Social Media and Archaeology Outreach

The Independence Park Archivist is attending the Society for American Archivist's (SAA) annual conference this month. We anticipate getting some new ideas that will be useful for accomplishing this Archeological Records Management Project -- as well as this blog's purpose and intent.* This month also saw the National Park Service Archeology Program release a Guide/Handbook for NPS Archeology Outreach outlining best practices, policies, and tools. This should likewise be useful to this Archives project and its blog. (See the Guide cover image above, arrow added).

This new Guide summarizes NPS requirements for Civic Engagement and public involvement in regards to archeology, referencing Director's Order #28A and the National Strategy for Federal Archeology both of which deal with, among many important concerns, facilitating use of archeological databases by managers and researchers, interpreting and sharing the results of archeological investigations, establishing programs of outreach as a regular agency function, and engaging the public in archeology through volunteer programs. (As mentioned before, this blog is generated by an NPS Volunteers in Parks (VIP) program participant).

Excitingly, the Guide draws upon Independence Park archeology outreach for one of its four case studies (the James Dexter Site). But more directly pertinent to the needs of this blog, it provides guidance for the implementation of NPS outreach via social media:

Social media provides the NPS with another way to promote outreach activities and create networks of interest groups. Opportunities include Facebook, blogs, Twitter, and YouTube, butother platforms are available. Social media is both outreach and a way to spread news and information quickly about archeological outreach projects to a broad constituency. Outreach through social media keeps the NPS in the public's mind. Uses for social media range from announcements about special events to cancellations or closings to reminders about things to do, to building communities of people with shared concerns for NPS resources.... (Emphasis added to reflect the orientation of this project.)

NPS Archeology Guide table of contents. Part 5 deals with public involvement and Part 7 with Social Media.

The Guide draws on the 2007 NPS Brief (#19), Archeological Collections and the Public: Using Resources for Public Benefit which has been relied upon to date in the development of this project. This Brief outlines some the benefits for the public of archaeological collections (including archeological records collections) as seen by the managers of collections repositories across the nation. The case studies referenced show not just "the many ways that curators find archaeological collections to benefit audiences with different interests and needs" but also states that "outreach benefits the repositories themselves by offering opportunities to demonstrate the significance of the holdings, reinforce the importance of proper management, provide a valuable public service, fulfill institutional goals of outreach and research, and most of all, activate the potential of archaeology to benefit the public".

Just as Social Media as a platform for archaeological outreach forms a rapidly evolving sphere, so the study of archaeological records collections is evolving. For instance, an international, interdisciplinary, research initiative was recently launched to study archaeology's past practice. It is called the Histories of Archaeology Research Network (HARN) and it aims to preserve and study the social context of archaeological practice so as to supplement the documentary materials that are created in the practice of archaeology and which are archived for posterity. This includes, for example, gathering oral history about how various thoughts and ideas put into practice emerged and were developed.

This blog project attempts to do something in this vein by drawing on 20th century history, the historiography of American History, the history of Independence Park and the National Park Service, and the history of urban archaeology to contextualize (make better sense of) the Independence Park archaeological records (see for example, the posting Oral History!). These past months spent helping process the Central Files has been critical to this aim. These documents contain information relevant to the archaeological developments in Independence Park but the information is often not otherwise noted in the Archaeological Records Collection.

*We hope to report on this Archeological Records Management project and this blog to the Archival science community next year --as our plan this year did not come to pass. As mentioned in the last posting, we are reporting to the archaeological community in January.

Sharing the Good Results

We will be presenting on the INHP Archaeological Records Collection and this Digging in the Archives Blog next January in Austin, Texas. By 'We' I mean Karen Stevens --the Independence Park Archivist --and me --Patrice L. Jeppson, Historical Archaeologist and National Park Service Volunteer-In-Parks Program participant.

We will be taking part in a Society for Historical Archaeology conference symposium dedicated to collaborative outreach methods and techniques. We have titled our contribution "Blogging on An Archaeological Records Collection: Archive Outreach and Creating a User-Friendly Access Plan". Other outreach mediums that will be presented in the symposium include print publication, Film, the public lab, the archaeology classroom, Performance Art, mobile technologies, and 3D visualizations.

Here is what we proposed to talk about:
"Digging in the Archives" is an Internet blog associated with an archaeological records collection management project underway at the Archives in Independence National Historical Park. This archived documentation includes 50+ years worth of field notes, artifact logs, photographs, and site reports related to the research, preservation, and interpretation of historical archaeology sites. The Blog created for this project features interesting finds "excavated" from the files and presents musings about the Park's archaeological history and historiography. However, this blog contributes substantively in another way: The interactive nature of the Web 2.0 platform provides a productive working space where archaeologists, archivists, and the interested public can share ideas about how to make this collection more widely available and more useful to the user. This presentation will introduce the collection and demonstrate how this archaeological records-based blog is contributing toward the development of a more user-friendly Archives Access Plan. (Key Words: Blogging, Archives Collections Management, Collaboration)

Sure to be mentioned in the presentation will be an interesting document recently processed in the Archives that connects the blog project with the SHA conference. This document was written by the Archeologist John Cotter. The year was 1976, and Independence National Historical Park was a sponsor of the Society for Historical Archaeology meeting that was taking place in Philadelphia that year. The archived documentation also indicates that this conference of archaeologists who studied American History was the first event scheduled for the city on the official Bicentennial-year calendar. Cotter helped to bring the SHA conference to Philadelphia and then he brought the conference attendees to the Park to see its historical archaeology sites (the schedule of activities for that tour is also housed in the archives).

John Cotter was an National Park Service Regional Archeologist for many years and hundreds of papers, images, and other materials related to his work in Independence Park are stored in the Archaeological Records Collection in the Independence Park Archives. Cotter taught the first class in American Historical Archaeology ever taught in an American university (the University of Pennsylvania) and he was the first elected President of the Society for Historical Archaeology. Today, his contributions to the field are recognized by the Society for Historical Archaeology's John L. Cotter Award established in 1998, and in NPS by the John Cotter Excellence in National Park Service Archeology Award.

Dr. Cotter was a strong advocate of education and outreach in archaeology. I think that he would like the idea of this blog as a way to share archaeology information and as a way to engage with those interested in using archaeological information. He would likely be pleased as well that the blog is being presented on at the Society for Historical Archaeology's annual meeting.

_______
Learn more:

The Society for Historical Archaeology

Witness to the Past: The Life and Works of John L. Cotter
Edited by Daniel G. Roberts and David G. Orr
Society for American Archaeology/Society for Historical Archaeology Press

What is old is new again!

Several memo's, photographs, and reports created during the earliest years of Independence Park's development have become lost to institutional memory due both to the passage of time and because the reporting route 'up the chain of command' in earlier years directed some archaeological materials to the Central Files (as opposed to the Archaeological Records Collection).

Processing the archived documentation in the Central Files today is bringing this information forward for the Park's current cultural resource management needs. This rediscovered archaeological documentation is now being indexed for cross-filing and or refiling as part of the archaeological documents collection.

One case in point is a 1957 report detailing a short exploratory archaeological excavation conducted in the basement of the John Wagner Building that once stood at 233 Dock Street. (Left image above). This early archaeological excavation involved testing at the bottom of the basement steps of the building after it was vacated, prior to its demolition as part of the making of the Park. In this space, the first Independence Visitors Center was built in 1976 (see the 2009 photo, above right, of the southeast wing of the building).

Thirty years later, after the new Visitors Center was built at 5th and Market, the old building came to serve as the Independence Living History Center housing the Public Archeology Lab and the Independence Park Institute's educational classrooms. Over the past five years, tens of thousands of people have visited the Lab to see how history is learned from the Park's archaeological artifacts.


Now this piece of land containing the old Visitors Center is being decommissioned from the National Park Service in a land-swap with the American Revolution Center. The early 1957 report is newly relevant because the Programmatic Agreement and Notice of Realty Action associated with this land transfer requires an archaeological study to assess the potential for cultural resources. The 1957 report was called upon in preparing this assessment. (See the cover image of the report above.) This early archaeological study took place on a property lot directly adjacent to the land now being swapped.

At the time of its creation in 1957, the archeological report concluded that little of significance was found and, given the mission of the Park and the interpretive themes of the day, this was true. Today, with the maturation of historical archaeology as a disciplinary study and the evolution of American History understanding in general, this report's minor findings have new importance. While information about notable personages was not forthcoming (an early research focus), there was evidence of a basement from a previously dating structure still found surviving two feet under the floor of the (later) 19th century, Wagner Building's basement. There was also information relevant to the course of Dock Creek and the artifact assemblage included numerous cow horn pieces indicative of the types of trades (slaughter houses, soap makers and tanners) known to have bordered the waterway during the early decades of the city.

This information was less important for the Park needs as they existed almost 40 years ago but these early findings today are useful for assessing what evidence might possibly survive the ravages of time as the property developed. Today we look back at this and other reports and see that it was clear from early on that 19th century cellars did not obliterate all earlier 18th century evidence. We also see evidence related to everyday life of 'We the People' at the time of the birth of the nation.

Importantly, we also have insight into how restricted in scope some early Park archaeological studies sometimes were. In the case of the Wagner Building excavation, the testing was done at the foot of the basement stairs where natural light remained available --because there was no longer any electricity in the building. This limitation is important to take into account today as archaeologists use earlier research findings to assess cultural resource sensitivity in park planning. Knowing what conditioned those 'peeks into the ground' is therefore critical.

Wagner & Sons:
First established in 1847, the specialty foods firm of John Wagner and Sons long operated at 233 Dock Street. They sold Cuban cigars, fine Spanish and French wines, and spices and tea from the East which came into the docks of Philadelphia and which the firm then often delivered to hinterland customers via pony express (Wagner Gourmet Foods, Inc. 1997).

In 1950, in preparation for building Independence Park, the National Park Service took photographs of the interior of the Wagner building prior to the buildings acquisition and demolition. These photos of the John Wagner & Sons salesroom and humidor are on file in the Independence Park Archive's Photographic Study Collection.



Learn More....

ExplorePAHistory.com provides details about the Wagner Museum in Ivyland, PA which is dedicated to the history of the John Wagner & Sons firm.

B. Bruce Powell
1957 Exploratory Excavation in the Basement of the John Wagner Building. On file, Independence Park Archives.

John Milner Associates, Inc.,
2010 Independence National Historical Park, Archeological Sensitivity Study (Phase I Archeological Assessment), Independence Living History Center, North Lot. (Soon to be likewise posted at the Philadelphia Archaeological Forum web page under 'local reports'.

Wagner Gourmet Foods, Inc.
1997 News Release, Wagner Gourmet Foods, Inc. Celebrates 150-year Anniversary. Prepared for 43rd Annual International Fancy Food and Confection Show, NY, NY.

Known at last!

A long missing piece of the Franklin house rediscovery story was finally found this past week. While processing a folder in the Central Files a letter was discovered that lists the names of the four men who assisted NPS Archaeologist Paul J.F. Schumacher in locating and identifying the Franklin mansion ruins....Willie Ransom, Odell Sample, George David, and Wilson Bachus!

(Above) Photographs depicting members of the field crew that located Franklin's house ruins are glued into Schumacher's report (1956:8) entitled "Preliminary Exploration of Franklin Court Archeological Project No. 4, May-Sept. 1953.

Abstracted portion of a 1953 letter (Schumacher to Noonan, May 19, 1953) listing the names of the field crew.

Identifying these individuals has been a concern of mine since 2003, when I learned of their participation in the excavation during research conducted for the Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary Consortium (Jeppson 2005). The very first day of that project turned up eight black and white photographs (archaeological site record shots) glued into a preliminary site report written by Schumacher in 1956. These photographs revealed that the field crew who relocated the Franklin house ruins were African American -- something not commonly known today.

The role these men played in the excavation was explained by a contract typed on onion skin paper found in the files alongside the 1956 report. Entitled, "Estimate for Excavation of Benjamin Franklin's Court to locate and record all walls which may give us clues as to the location of Benjamin Franklin's home" (Schumacher 1953a), this document also provided the pay scale for an Archaeologist (GS-9 at $422 per month) and "6 laborers...if at union wages...$1.75 per hour" --along with a recommendation for employing workers from Local 57, the Laborer's International Union which is a construction and industry or building trades union (Schumacher 1953a:1). Schumacher's field notes (1953b), also stored in the Archives, report on the first day of excavation (in May 1953) that four laborers were hired from the union at this pay.

(Top) Schumacher's 1953 typed field notes, page 1. (Middle) The field notes for this date document that when APS funding ran out, the union workers were hired by NPS. (Bottom) Schumacher's field notes are presumably typed up from his handwritten draft after the fact, as attested to by this summary of hours on the last page of the notes.

Secondary research on the history of Franklin Court's discovery undertaken in 2005 provided some context for this labor history finding that the archaeological labor wage paid to Ransom and the others was $1 higher than the then current minimum wage (Jeppson 2007). (The National Average Wage Index for 1953 was $3140, the Median Wage Index for a family was $4100, and the minimum wage was .75 cents an hour.) Wage data for the period also reveals that Black households in the Northern states have two-times the income of those in the South (US Census Bureau Historical Income Table P-53 2004; Full time employee annual wage 1953). Union membership among Blacks in Philadelphia is presumably partly responsible for the higher Northern incomes.

But while the materials in the archaeological documents collection included photographs of, and employment details about, these men, their names remained unidentified --until now. The only hints came from a field note entry dated May 26, 1953, but the notation wasn't clear as to whether monikers or surnames were being referenced: "It poured...two men showed up (Ransom and Sample)".

So now the names of the co-rediscoverers of Franklin's mansion are known! The letter found this week in the Central Files was written May 19, 1953 and is from Schumacher to the Assistant Secretary of the American Philosophical Society (Schumacher 1956c). It summarizes the wages for the field crew -- and in doing so, identifies them by name!

INHP Archives materials referenced in this posting:
Schumacher, Paul J. F.
1953 a. Estimate for Excavation of Benjamin Franklin's Court [Archaeological Project No. 30, renumbered as "4"]. Schumacher, Acc. No. 59, Series 1: Reports, Box 10, Folders 1-3.

1953b. Archaeological Field Notes: Franklin Court Archeology - East Side-- Archeological Project No. 4. Schumacher, Acc. No. 59. Series 1: Reports, Box 10, Folders 1-3.

1953c. Letter (copy) to Julia Noonan (APS) May 19, 1953. Central Files, Box 34: Arch. Structures Franklin Court--Master Plan, 1953.

1956. Preliminary Exploration of Franklin Court Archeological Project No. 4, May-Sept. 1953. Acc. No. 117. Series 1: Reports Box 10, Folder 12.

Other References cited...
Jeppson, Patrice L.
2007. Civil Religion and Civically Engaged Archaeology: Researching Benjamin Franklin and the Pragmatic Spirit. In B. Little and P. Schackel edited, Archaeology as a Tool of Civic Engagement. Pages 173-202. Lanham Maryland: Alta Mira Press.

2005. Historical Fact, Historical Memory: An Assessment of the Archaeology Evidence Related to Benjamin Franklin. Historical Archaeology research undertaken for the Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary Consortium. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. On file: INHP.

Cold War Archaeology?

Mosler Safe Company vault, post a detonation at the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission’s Nevada Test site, ca, 1957. (Press Release photo filed with related correspondence, Central Files, INHP).

Recent discoveries in the Archives at Independence National Historical Park include evidence related to an important period in American history – the almost five decades of military tension and economic and political hostilities (later 1940s-early 1990s) waged between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. and their affiliated allies and satellite states that is known as 'the Cold War'. Among its many impacts, this period of history left an important cultural landscape in the United States, including, it appears, a possible Cold War archaeology component at Independence National Historical Park.

Letters, reports, and photographs in the Central Files record the government’s concern for protecting the nation’s cultural icons in the event of an atomic or nuclear bomb attack. These archived documents include calls for action as well as background studies generated for possible implementation. Anything made or modified within Independence Park in response to such measures that in turn left an archaeological trace might now comprise a cultural resource. Such archaeological evidence might also be relevant for evaluation for the National Register of Historic Places’ inventory of Cold War Resources, 1945-1989 . If so, this would mean that this archival project has identified possible new archaeological sites heretofore unknown (archaeologically) and now relevant ‘due to the passage of time’. At a minimum, this archives project has assisted the park in its archaeological management objectives.

Some brief background on Cold War Archaeology:
While a relatively new topic of focus within historical archaeology, this is a fascinating and active area of research. Teams of researchers have been recording a vast range of Cold War related sites, monuments, and installations. This work has been undertaken mostly in the US and the UK, but examples from other areas exist as well (for example, a Swedish-Cuban research project at a base in the Cuban countryside). The artifacts and cultural landscape modifications left from this recent past include monitoring posts, radar sites, missile testing grounds, airfields, communication networks, command bunkers, test ranges, space objects, as well as the protest camps created by those opposed to the era’s military developments. All these reflect an unprecedented spending on defense, a worldview characterized by fear (including the threat of nuclear annihilation)—and a range of responses designed to neutralize that fear.

In the US, much of this archaeology has been part of the Department of Defense Legacy Resource Management Program and the findings are the result of cultural inventory studies. In the UK this research has been primarily university-based academic research.

Independence Park and the Cold War
Among the materials related to this topic that are stored in the Independence Park Archives are the contents in the Central Files filed under Archeological and Historic Structures. Included are newspaper clippings, letters, proposals, and photographs – all cultural artifacts of the Park’s Cold War experience. Here below is one example -- a 1956 Philadelphia Inquirer article reporting that the Philadelphia Civil Defense Council’s Executive Director called for a vault to protect the Liberty Bell from an H-Bomb.

The files in the Archives reveal that various options for a vault were considered but not followed through on -- although a brief conversation with INHP historian Anne Coxie TooGood indicates that an initial effort was undertaken for at least one of these options. This information suggests that, at the very least, there could be some archaeological evidence in-situ, namely soil stains produced from bore corings that tested the ground down to 30 feet below the surface.

The processing work that comprises this archival project identifies those materials needing conservation and other attention --such as the the fifty three year-old page above bearing a taped newspaper article, or the above photograph which has now been tagged for relocation to a photo storage area. The processing is also identifying archaeologically relevant materials not regularly catalogued as part of the archaeological records collection. In this case, the project has identified evidence related to the cultural landscape of the recent past, and identified information relevant to archaeology's contribution to understanding and preserving resources related to the Cold War.

Learn More about Cold War Archaeology:
Johnson, William Gray
2002. “Archaeological Examination of Cold War Architecture: A cultural response to the threat of nuclear war", in John Schofield, William Gray Johnson & Colleen M. Beck (eds), Matériel Culture. The Archaeology of Twentieth-Century Conflict, One World Archaeology 44, London & New York, pp. 227-235.

Space: The Final [Archaeological] Frontier. By P.J. Capelotti. Archaeology Magazine Volume 57 Number 6, Nov/Dec 2004

Schofield, John and Wayne Cocroft (ed.)
2007. A Fearsome Heritage: Diverse Legacies of the Cold War (One World Archaeology). University College London Institute of Archaeology Publications. Walnut Creek, USA, Berg; Left Coast Press, 336pp.

Roots That Time Has Redefined

Field Report photograph, 1953 excavation of Franklin Mansion (Schumacher 1956:8).

Before there was an Independence National Historical Park there was archaeological research undertaken for what was to become the park. The first work (depicted above in an archived report) was conducted just over fifty years ago at the site of Benjamin Franklin’s Philadelphia mansion by the American Philosophical Society (APS) and the National Park Service (NPS).

At that time, APS undertook the excavation both as a memorial tribute to their founder (Franklin) on the 250th anniversary of his birth and as a research endeavor not unlike the expeditions APS sponsored, a half century earlier, that fostered Americanist Archaeology in its incipient period. NPS interest in the house site served the needs of the Master Plan for a national shrine to democracy (the soon to be Independence National Historical Park) which would include a park unit dedicated to local Philadelphia history and, in particular, to Franklin.

Franklin Court as the site became known (and interpreted) in Independence Park is a seminal urban archaeology site – and, until recently, the historical archaeology understandings that emerged in its early excavations have continued to shape the trajectory of Independence Park archaeology --and hence the understandings of early American history.

One of these very early dating assumptions about the Independence Park archaeological record has now been overturned. It involves the preservation of the archaeological evidence below ground in those areas with susequent building construction. The Independence Park Archive Archeological Records Collection reveals how this - an early understanding about the area's archaeological resource base --emerges and then transitions into a set principle determining the development and maintenance of archaeology in the park over time.

This past month I have been processing early archaeology-related administrative files in the Park Archives. In this collection I have come across what is likely the first time a recommendation is made regarding the state of the archaeological evidence buried below the city streets. It is a recommendation in a report detailing the results of the first episode of work at Franklin Court. It is written by Paul Schumacher, the archaeologist in charge of the 1953 and 1955 excavations at the site of Franklin’s mansion:

“It may well be that any future archeology of Old Philadelphia would give the best results by merely excavating underneath sidewalks and smaller streets or alleys. The properties where modern structures have been razed are very poor for archeology because of the deep basements these buildings usually had….”

I was already familiar with this report from earlier research on

Franklin-related archaeology that I conducted for the Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary Consortium (work commissioned as part of the federal celebrations to honor Franklin on the 300th anniversary of his birth in 2006). But coming across Schumacher’s report again in the Central Files –where they are evidence of park administrative history related to archaeology --made me see the report’s recommendations with a slightly different set of eyes.

I undoubtedly also saw this documentation differently today because of the recent understandings about urban historical archaeology gleaned from the excavation of the President’s House site in 2007. That recent park research revealed that the basements of nineteenth century buildings do not necessarily entirely obliterate the evidence of the colonial period landscape. This surprise finding in the case of the President’s House site has led to a rethinking about Independence Park's archaeological resources --namely, that the archaeological evidence can survive the ravages of time more than archaeologists thought it could.

But why was this survivability ever in doubt? The documents in the Central Files reveal that this (now often erroneous) assumption appears in the earliest days of the park’s creation when, in 1956, archaeologist Schumacher reports up the administrative chain-of-command with recommendations for future excavation in Old Philadelphia. Schumacher posits a logical conclusion at the time given the circumstances (the earliest excavation) but his recommendation reflected only limited exposure to the archaeological record in-situ (as it appears in the ground).

Schumacher was excavating an unusual example for colonial Philadelphia archaeology. The Franklin house was located in the middle of a city block. Deep basements are usually on the outside edges of the block along the streets but, in this case, a small street bisecting the block was built over top of the (razed) Franklin house remains. Nearly all of the foundation walls for Franklin’s house remained unimpacted by the street construction and by the two rows of homes that lined this street. Schumacher did explore parts of the adjacent house lots and one can only surmise that he is hypothesizing what might remain under the 19th century structures as he and the excavation team were not tasked with finding anything other than the Franklin ruins and were involved in following out the foundation walls that were encountered (leaving other areas largely unexcavated). The most relevant sought after discoveries at the time happened to be found under the street and sidewalks where their survival rate was very high.

In a future post I will report on other documents in the archive that show how this early recommendation transforms into a baseline assumption that holds for 50 years of Park development and management --until 2007 and the President’s House findings.

One note: It was likewise long assumed that archaeological evidence of the Native American experience was obliterated by the development of the city. In past decades, when archaeological artifacts were encountered during excavations they were considered to be 'out of context' (removed from their original place and time of deposit/use by subsequent city buildings). It is now understood, in part from the National Constitution Center excavations in Independence Park, that evidence related to the Native American past can be found in intact archaeological deposits in the city. For more on this change in thinking see the brilliant, online presentation, Native American Sites in the City of Philadelphia: Elusive but not gone. This web offering was created by archaeologist Doug Mooney and it is archived at the web site of the Philadelphia Archaeological Forum.


INHP Archive materials used in the preparation of this posting:

Jeppson, P.L. Historical Fact, Historical Memory: An Assessment of the Archaeology Evidence Related to Benjamin Franklin: Historical Archaeology research undertaken for the Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary Consortium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (2005)

Letter, Anderson to INHP Regional Director, Region One (Cox or Lisle), Feb. 20, 1953, [D18 FRCW as quoted in Grieff 1985:374]

Philadelphia National Shrines Report to the United States Congress (1947)

Schumacher, Paul. Franklin Court, Preliminary Exploration of Franklin Court Archeology Project No. 4, May-Sept. (1956)

See also:

Fowler, Don D. and David R. Wilcox. Philadelphia and the Development of Americanist Archaeology. University of Alabama Press (2003)

Philadelphia Archaeological Forum. http://www.phillyarchaeology.org/

Sharing and Learning

A possible exciting opportunity has arisen. The Archivist Assistant for the National Register of Historic Places/NPS contacted us about participating in an archaeology, archives, and blogging-themed workshop being proposed for a conference next summer. The workshop, entitled After the Dig: How Federal and State Institutions Manage Archaeological Collections will bring a range of individuals together to discuss the archival challenges facing state and federally-funded institutions, the need for archival best practices, and the use of blogs as a tool to create a dialogue between archivists, archaeologists, and the public.

If accepted, the workshop will be presented at the 2010 Joint Meeting of the Council of State Archivists, National Association of Government Archives and Records Administrators, and Society of American Archivists in Washington, DC.

My part of our contribution to the proposed workshop includes a presentation entitled, Blogging Toward an Archaeological Records Collection Guide: A Case Study on Using Web 2.0 Technology to Build a More User-Sensitive, Management-Enriched, Archival Tool. A summary statement provided to the session organizer follows below.

“Digging In the Archives” is an internet blog associated with an archival management project underway at Independence National Historical Park. This federal repository houses 50 years worth of field notes, maps, artifact logs, photographs, and reports generated during the development and continuing management of the national park. These record the development of ideas related to the preservation, presentation, and interpretation of both American history and American historical memory, and they document the evolution of urban and historical archaeology within the federal government and within the discipline of US anthropological archaeology more generally. This collection is routinely drawn upon for NPS needs (e.g., compliance measures, interpretation and education, cultural resources planning) and is accessed more widely by outside scholars and interested members of various publics (including historic preservation and material culture specialists). This blog extends access to this archived collection while the interactive nature of its Web 2.0 platform allows for a collaborative relationship between the Archives and its users. Input from diverse audiences is helping us to craft a Guide that will improve ease of the collection’s use while also assisting in the Archive’s continuing management.

Cross your fingers that the workshop is accepted for the conference. This would be an invaluable opportunity to learn new strategies from others working with archaeological records collections and we in turn could share what has been learned in processing the INDE Archeological Records collection and from this associated blog project.

New Methods -- and forthcoming Records!...

Mended bowl (left), 3D digital scan of same vessel (right).

Computer-assisted vessel reconstruction technology is in the works!

INDE ceramic artifacts are the data set for this research and technological development. Once operational, this new technology will have significant implications for archeological artifact mending, collections management, and site interpretation.Records from this research and development project will be archived as part of the INDE Archaeological Records Collection.

Beyond discovering, preserving, and interpreting American history, Independence Park's archaeologists and archaeological sites have helped to shape the discipline of archaeology. Records in the Park's Archives document the creation and testing of various field and lab methods that have gone on to become a standard part of archaeological practice. This includes the ultrasonic cleaning of artifacts, early application of electrolysis to conserve metals, and various geophysical surveying methods including metal detecting and proton magnetometer prospecting.

As the field of archaeology continues to grow and change the archaeology at INDE continues to contribute new methods. All such developments of course generate a trail of documentation that become part of the archived archaeological records collection.

I blogged previously about the cutting-edge, geospatial survey techniques used at the President's House site in 2007. In that development, Erdman Anthony undertook a 3D laser scanning survey that produced a highly detailed and accurate map of the excavation. By shooting 4,000 laser points a second, the laser technology also created enhanced visuals of the discovered ruins that are useful for interpreting the site.

Now a new project is underway at INDE that will have significant implications for archeological artifact mending, collections management, and site interpretation. It involves the development of computer-assisted vessel reconstructions. Once operational, this technology will allow for more efficient laboratory work and will produce a significant time and money savings. Computers (not just people) will be able to match up the decorative markings on, and the shapes of, ceramic fragments so as to 'piece back together' broken vessels. Such vessel reconstruction is a vital first step in the laboratory processing of artifacts. Speeding up this phase means faster advancement to the analysis phase of study (as artifact identification precedes site analysis). Computer-assisted vessel reconstructions will furthermore allow for remote research capabilities as a collection of ceramics will be able to be studied off-site via digital proxies. Moreover, the digital images created during the reconstruction process will be a useful resource for virtual history presentations.

This particular research and development is part of a three-year effort by researchers from Drexel University. The work is supported by a grant from the Information Integration and Informatics division of the National Science Foundation [NSF no. o803670] entitled, “The 3D Colonial Philadelphia Project—Digital Restoration of Thin-Shell Objects for Historical Archaeological Research and Interpretation”. Principle Investigator Dr. Fernand Cohen (computer vision; Electrical and Computer Engineering) and co-PI's Dr. Ko Nishino and Dr. Ali Shokoufandeh (computer vision; Computer Science), Dr. Patrice Jeppson (archaeologist, Visiting Researcher: Media Arts) and Dr. Glen J. Muschio (anthropologist and media art expert; Media Design) are working with NPS Archeologists Jed Levin, Willie Hoffman, and Deborah Miller.

The project is using the ceramic artifact collection recovered from the National Constitution Center site as a data set. Several Drexel University graduate and undergraduate students are assisting with the research by making 3D scans of mended --and then unmended -- ceramic vessels in the Independence Living History Center Archeology Lab while other students at Drexel are writing computational algorithms for developing the new technology.

Drexel Computer Engineering Graduate student Ezgi Taslidere and Undergraduate, STAR Scholar, student David Myers scan pieces of a pedestaled saucer.

Undergraduate, STAR Scholar Program, student Girish Balakrishnan and Dr. Glen Muschio (Program Director, Digital Media Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design Drexel University) examine the 3D camera images.

Dr. Ali Shokoufandeh and graduate student Patrick Smith photograph decorated ceramic fragments in preparation for testing computational procedures for pattern matching.

Not just new methods but new methodologies....

In assisting the Drexel University grant project, Independence Park, through its archeology program is engaging with community partners. This and other civic engagement activities at INDE are some of the developments transforming archaeology's stewardship and interpretation methodologies. For example, the recent President's House site excavation was undertaken in response to local community group concerns and was conducted in partnership with the City of Philadelphia Office of the Mayor. Likewise the James Dexter site excavation was a project which emerged in consultation with descendant church leaders from the Episcopal Church of St. Thomas and the African Methodist Episcopal Church (Mother Bethel). Both these INDE projects have been used as case studies exemplifying the NPS Directive on Civil Engagement and they are considered best examples of Public or Community Archaeology.

This blog project is one small step in developing archaeology's stewardship and interpretation methodologies. It aims to help the INDE Archives make the Archaeological Records Collection more accessible to researchers and the interested public.

Oral History!

Great News! Jackson Ward "Smokey" Moore Jr., has emailed with some recollections about the early use of electrolysis and ultrasonic cleaning methods at INDE...

Smokey is an archaeologist whose work at Independence Park almost four decades ago was the focus of a previous posting. His rememberances clarify and deepen our understanding of the history of archaeological practice in Independence Park, in NPS (the federal agency), in the subdiscipline of historical archaeology, and in archaeology in general.

NPS Public Affairs photo of Jackson Ward 'Smokey' Moore Jr.

in the archeology lab in the Second Bank, circa 1960.

I couldn't be more pleased about this! I had high hopes that this blogging project would operate collaboratively. We have now had instructive commentary and invaluable suggestions from a museum curator, a Pennsylvania-based archaeologist, an archivist from the city, a tour guide specialist, and various members of the interested public -- each of whom has helped to inform this INDE Archives Finding Aid project. Now we are fortunate to hear from someone who helped create the materials that comprise the INDE Archeological Records Collection. He is a wonderful writer to boot!

Smokey has given his permission for this correspondence to be treated as oral history so it too will be preserved as part of the INDE archaeological records collection. The following are excerpts from his correspondence (edited to the topic of archeological lab methods).

Jackson Ward "Smokey" Moore writing to V-I-P Patrice L. Jeppson on Aug. 7th, 2009:

The letter about my magic machine from San Francisco was probably from Paul J.F. Schumacher. He was referring to the electrolysis set up. I introduced it to INDE but it wasn't my idea. At Fort Fredericka NM Joel and I had a lab assistant named Bob Taylor. We had been cleaning iron artifacts by heating them in a pot-bellied stove, dunking them and pounding the crusts off, followed by brass and/or steel brushing. Then we would coat them oil to minimize rusting. After Joel left, I got down a copy of Plenderlieth's volume on museum object treatment. I saw a very complex arrangement of electrical equipment that Plenderlieth used for metal objects. Shaking my head I showed it to Bob. Bob was an island man, part of Cap'n Taylor's clan [deleted bio data] whose background was shrimpboating. After about 15 minutes he turned me and exclaimed "Hell, Cap'n, that ain't nothin but a gussied up batt'ry charger!". He also believed that sodium hydroxide was "plain ole lye." I got the stuff and we used a small aquarium tank to clamp the anodes to. It worked beautifully! I sent one of those [NPS] forms to credit Bob. I think Stan South was fielding those then. A downside-- I'm not sure I didn't uffer some detriment from the gas that the process gave off. [sic ;) ? ]

The Ultrasonic Cleaner was Bruce's [B.B. Powell] introduction. It was great for encrusted button and ceramics and other materials. It worked on small metallic objects too. We had to pare down our expectations for many metal objects though: the transducers sometimes broke! It's hard to recapture exact scenes so I don't remember how well we coped with continuing to use process. Maybe Bruce remembers.

NPS Archeologist Paul Schumacher, circa 1955 (top), NPS Archeologist B. Bruce Powell, circa middle 1960's (bottom).

On August 13th, Smokey added:
...My discussion of the ultrasonic device [in the last email communication excerpted above] was in terms of the circumstances that then prevailed. Our appliance was quite small; I would guess about 8"x11" at most. (Bruce may remember it differently). I haven't kept up those babies. I have seen the ones jewelers use to clean diamond rings, and my Braun 7800 electric razor's head cleaner is a mini ultrason. When I saw the illustration in your blog of the ultrasons used today, I realized that the puny tasks we required then would be pieces of cake. now.

Another ‘First’?!

The Archives at Independence Park have yielded yet another discovery related to the history of American archaeology! The Park’s buried cultural resources were used in the early testing of geophysical surveying methods for archaeological research!

These methods --which are a routine part of practice today – involve the use of non-invasive, non-destructive, physical sensing techniques that detect buried archaeological evidence. The resulting underground 'site imaging' is useful for mapping archaeological remains as they exist in the ground. These geophysical studies also guide archaeologists in planning their excavations. More recently, the resulting map images are employed in interpreting historical landscapes to the public.

Correspondence archived in the Park’s Central Files (Box 23, Folder H22: Archeology and Historical Research - Independence Square) indicates that in 1961, Dr. Elizabeth Ralph, then of the Physics Research Laboratory at the University of Pennsylvania, requested permission to conduct surface tests and demonstrations "with a proton magnetometer and other archaeological searching equipment” on Independence Square.

Ralph is today credited with pioneering the use of geophysical surveying in American archaeology. Her research developed and improved several instruments for underground exploration. The archived Independence Park archaeological documentation indicates that she tested some of these devices, and trained others in their use, using the historical archaeology remains buried in Independence Square.

At the time, Ralph was researching the archaeological potential of geophysical methods then being used in the fields of geology, engineering, and mineral exploration. She experimented with electrical resistivity instruments that used wave projections to detect metals in the ground (metal detecting) and seismic detectors that employed wave propagation to find soil layer changes. She advanced archaeology's use of sonic detectors and magnetic contrast research, building upon nuclear science research that had led to the development in Europe of proton magnetometers and varian rubidium magnetometers. These instruments allowed for “archaeological prospecting” by measuring very small energy level changes in protons when they are subjected to magnetic charges. (Click on this circa 1965 image of Ralph to link to The Electronic Detective and the Missing City, an article written for Expedition [Winter 1965, 7(2):4-8], the magazine of the University of Pennsylvania's Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. Ralph went on to become Director of the Museum's Applied Science Center for Archaeology).

Ralph's magnetometer studies were designed to pick up magnetic contrast readings between ancient buried walls and the earth around them. She crossed paths with the archaeology in Independence Park in 1963, when, in preparation for Old World (European-based) research, she tested instruments, and trained their operators, using the buried ruins of colonial and federal era America.

(Photo: Archeological test trenching at Independence Square in 1959. Early excavations at the square provided information about the historical landscape south of the State House [Independence Hall]. [Image: INDE Archives].)

Letters archived in the Central Files record that Ralph was provided with park archeology maps and drawings to assist her in her equipment testing. These documents detailed the locations of 18th and 19th century house walls and garden pathways, and late 19th and early 20th century utility pipelines. These had been discovered in the 1950's during archeological investigations at Independence Square.

It is unknown at this time (at least as far as my cursory research indicates) whether Ralph’s instrument testing at Independence Park produced any additional research findings. This may have occurred -- although her objectives involved determining whether the instruments could reliably re-locate already identified features. And if so, it is quite possible that any results were not recorded for historical archaeology’s sake: Beyond being another kind of specialist, there was no field of historical archaeology yet in 1963--although historical sites had been investigated archaeologically for decades for historical architecture needs (even recently in the creation of Independence Park), and the first Conference of Historic Sites Archaeology had only just met for the first time (in 1962). The archived correspondence does report that Ralph offered her assistance to the Park archaeologists. If early geophysical findings do exist from this time they could be of use to present day archaeological recovery efforts at Independence Square.

Today geophysical studies are commonplace in archaeology, including at historical archaeology sites in Independence Park. For example, ground-penetrating radar studies were undertaken in recent years at both Independence Square and the Deshler-Morris House property prior to restoration/renovation activities. Systematic collection of geophysical data for spatial studies has also included the use of other new technologies: In 2007, a geospatial laser survey was used to record the excavated ruins discovered at the President’s House site.

(Photo, top: Kitchen sub-cellar, President's House complex. Bottom, 3D laser scan survey image made by Erdman Anthony company [ Photos: Jed Levin, INHP].)

Beyond the park boundaries, geophysical archaeological studies make use of drones and satellites to conduct infra-red and other light spectrum scanning that penetrates the earth’s crust (and the forest canopy) to locate evidence of past human activity (e.g., roadways, trade routes, lost cities, sunken cities).

Such options were yet to be imagined when, in October 1962, the journal American Antiquity reported on “new developments in [archaeological] field and laboratory research” from Independence Park. This included a notice that “the first extensive field tests following preliminary testing at Independence Square, Philadelphia, were made of a new sonic echo underground searching device developed by Elizabeth Ralph and her associates at the Physics Department at the University of Pennsylvania” (emphasis mine). This same "Current Research" column also remarks on the implementation of the new method of “sonic cleaning of ceramic and glass pioneered by B. Bruce Powell and Jackson W. Moore for the National Park Service at Independence Hall" (sic). I blogged on this other Park 'First' in July after coming across archived correspondence related to experiments with ultrasonic cleaners for the processing of archaeological artifacts.

Once again, this finding aid project has uncovered ‘buried’ history about the role Independence Park archaeology has played in the development of American Archaeology.

Other...

[For more on early archaeology in Independence Park]

Cotter, J.L. (1960) Digging an Historical Shrine: Philadelphia’s Independence Park. Expedition 2(3): 28-32.

[For more on the history of magnetometer use in historical archaeology]

Sillimen, S., P. Farnsworth, and K. Lightfoot (2000) Magnetometer Prospecting in Historical Archaeology. Historical Archaeology 34(2)89-2009.

[For more on the geospatial laser surveying of the President's House]

Merritt, B., Surveying Technology, 3D Laser Technology: Delivering Real Time Examples and Virtual Demonstrations. Government Engineering, May/June 2008: 37-39. [Erdman Anthony company web page]

Ultrasonic Cleaning, 2009

A follow up to the recent discovery about ultrasonic cleaning of artifacts at INDE circa, 1960:

This photo, shot a few weeks ago, shows a park volunteer removing a basket of ceramic fragments from the ultrasonic cleaner at the Independence Living History Center Archeology Lab. Today an ultrasonic bath is often the first step in the artifact washing process. (Photo Credit: Jed Levin, 2009.)

Ultrasonic cleaning of archaeological remains is accomplished through 'inertial cavitation' - an explosion of tiny vapour bubbles that collapse and produce sound waves that remove particles. Modern ultrasonic cleaners are also equipped with a heater which improves the cleaning action.

A pH-balanced detergent is used to achieve cavitation. The ILHC Archeology Lab uses a mild horse shampoo called Orvis in its ultrasonic bath.

The ceramic, glass, and metal artifacts recovered from the archaeological sites at Independence Park are often processed in the ultrasonic cleaner. Depending on their composition and decoration, objects may stay in the bath anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour. Careful cleaning by hand is used for all items that are not suitable for ultrasonic cleaning.

A historical glance into the methods of American archeology - courtesy of the Independence Park Archives!

Could they have invented it?

"None of our employees have experienced any effects on their hearing from using the ultrasonic cleaner." (INDE Superintendent D.C. Kurjack, writing to the Regional Superintendent in September, 1961).

A wonderful discovery! While inventorying a file of History Office correspondence I came across a 1961 letter from the Park Superintendent that reports on "an ultrasonic cleaning device in use for cleaning archeological artifacts" (above right, click to enlarge). I wondered: Could it be that archaeologists working at INDE came up with this artifact processing method? Today it is common to find ultrasonic cleaners in archaeology labs. For example, the Independence Living History Center Archeology Lab down the street uses one for the first step in the washing of (suitable) artifacts. An ultrasonic cleaner loosens dirt caked onto artifacts minimizing the abrasion from brushes or picks.

The correspondence in this folder is not in chronological order and an earlier letter, dated 1960, is a request from a west coast archaeologist asking "Would [INDE] be kind enough to have Smokey [archaeologist Jackson Ward Moore, Jr.] clean these nails [from a Glacier Bay Cemetery] by his "magic process"..." (emphasis mine). I can check with Smokey and see if this reference is to the ultrasonic cleaning idea. If so, it would be the earliest date recorded for this method among these papers.

Further on in the file I came across a letter and its response relating to archaeologists at Mesa Verde National Park who sent a ceramic sample to INDE for a test cleaning. This correspondence too made me think the idea of ultrasonic cleaning originated at INDE. Then I found the clincher, a letter from an employee at Circo Ultrasonic Corporation (in New Jersey) asking how their device -- a Model PG 60 generator and 60 T transducerized tank of 1-gallon capacity -- had fared when put to this "unusual" task. The response from archaeologist B. B. Powell describes the INDE experiments trying different cleaning agents and the "excellent" results". Also described are the various applications experimented with (the processing of different categories of artifacts -- shell, ceramic, metal, etc.). The artifacts are mentioned as coming from the site of Franklin Court. I have posted some abtracts of that letter below (click to enlarge):

Lastly, I found something that makes it clear that this was indeed a new idea for archaeology!

In the file was an NPS Suggestion Form (10-63, 1955, 99219) with delightful 1950's-era graphics. This form, filled out with a date of October 1960, is a formal suggestion for the use of ultrasonic cleaning in archaeology laboratory work based on experiments done at Independence National Historical Park (click to enlarge):

This folder of History Office correspondence in the INDE Archives documents the administration of park archaeology circa, 1955-1975. As such, it contains artifacts of the archaeological process. In this case, among other insights, these two-dimensional artifacts document some important (forgotten) history about the field of archaeology. Specifically, these archived documents record the investigation of a new method for archaeological laboratory work that has since become a standard of practice. This advancement in the field of archaeology comes courtesy of INDE archeologists working on historical period sites.

The above referenced materials all come from Folder 1, of a box still being processed at the INDE Archives that is entitled "History Office Correspondence Related to Archeology".

The City Tavern Site Excavation

I have started tackling my first box of archaeological records for this summer Archives project. The materials relate to an excavation undertaken in 1974 on a strip of sidewalk on the West side of 2nd Street, near Walnut, in Old City, Philadelphia. (Photo above, view South. Excavation mid-photo.) The dig was in advance of Independence Park's recreation of City Tavern, an establishment built 1772-73 that served as an important gathering place for social, political, and economic leaders. (See City Tavern History .)

City Tavern was partially burned in 1834 and was demolished in 1854. The site was built on again and that subsequent construction was, in turn, torn down sometime after 1960 (presumably when the park acquired the land). In building Independence Park (circa 1960s-70s) a plan was made to recreate the tavern. Toward that end extensive historical and architectural research was undertaken. Part of this preparation included contracted archaeological research at the property to be built upon. This work was done by a team from Temple University's Anthropology Department under the direction of researcher Dan Crozier.

In this 1974 photo you can see the property with a City Tavern historic marker sign, taken prior to the archaeological fieldwork and prior to the construction of the tavern on the property (View West toward the Merchant's Exchange Building. Folder 11, color slides 1, row 1, column 1). This image (another view looking West) is a modern Internet photo of the City Tavern structure that was recreated at this location. City Tavern is a famous restaurant serving 18th century dishes created by culinary expert Walter Staib.

In compiling a 'box list', or inventory, for this batch of records, I examined D. Crozier's exceptionally fine field log where he recorded daily activities taking place on site. I also evaluated the associated site maps and photograph collection flagging any items that are glued in place. The adhesives in use 40 years ago can sometimes now be unstable.

During the examination of the field log I read some interesting 'corridor talk' (insider tidbits) about visitors to the site, including a news team which aired a story about the excavation. The public was interested in archaeology excavation then too! Crozier notes on May 21st that a back hoe operator who was 'driving by' helped to back fill the site.

I have yet to peruse the final report for this project but in viewing the photographs I was struck by the limited extent of the excavation at this property prior to construction. The sidewalk area - the region of the front of the building -- was focused on. This would firm up the position of buildings fronting 2nd Street. More to follow...