Archaeology lecture, April 6

A presentation will be given by archaeologist Dr. Christopher Donta of the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Sheila Charles of the Strawberry Banke Museum at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 6 in the second floor conference room at the Groton Town Hall. The topic of the talk will be “Groton’s Past from Below the Surface: Preliminary Results of the Groton Community-wide Archaeological Reconnaissance Survey”.

On behalf of the Community Preservation Commission, the Groton Historical Commission, and Local Project Coordinator Michael Roberts, archaeologists and historians of UMass Archaeological Services are visiting Groton to research areas of historic and archaeological significance. The study is a part of a community-wide archaeological reconnaissance survey of the town supported by the CPC. The presentation will discuss the goals of the study and the results to-date.

The purpose of the study is to consolidate what is known about Groton’s archaeology and history, and to provide information about archaeological site potential in unstudied areas. For the past few months, the team has been researching the locations of recorded prehistoric and historic sites, and those that are known to local experts. Members of the team are researching the locations of Native American sites, early industrial sites (e.g., water powered mills), ruins of dwellings, quarries, commercial sites, and settlement clusters. Following the presentation, the UMass team is speaking with townspeople who have found evidence of Native American sites (e.g. arrow and spear heads, pottery, shell heaps) or historic sites in the town. People with artifacts and collections are encouraged to bring them to the talk. The archaeologists will identify and comment on any artifacts brought to the presentation.