A Silk Purse from a Sow’s Ear: The History and Archeology of the Monumental Core in Washington, DC

Summary

The Monumental Core in the District of Columbia contains some of the nation’s most iconic landscapes, landmarks and memorials. The modern landscape bears little resemblance to the natural environment or the nineteenth-century city. For thousands of years, Native Americans camped along the bank of a tidal creek. After the City of Washington was established in 1790, the creek was transformed first into a canal, then a foul sewer that carried the city’s waste into the Potomac River.  Areas of open water and lowlying creek banks were filled during the nineteenth century, mostly related to efforts to maintain navigation on the Potomac River.  The public lands are a now premier tourist destination and stage for countless celebrations and demonstrations, but the history of the landscape is little known.  A series of archaeological investigations on these lands have brought much of this forgotten history to light.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Potomac Pasts: Papers Honoring the Career of NPS Archeologist Dr. Stephen R. Potter   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2016

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 61