Junior Archaeology Camp: Part 2!

Hello everyone!  This past week we had the Junior Archaeology campers and it was a great week!! The excavation behind Winn-Yeaton could not have gone better and they found many interesting artifacts.  One interesting pattern we noticed as the week went on was that there were signs of children living close by.  In the 1800s when Yeaton became apartments, there were children living there and our excavation uncovered artifacts proving so.


Campers starting the excavation!

Sifting the loose dirt.

We all had a great week and found some great artifacts! The campers learned a lot about excavations and how to map and measure as well as techniques for digging in historic areas.

Junior Archaeology Camp

     Hello all! Next week begins the Junior Archaeology Camp where we will be excavating behind the west side of the Winn-Yeaton building, otherwise known as the Yeaton house. The camp runs Monday through Friday where participants will do a variety of activities to explore the methods of archaeology and learn about the history of Strawbery Banke.

     This coming week a group of teens will experience the basics of archaeological excavations including dig methods, the tools used, and how we can use archaeology to piece together the past.  They will learn about what happens to the artifacts after an excavation as well. The ethics of archaeology will also be discussed.  At the end of the week, results will be displayed for parents to come and see.

     The house behind which we will be excavating is the Yeaton house, sometimes referred to as "blue" Yeaton.  It was built in 1795 by Thales G. Yeaton, a trader by profession.  The house was built with a shop inside which was most likely used to accommodate his wife's seamstressing business.  They sold the house in 1804 to Andrew Bell.  This property changed hands many times and became apartments at one point until it was sold to the Portsmouth Housing Authority in 1962 for the urban renewal project that started to restore the many properties in this area.

     Looking forward to the final results and will be sure to keep you updated with pictures and information!

In the Lab

Hello all!  It's been a busy couple of weeks for us all with July 4th celebrations and such.  Strawbery Banke had a successful 4th with a moving naturalization ceremony. The kids' parade after decoration their bikes and themselves was a big hit as well! The "Threads" gala and runway show the Saturday before also had a great turnout. 

Just a couple pictures of the progress that is coming on the Chase house artifacts.  These items, fresh from washing, are now ready to be cataloged.

You can see in the pictures, as we wash the items, we also sort them.  We classify these items according to material and what pieces might be part of the same vessel or form.

There are a variety of time periods here ranging from relatively modern plumbing pipes to 18th and 19th century ceramics. 

The Gala at Strawbery Banke

Hello all! This Saturday is shaping up to be an exciting one at Strawbery Banke!  The Threads exhibit that has been up this spring and summer has led up to the gala and runway show this weekend.  Kicking off Saturday evening and includes a champagne reception at 6:30 as well as the anticipated runway show at 7:30 with Austin Scarlett as a special guest. Proceeds for this event sponsor the educations programs of Strawbery Banke as well as preservation. Crews are hard at work today setting up tents on the Puddle Dock and getting the grounds ready for the big show.

 For more information: Go to our "Threads" website!

 Have an excellent weekend everyone!

Archaeology and its Purpose

Archaeological excavations happen around Strawbery Banke usually while the museum is closed to the public.  Just this spring, this lane you see here was dug up by backhoe and sifted carefully for artifacts.



The Goodwin Gardens

Some gardens on campus have been recreated based on archaeological findings from previous excavations.  Goodwin house has been moved from its original location but excavations behind Sherburn house, for example, shows that the gardens you see now match the ones planted by the Sherburns. The raised garden evidence was found below current soil levels.

A Successful Weekend

Despite being a bit cool on Saturday, the 5th NH regiment Civil War encampment was a great success at Strawbery Banke.  The weekend included drills and "live fires" or firing with black powder but no musket ball.  The new recruits were issued muskets and commanding officer Randy Cook drilled them in Civil War era battle formation. Sunday held a court martial of a man accused of stealing hardtack, a very hard cracker issued in rations.  He was found not guilty by a jury of fellow recruits.  Later Sunday, a baseball game was held behind the visitor's center.  A couple of articles were written about the event.

5th NH in Fosters
The Portsmouth Herald

Lt. Cook marches the recruits in drill practice.

A fire pit set up to cook the rations provided including salt pork, hardtack, and dried apple slices.

A very good weekend for the reenactment!

Happy Monday! I have a couple more pieces from Chase house that are lovely and are bound to complete a very nice artifact when all the shards are mended.

This handle is hand painted and possibly a teapot or pitcher handle. c. 1780-1820
This piece was broken into three and was found at 46-56 cm.

Various pieces of transfer printed pearlware found between 30 and 70 cm deep.
c. 1795-1840

The first photo is what we think may be the handle of a teapot based on other vessels and the handles they have. 
The second picture is a few different vessels including a possible plate and one or more teacups.

Hope you had a wonderful weekend and that your week is off to a great start!

Happenings at the Banke

Hello all! This weekend will be an exciting one at Strawbery Banke. The 5th New Hampshire Civil War reenacting group will be here for an event this weekend.  Setting up an encampment Friday night, the encampment will be open to the public 9-5 on Saturday and Sunday.  This reenactment will be portraying a recruitment camp in the summer of 1862 after the 5th NH took major casualties at Fair Oaks and Colonel Cross.  Sunday at 11:00am will be the reenactment of an authentic court martial of a soldier trying to steal hardtack.

A previous reenactment from August, 2011:

Formation drills on the Puddle Dock in front of Yeaton-Walsh house.

Should be a beautiful weekend!

Chase house ceramics!

Here are some pieces currently being worked on by our volunteers.  These are mending projects in progress, and hopefully will become full pieces once complete sifting though the Chase house findings!  There are some really spectacular artifacts being put back together.

        This two handled vessel is possibly a tureen constructed of pearlware. Pieces were discovered between 46 and 60 cm deep in the soil. c. 1780-1840

Some freshly washed artifacts

Still many boxes to be processed but the work is still progressing greatly!

Summer 2012

  The summer season kicked off on May 1st and by now school groups are visiting! Hopefully the rain won't deter the kids from their field trips. A lot of activity going on this summer as well. 


  Many volunteers have been coming in and working on mending ceramics from the Chase house excavations.  Work is coming right along and Wednesday will be a great day for pictures of people's progress.  We have some beautiful pieces being worked on by some great and very patient volunteers. 


  Later this summer, look forward to news from the Junior Archaeology Camp late July and early August. It should be a great year!