Digging Dartmouth: Community Archaeology on our Campus

Discover Dartmouth’s archaeological history through items excavated on campus by Prof. Jesse Casana (Department of Anthropology) and students enrolled in Archaeological Field Methods: Digging Dartmouth.

A student excavating an archaeological site on Dartmouth's Baker Lawn.

Discovering Dartmouth's Past

The Hanover area has a long history of settlement dating back thousands of years. Students in Archaeological Field Methods: Digging Dartmouth use modern technologies and historic maps to locate sites with preserved remains, then carefully excavate artifacts and evidence of past ways of life. Even small fragments of broken artifacts can tell us a lot about the past. Items excavated on campus reveal insights to food, culture, wealth, class, gender, relationships, and many other aspects of daily life in Dartmouth's history.

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