2009 Harvard Yard Archaeology
An important part of excavating in the Yard is answering questions from the public. These are few popular questions, according to a student excavator:
Do you actually find anything?
Yes! Harvard Yard is filled with evidence of how people have lived through the centuries. To the people that left behind these items, what we are finding would just seem like trash. But this trash can tell archaeologists a lot about the past if it is carefully excavated, recorded, and interpreted.
What is the coolest thing that you have found?
There are a lot of interesting artifacts at the site. We find some intact glass pharmaceutical bottles, which are really beautiful. A lot of people would also be surprised at the variety and number of ceramics we find. There's everything from nice porcelain to unrefined redwares which would have been for everyday use.
Do you dig in the same spot every year?
No, we excavate in different parts of the yard every season. Where we excavate depends on the research question we aim to answer. For example, our 2011 dig revealed the likely location of the Indian College. To confirm the location and learn more, our most recent dig intersected with the 2011 dig and explored new areas.
