Archeological Investigations of Theodore Roosevelts Fireing Range, Sagamore Hill National Historical Park. Oyster Bay, New York

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "The Archaeology of Arms: New Analytical Approaches", at the 2023 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Theodore Roosevelt is quoted as saying “The Great body of our citizens shoot less as time goes on. We should encourage rifle practice among schoolboys and indeed among all classes ….” Roosevelt lived at Sagamore Hill, in Oyster Bay, New York from 1880 until his death in 1919. In 2021 the National Park Service Northeast Region Archeology Program conducted a metal detection survey at Sagamore Hill to locate Roosevelt’s firing range. The goal of the survey was to provide a tangible location for visitors to connect to the 26th president and identify what guns the Roosevelt family were shooting. Analysis of recovered materials included lead Isotope analysis to determine if lead sourcing is possible for late nineteenth and early twentieth century bullets and 3D scanning of cartridge case firing pins impression to determine if it is a viable technique for identifying individual characteristics of archaeologically recovered cartridges.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• The Archaeology of Arms: New Analytical Approaches   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2023

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow