Understanding the City: Studies in Urban Archaeology

Part of: Society for Historical Archaeology 2014

Urban sites provide unique and often challenging contexts to archaeologists whilst revealing a fascinating history of a myriad of processes. In a series of papers presenting case studies from England and the United States, both the challenges and rewards of large and small scale urban archaeological projects are examined.

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  • Documents (6)
Documents
  • 175 Water Street to Washington Square Park: is flexibility the key to urban archaeology? (2014)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Joan H. Geismar.

    Thirty years ago, during what could be called the ‘Golden Age’ of New York City archaeology, I served as PI on a block-wide urban project in Lower Manhattan. The field methods were traditional, albeit with the help of a backhoe, and the findings spectacular. Three decades later, as ‘Project Archaeologist’ for the reconstruction of a park in historic Greenwich Village, the archaeology relied even more on heavy equipment and was limited to monitoring or testing associated with the introduction of...

  • Health and Identity at a 19th Century Urban Site (2014)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Claire Horn.

    Health care provides insights into aspects of identity, including class, ethnicity, age, gender, and religious affiliation. This presentation examines changes in health care practices within the Binghamton Mall site in downtown Binghamton, New York. The site contains multiple properties within an urban block. These properties were occupied from the early 19th century through the early 20th century. Inhabitants included elites, middle class and working class individuals and families. The project...

  • Over against the Sign of the black Horse: Landmarks and wayfinding in early eighteenth-century New York City (2014)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Theodor Maghrak.

    Navigation can prove a challenging task regardless of one’s familiarity with any specific environment, especially dense urban environments. As New Amsterdam grew and became New York in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the city increasingly became a jumble of streets, lanes, parks, markets, and buildings. How did residents of eighteenth-century New York materially and conceptually navigate the city? An examination of historical newspaper advertisements provides an answer to this...

  • Repopulating a Prospect of the Past: Archaeological Analysis of a Late Eighteenth-Century Manor House Dependency in Albany, New York (2014)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Corey McQuinn. Matthew Kirk.

    The Ten Broeck Mansion (originally called Prospect for its views of the Hudson Valley) in Albany, New York, was built for Abraham and Elizabeth Ten Broeck in 1798 shortly after a devastating fire burned the family out of their townhouse. The mansion serves as an interpretive house museum administered by the Albany County Historical Association. Between 2011 and 2013, Hartgen Archeological Associates, Inc. and volunteers participated in an annual public archaeology event that focuses on...

  • The Rose Revealed: conserving and presenting an Elizabethan playhouse (2014)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Kim Stabler.

    The Rose Theatre, built in 1587 on London’s Bankside, is a rare archaeological survival. The theatre is one of only a handful of playhouses, and its repertoire included plays by Marlowe, Kyd and Shakespeare. Surviving contemporary account books provide a unique understanding of the Elizabethan stage and players. The theatre was rediscovered during routine investigations prior to the re-development of the site in 1989, and thanks to a vocal grass-roots campaign, it was saved from destruction at...

  • Uncovering the Southern Pacific Railroad: 2011 Excavations at Los Angeles State Historic Park of the River Station in Los Angeles, California (2014)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Tricia Dodds.

    The Southern Pacific Railroad transported people and supplies across southern California. Connecting Los Angeles to the eastern United States, it sparked a commercial agricultural boom for the region. Established in 1875 and active until 1992, Southern Pacific Railroad’s River Station was the first station in the area, serving as the city center and transforming the small pueblo into a bustling metropolis. At Los Angeles State Historic Park, California Department of Parks and Recreation...