The state Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission will be celebrating RI Archaeology Month with tours and digs and workshops, all free and open to the public. Events take place around the state; here in the Providence area the calendar includes events (some virtual) at the North Burial Ground, Slater Mill, and the Haffenreffer Museum.
October 22 will be a big day on the East Side with an open house from 11am to 3pm at the Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology on George Street (tucked in the corner of the Main Green).
See ancient coins from Greece and Rome up close! Touch human and animal bones! Examine and draw Persian and Roman ceramics, prehistoric tools, precious metals, and other artifacts from thousands of years ago – coached by experts! And talk with Brown’s archaeologists about their fieldwork all over the world!
Meanwhile, during those same hours, students will continue the excavation project on the Moses Brown School property (corner of Hope and Lloyd) begun a few years ago.
Take part in an active archaeological excavation! Brown University students will be digging on the grounds of Moses Brown School, uncovering the foundations of a 19th-century home and processing artifacts from that household. Stop by this family-friendly event to see the artifacts students are discovering. You may even try your hand at digging.
Seen here is a replica elephant-headed column capital — a reminder of Brown’s Great Temple Excavations in Petra — in front of the Joukowsky Institute of Archaeology and the Ancient World in Rhode Island Hall on George Street.
The Rhode Island Preservation and Heritage Commission is dedicated to the documentation and preservation of Rhode Island’s archaeological resources. They maintain records of all known archaeological sites in the state, which currently number over 2800.
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Inside Rhode Island Hall is this 1st-century CE pilaster block on long-term loan courtesy of The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, excavated by the Brown team in 1998 as part of the Petra Great Temple Excavations.
