The Ground Beneath Her Feet: The Archeology of Liberty Island, Statue of Liberty National Monument, New York, New York

Summary

This book has been written to inform the public about the information gathered from the recently completed three-year archeological project on Liberty Island, New York, NY. The first year, or more accurately the first season, of the project was devoted to thorough, but not exhaustive, documentary investigation of the island. During this time, numerous libraries and archives were visited in an attempt to collect as much information as possible about the island’s history and prehistory. Excavations were conducted on a prehistoric shell midden during the second year. This shell midden had first been identified in 1985 during the restoration of the statue. Along with the excavation of the shell midden a

geophysical survey was conducted on approximately 2/3 of the island. Several non-invasive prospecting techniques were

used to identify buried archeological resources on the island including Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), Electromagnetic

Induction (EM) and Magnetometer. The final year of the project was dedicated to ground truthing, or verifying, the results of

the geophysical survey.

The data collected from the archaeological investigations on the island, made famous by the erection of Auguste Bertholdi’s “Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World,” add additional insight concerning the use of the island during its prehistoric and historic past. Until now, the history and prehistory of the island have rested in the shadows of the much more well-known statue. This book attempts to remedy this situation and to communicate the equally interesting prehistory and early

history of the island. In keeping with the goals of the National Park Service’s mission of public education, this book has been written for a general audience.

While individual goals were established prior to each season, the overall goals for the project were to develop baseline archeological data for the island to assist park managers in decision-making and to update the archeological information

available about the island to inform the public. The collection of baseline information is seen as the starting point for

later research rather than the ending point for the three-year study.

Keywords

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): National Park Service; U.S. Department of the Interior

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