Welcome back to Anthropology Field Notes! Once again, we are students from the course ANTH424: Archaeological Field Methods, and this semester we are hoping to gain experience with archaeology and give back to the community. We have partnered with Rebecca Wilson of the Old Swedes Foundation to use the historic Old Swedes Church in Wilmington as our archaeological site, all while providing them with much needed research. The church is looking to install a new drainage system, and our digging will bring to light any potential problem areas or underground barriers around the church which may interfere with their plans. Our group of 10 undergraduate students and 2 graduate students will work together through the remainder of the university semester to uncover any buried history of the Old Swedes Church and inform both the Wilmington residents and the UD community about the fascinating history of the Swedish settlers in Delaware.
On our second trip to the church, we established our three teams for the semester. Each group will work in-depth at one particular site around the perimeter of the church building to dig, preserve any artifacts, and record findings. Dr. William J. Chadwick of John Milner Associates joined us this week to conduct ground penetrating radar (or GPR) mapping of the site. GPR is a nondestructive method that utilizes electromagnetic radiation to map underground structures. It was extremely valuable to witness this relatively new archeological technique firsthand, as it made us realize that the job of archeologists must be tweaked with the introduction of new technology. We worked with Dr. Chadwick in small groups to take turns preparing and leveling the ground for the machine, then pushing it in small segments to compile a graph of the area. One of the last groups found two spots close to the building in which there are potentially unmarked burials. Out of respect for the deceased we will be sure to avoid digging in those areas and the church will keep that information in its records. Aside from GPR mapping, this week we were able to look through some of the church’s old storage boxes for any information that may prove useful to our research. One group found a plethora of old photographs of the church building, and another found some documentation of miscellaneous repairs that were made to the church.
Overall this week was a success for our task and we are quickly becoming more familiarized with the church grounds and the rich history associated with it. We look forward to working in the warmer temperatures in the coming weeks as well as solidifying our plans and finally beginning to dig!