During the three-week field project the crew, assisted by Dr. Richard Ford (Univ. of Michigan), thelandowner Noah Parker, and several local residents, surveyed the site and excavated test unitsto define the site boundaries and determine the site chronology. The field crew uncovered acorner of a dwelling, constructed out of stone and adobe bricks, as well as a probable exterior stonewall. Numerous Native American ceramic sherds were recovered as well as some European ceramics, referred to as “tradewares,” which may have arrived at the site via theSanta Fe Trail. Because of the dry climate preservation of organic materials was exceptional. Inaddition to collecting artifacts, several soil samples were collected for flotation to recovermacrobotanical remains. This work was supported by a UMass Boston Healey Grant, “When Colonizers Are Colonized: Archaeological and Historical Investigations of Economic Activity in 19th-Century Spanish New Mexico,” and represents a continuation of Dr. Trigg’s researchon the economic and social implications of colonialism in the Southwest.
State Archaeological Collections Curation Assessment
As part of a collaborative project with the Massachusetts Historical Commission (MHC) and other State agencies, Dennis Piechota of the Fiske Center is directing an assessment project of artifact collections generated from archaeological projects associated with State transportation projects. The project surveys the transportation-related collections curated at MHC, UMass Amherst, and the Boston Landmarks Commission. The survey will characterize the state of preservation of the major types of artifacts in each institution and make long-term preservation suggestions. The urgency or priority of each preservation need and the relative interpretive value of each collection or each class of artifact will be considered as components of establishing priorities. The survey will also document the storage (and where applicable exhibit) environment in each institution and make practical recommendations on how the optimum storage environments may be maintained. This project brings the Fiske Center’s
expertise to bear on the preservation of important State archaeological collections.
National Park Service Collaboration
We have signed a five-year Cooperative Agreement with the National Park Service, North Atlantic Regional Office. This agreement is intended to serves as an umbrella for a series of smaller collaborative projects, the first of which is an archaeological overview and assessment of the Weir Farm National Historic site in Wilton, Connecticut. This is a complex, year long project that will compile and review all of the known information about archaeological sites in the park, creating a management plan for future archaeology and a GIS database of historical and archaeological information.
Skagafjörður, Iceland Archaeology of the Viking Settlement of Iceland. The Skagafjörður Archaeological Settlement Survey is trying to understand the changes in the settlement pattern from the Viking Age through Early Danish Rule (AD 874-1800) In this Northern fjord valley.
Barrett Farm, Concord, MA
Archaeological excavations at the Barrett Farm aided the preservation of this significant site. Colonel James Barrett was the commander of the Concord area militia on the eve of the American Revolution. The Barrett Farm became the focus of the British military in mid-April, 1775. A column of soldiers left Boston on April 18th, determined to seize arms and munitions stockpiled in various places in Concord, including the Barrett Farm. The British failed to locate Colonel Barrett or the weapons. Along the way, the soldiers became involved in the battles of Lexington and Concord, the opening skirmishes of the American Revolution. The Barrett Farm is now the focus of a major restoration project by
Save Our Heritage, a Concord-based non-profit organization. Part of the restoration includes archaeological excavations conducted by the Fiske Center, directed by Dr. David Landon and Dr. Christa Beranek. Initial fieldwork was carried out in May and June of 2007, exploring areas around the house to assess the nature and extent of the archaeological deposits. The results of the excavation are being analyzed to interpret the historical development of the houselot and help guide the restoration.
Salem Maritime Park in Salem , MA
An archaeological overview and assessment of the Salem Maritime Park in Salem, Massachusetts. This is a complex, yearlong project that will compile and review all of the known information about archaeological sites in the park, creating a management plan for future archaeology and a GIS database of historical and archaeological information.
Grafton Land Trust, MA
A collaborative project with the Town of Grafton, the Trust for Public Lands, and the Nipmuc Tribal Nation to complete an archaeological survey of a large parcel of land in Grafton, Massachusetts.
Loring-Greenough House, Jamaica Plain , MA
Assessment of historic landscape and 19th century carriage house. The Loring-Greenough House is a rare example of 18th century architecture, originally built by the English Loring family who fled the country at the onset of the Revolutionary War. The house was used as a wartime hospital and later acquired by the Greenough family.
The Historic Winslow House, Marshfield , MA
Survey identification of archaeological resources on the property and investigation of features related to the Winslow house. This property, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is thought to have been built as early as 1699.
Orchard House, Concord , MA
Survey and monitoring at the 19th century Alcott residence as renovations to the historic house proceed.
Old Manse Boathouse, Concord , MA
Cultural reconstruction of a late 19th century river boathouse undertaken in conjunction with the Trustees of Reservations.
For additional information.
phone 617.287.6859 or email fiskecenter@umb.edu
This page last updated on: September 19, 2007