Recent Discoveries at C-21 (The Allerton/Cushman Site), Kingston, Massachusetts

Summary

This is a paper/report submission presented at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

In April of 1972, during the construction of a new home, a considerable number of pre-historic and 17th century historic artifacts were uncovered. James Deetz, then assistant director of Plimoth Plantation, was contacted, and excavations soon began. Deetz and his fellow researchers eventually put forth the opinion that they had found the remains of the lost homesite of Isaac Allerton, a merchant and representative to the Plimoth Colony’s financial backers in England. However, this was not the end of the story – not only did the details of Deetz’ excavations remain mostly unpublished, but from 2015-2018, an Allerton descendent and avocational archaeologist began conducting investigations at the site, assisted on several occasions by Craig Chartier of the Plymouth Archaeological Rediscovery Project. The purpose of this paper is to share information about these recent investigations, as well as current and future efforts to ensure the site’s long-term preservation and management.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• 2020 SHA General Sessions   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2020

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 839