Urban Preservation Challenges in a Global Perspective

Part of: Society for Historical Archaeology 2023

This collection contains the abstracts of the papers presented in the session entitled "Urban Preservation Challenges in a Global Perspective," at the 2023 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Urban environments are palimpsests of human experience. Their waterfronts are filled with remnants of old ships and the aspirations of merchants and seafarers while their neighborhoods hold clues of the hidden lives of immigrants and the trauma and hopes of the enslaved and marginalized. The unique nature of cities, marked by transiency and diverse populations, pose a variety of preservation challenges while simultaneously providing unique opportunities for studying the past. Archaeologists and other historical preservationists around the world tackle similar problems, albeit with local variations, including complex stratigraphy, climate change, rapid redevelopment, issues of race and ethnicity, and multiple stakeholder groups with competing goals. This session will explore the challenges and opportunities afforded by urban environments in a global perspective. Participants are encouraged to submit papers on a variety of topics including methodological challenges in urban archaeology, creative preservation strategies, and the interpretive tensions that arise from working in cities.

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  • Documents (7)

Documents
  • The Bathtub in the Garden: The Challenge Identifying Enslaved African Muslims in an Urban Context (2023)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Mia L Carey.

    This is an abstract from the session entitled "Urban Preservation Challenges in a Global Perspective", at the 2023 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. In 2015, the District of Columbia’s Historic Preservation Office and a team of professional and volunteer archaeologists excavated 3324 Dent Place, NW in an affluent neighborhood in Upper Georgetown. The property was purchased by Yarrow Mamout, an emancipated African Muslim in 1800. Mamout lived on the property until his...

  • A Crisis of Unpublished Cities: An Epoch of Incredulous Belief (2023)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Hanna Marie Pageau.

    This is an abstract from the session entitled "Urban Preservation Challenges in a Global Perspective", at the 2023 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. Urban Archaeology is often treated as something that is either people explicitly studying the urban or as the result of inevitable 'grey' archaeology that happens through mandated CRM. It is often treated very differently than the rest of archaeology - this is seen in no better way than in the approach to the (lack of)...

  • The Immigrant Experience in an Urban Archaeological Context: Challenges and Opportunities in the Nation’s Capital (2023)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Ruth Trocolli. Christine Ames. Nicole C Grigg.

    This is an abstract from the session entitled "Urban Preservation Challenges in a Global Perspective", at the 2023 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. Studying the immigrant experience in urban archaeological contexts can be a challenge. Sites with immigrant residents often included tenants rather than property owners and were subject to high turnover. Washington, DC has always been a transient city and presents a particular global perspective where opportunities and...

  • It's More Than Lincoln: interpretation challenges at multi-component urban archaeological sites (2023)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Emma Verstraete.

    This is an abstract from the session entitled "Urban Preservation Challenges in a Global Perspective", at the 2023 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. Multi-component sites are common in urban excavations because of continuous occupation. In downtown Springfield, Illinois there are 3 major areas of archaeological excavation that correspond with specific eras and inhabitants. The Lincoln Home National Historic Site focuses on pre-Civil War inhabitation in the...

  • "It’s not all Disturbed!": Perspectives of Urban, Municipal Archaeology in the Nation’s Oldest City in St. Augustine, Florida (2023)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Andrea P. White. Katherine M. Sims.

    This is an abstract from the session entitled "Urban Preservation Challenges in a Global Perspective", at the 2023 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. Often called the Nation’s Oldest City, St. Augustine is the earliest, continuously occupied European settlement in the continental United States. In 1986, the City of St. Augustine was proactive in creating its own Archaeology Preservation Ordinance to protect its buried heritage. This ordinance is unique because it...

  • (Re)Sinking History: Preserving Alexandria’s Derelict Merchant Fleet (2023)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Tatiana Niculescu. Nichole Doub. Scott Seibel.

    This is an abstract from the session entitled "Urban Preservation Challenges in a Global Perspective", at the 2023 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. In the 18th century, Alexandria, Virginia’s waterfront was literally and figuratively created by ships. Recent redevelopment revealed the remnants of four historic vessels and numerous wharves and land making structures. These important pieces of maritime heritage have provided new opportunities for studying the past while...

  • Rest Sweet Rest: Addressing the Challenges to Preserving African American Cemeteries in an Urban Environment (2023)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Eleanor Breen. Flordeliz T. Bugarin. Benjamin A. Skolnik.

    This is an abstract from the session entitled "Urban Preservation Challenges in a Global Perspective", at the 2023 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. In 1895, a group of trustees established Douglass Cemetery in Alexandria, Virginia, named in memory of Frederick Douglass and for Alexandria’s African American community. Over a century later, the cemetery faces several intersecting preservation issues that threaten the physical integrity of the site and the African...