The Archaeology of the Potomac River Valley: A View from the National Parks

Lecture: In the late 19th century, William Henry Holmes and his associates began the first archaeological survey of the Potomac Valley. Almost 100 years later, professors William Gardner, Robert Humphrey, and Charles McNett and their students followed-up and expanded on Holmes’ earlier efforts, resulting in theses, dissertations, papers, and articles. Starting in 1995 and continuing to the present day, the National Park Service has been conducting overviews, assessments, identification, and evaluation studies of 10 major parks in the Potomac River basin. These investigations were planned as a connected series of studies moving westward up the river from Prince William Forest Park to the terminus of the C&O Canal National Historical Park. Highlights from this research include the discovery of new prehistoric and historic archaeological sites spanning over 13,000 years of changing human lifeways and different cultures represented by campsites, villages, workshops, stone quarries, domestic sites, taverns, kilns, mills, armories, forges, fortifications, and battlefields.

Dr. Stephen R. Potter
Archaeologist

Sponsored by Fairfax County Park Authority Archaeology and Collections Brance, the Friends of Fairfax County Archaeology and Cultural Resources and the Northern Virginia Chapter of the Archeological Society of Virginia

Saturday, October 14, 2023, from 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Location: James Lee Community Center Auditorium
2855 Annandale Rd, Falls Church, VA 22042

*Registration Opens at 9:30 a.m. (with coffee and light breakfast). The program begins at 10:00 a.m.