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April 5, 2006
ANDOVER — More than 300 years ago during the Salem witch trials, 71-year-old Rebecca Nurse was dragged from her home on charges of witchcraft and hanged over the protestations of forty of her neighbors. Today, her 27-acre homestead in Danvers is a popular tourist attraction, but despite its historic significance, the land has never been opened to an archaeological excavation.
That promises to change this summer, as students participating in a new archaeology course at Phillips Academy have been invited to conduct the first-ever archaeological dig on the property. “This is a very special opportunity, and it’s a real privilege to be invited to dig at this site,” says Malinda Blustain, director of the Robert S. Peabody Museum of Archaeology and the instructor for the course.
Registration for the five-week summer course is still open, but the course size will be restricted to just twelve students. The application deadline is April 24. Titled “Introduction to Archaeology,” the course will run from June 28 to August 2, six days a week, and includes both class time and hands-on experience at the dig site. The cost of the course is $2,785.
Blustain says she will be looking to conduct the dig at the site of pre-existing structures and trash dumps that date back to the 17th century. “This was a very interesting time period, and there are not a lot of undisturbed sites from that era. This site is in reasonably pristine condition,” she says. In addition, she notes that it is possible her team of students may be able to find evidence that Native Americans lived there much earlier.
“It’ll be interesting to see what the time depth of the site is,” she says, explaining she plans to dig down to the “sterile level,” which is the layer beneath which no more artifacts can be found. It’s possible, she says, that the site could yield artifacts more than 5,000 years old.
In addition to the thrill of uncovering ancient artifacts, Blustain says students will learn how to process and catalogue them and create an artifact database that links found objects to the data that surrounds them. They’ll also learn proper excavation techniques and how to extract clues from the artifacts that provide insight into the daily lives of the people of that time period.
“This course should be a lot of fun for anyone who’s intrigued by history and science, who likes to collect things, and who enjoys being outdoors,” says Blustain. “Participating in a real dig is a special and unique experience, and I think the kids are going to love this.”
This is the first time that Phillips Academy will be offering an archaeology course during its Summer Session program. Each year, some 650 kids participate in the program, where they are able to choose from a wide range of courses that include classes in art, photography, film, computer graphics, science, math, history, writing, and more. Students taking the “Introduction to Archaeology” course can take it either as a standalone course or as part of a full schedule of Summer Session classes and activities.
For more information about Summer Session, or to apply for the archaeology course online, go to www.andover.edu/summersession. More information about The Rebecca Nurse Homestead can be found at www.rebeccanurse.org.
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