Fete Day 2015!

It’s that time of year again…it’s Fete Day!  This Saturday, June 6th, the residents of Elfreth’s Alley will kindly open their homes for visitors to experience what life looks like inside the dwellings on one of the nation’s oldest residential streets.  This is only one of two times the houses are open to the public (the other is at the winter holiday Deck the Alley event), so be sure to go by and check it out!  The event will also include a book signing, colonial crafts, and demonstrations.  The event runs from 1-5pm on Saturday June 6th. Tickets are $25 and available for purchase online.

Battle of Brandywine Volunteer Opportunity

Kevin Donaghy, a PhD candidate at Temple University, is seeking volunteers to help with laboratory and field work in Brandywine, PA.  This is a great opportunity to work at an exciting Revolutionary War archaeological site!  Kevin is hosting a meeting about volunteering tomorrow, March 27th, at Temple University at 10am.  Even if you are not able to attend the meeting, you can directly email Kevin at kevinmd@temple.edu for more information.  The flier below also provides additional details. 

Society for Historical Archaeology, 2015

This week is the annual Society for Historical Archaeology (SHA) conference.  It is a wonderful and impressive gathering that brings historical archaeologists together from around the world.  This year the conference is being held in Seattle, Washington.  The week is full of symposiums, panels, workshops, and presentations about important topics in archaeology.  One topic that is very visible in this year’s programming is public archaeology.  A recent SHA blog post highlighted the events at the conference related to public archaeology. 

Coincidentally, I will be presenting a paper about the public archaeology program at Elfreth’s Alley at the conference on Saturday, January 10th.  The title of my paper is Rediscovering Elfreth’s Alley’s 19th-century History through Public Archaeology.  Here is the abstract for the paper: 

During the 19th century, Elfreth’s Alley in Old City Philadelphia was the bustling home of a community of immigrants from across Europe.  Today, however, the residential street is remembered and lauded primarily for its early colonial roots.  The Alley, which was formed circa 1702 and contains 32 brick row houses, was designated a National Historic Landmark District in 1960 and was later listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a notable representation of surviving, early American architecture.  While the Alley is popularly referred to as the oldest continuously-occupied residential street in the United States, studying and discussing the later, post-colonial periods of occupation on the Alley is often problematic against the backdrop of the preserved, 18th-century streetscape.  This paper examines how creating a public archaeology program at Elfreth’s Alley has helped bridge the metaphorical and pedagogical gap of examining 19th-century life in Philadelphia at a colonially-centered, historic site.

The conference promises to be a great, and I look forward to seeing my colleagues in Seattle!  For more information about the conference check out SHA’s website, blog, twitter, and facebook page.