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City of Boston Archaeology @archaeology.boston.gov · 13/10/2026

October is Archaeology Month! ⌛⛏️ One of the most exciting parts of archaeology is connecting individual experiences to the broader historical context in which people lived. Sometimes, even the smallest artifact can tell a much bigger story!

Photo of a small, weathered fragment of printed celluloid with partially legible black lettering and decorative script, resting in the palm of a hand.

An illustration of a large, historic brick brewery building featuring ornate architectural details, arched windows, and a prominent tower with a spire.

Screenshot of two sides of a baseball schedule, stacked one over the other. The top photofeatures text reading “Alley’s East India Stock Ale Official Base Ball Schedule Issued By The Massachusetts Breweries Company Boston, Mass.” with two open windows near the top with red text inside with a city name and months and dates listed. The left window reads Boston At Home and the right window reads Americans Abroad. The bottom photo features text reading “Pfaff’s Beer Official Base Ball Schedule Issued By The Massachusetts Breweries Company Boston, Mass.” with two open windows near the top with red text inside with a city name and months and dates listed. The left window reads Boston At Home and the right window reads Nationals Abroad. This side also has two small circular cutouts below the other cut-outs with the number 11 in the left circle under the text “we” and the number 7 in the left circle under the text “they”. In between the two circular cutouts is another cutout with a space symbol inside below the text “trumps”. There are three celluloid dials on the bottom and on either side of the counter/schedule to change the dates, locations, score numbers, and suit. On either side of center are two metal rivets holding both sides together and another rivet near the bottom. The whiteish/tan-colored counter is photographed on a black background, which then has a white border.

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City of Boston Archaeology @archaeology.boston.gov · 08/10/2026

We bought a house! Well, a timber house frame. We’ve been waiting to share this huge news with you all! We are finally the proud owners of the frame of the c. 1675 Capen House, originally built in Dorchester. (1/3)

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City of Boston Archaeology @archaeology.boston.gov · 07/10/2026

Is it spooky season already? That means it's time once again to open the cemetery gates to explore one of our many beautiful and fascinating historic burying grounds! Established in 1764, the Market Street Burying Ground in Brighton will be open for one day only!🪦(1/2)

Photo of an angel's head gravestone with text advertising a free opening of the Market Street Burying Ground in Brighton, Boston on October 17, 2026 from 11AM-2PM.

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City of Boston Archaeology @archaeology.boston.gov · 17/09/2026

We’ve been making our way through the collection, identifying the material we recovered and entering it into our database. We’re finding an assortment of buttons and personal adornment objects, including a few pieces from the same context, all in varying degrees of condition and preservation.

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City of Boston Archaeology @archaeology.boston.gov · 09/09/2026

We're lucky enough to share space with our colleagues at @archives.boston.gov who kindly located some 18th-century Charlestown documents for us. Highlights include expert-level sass regarding tea & John Hancock's version of "sorry not sorry." #Boston #archaeology #Boston250 #RevolutionaryWar

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City of Boston Archaeology @archaeology.boston.gov · 26/08/2026

This June, the City of Boston Archaeology Program conducted an archaeological investigation next to the Bunker Hill Monument in Charlestown to investigate one of the first & bloodiest battles of the American Revolution. Read More: ow.ly/2LwY50ZyGBc #boston #archaeology #charlestown #bunkerhill

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City of Boston Archaeology @archaeology.boston.gov · 17/08/2026

What do you do when it’s time to harvest your Bartlett pears? Arrange a still life, duh! The Bartlett was introduced to the U.S. by James Carter in 1799, who planted them in Dorchester on farmland that would later be purchased by Enoch Bartlett, a VP of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society (1/4)

An image showing a platter of green pears surrounded by a small creamer, a pitcher, a dark glass bottle, a wine glass, and a smoking pipe.

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City of Boston Archaeology @archaeology.boston.gov · 30/07/2026

We needed a little boost on this gloomy day so we decided to bust open some notes from our lab visitors! Turns out they are big fans 🪭 Thanks for the kind words and support! #boston #archaeology

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City of Boston Archaeology @archaeology.boston.gov · 27/07/2026

Do you own property in a Landmark/Architectural Conservation District with archaeology protections? Are you a developer wanting to help preserve our irreplaceable cultural resources as our city grows? Read about our process, methods, the public benefits of archaeology, & more. tinyurl.com/552fw9dk

Grid of images showing archaeological excavations, artifacts, and handwritten historic documents over a cell reading “Dig into History with the City of Boston Archaeology Program”

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City of Boston Archaeology @archaeology.boston.gov · 02/07/2026

It's hot out and we don't like it! We're holed up in the lab today, but for those days when you gotta get out there we've got some pro tips to get you through. 😎 #Boston #archaeology #heat

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City of Boston Archaeology @archaeology.boston.gov · 26/06/2026

We are back in the lab and have just about recovered from backfilling all of our trenches up at the Battle of Bunker Hill redoubt excavation! 💪 This was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience. (1/4)

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City of Boston Archaeology @archaeology.boston.gov · 18/06/2026

Final step before we backfill the 1775 Battle of Bunker Hill redoubt: soil samples! Because archaeology is an inherently destructive process, archaeologists sometimes take soil samples from important features. 🧵(1/3)

Overhead view of two archaeologists side by side in a deep trench using trowels to collect soil samples from the trench walls

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City of Boston Archaeology @archaeology.boston.gov · 17/06/2026

Today marks the 251st anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill, one of the first & the bloodiest battles of the American Revolution. It’s also your last chance to see the excavated 1775 earthwork fortifications constructed by the provincials the night before the battle before we backfill it! (1/2)

View of an archaeological trench containing the remains of the redoubt visible in the wall

An overview of the City of Boston Archaeology excavation at the Bunker Hill Monument

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City of Boston Archaeology @archaeology.boston.gov · 16/06/2026

We are wrapping it up in Trench 3 today and getting ready to cheer for everyone at their naturalization ceremony here at the Bunker Hill monument! Congrats to all! Our buried 1775 surface has yielded another British and another provincial musket ball. (1/2)

Two musketballs, one smaller and one larger, in a person’s palm

Overhead view of two archaeologists digging in a trench

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City of Boston Archaeology @archaeology.boston.gov · 15/06/2026

Breed’s Hill or Bunker Hill? The answer is…yes. Gen. Artemas Ward & the Mass. Committee of Safety ordered Cols. Richard Gridley & William Prescott to fortify Bunker Hill in Charlestown. It’s clear that Ward meant the fortifications to be built on the hill at the west end of the peninsula. 🧵(1/7)

A collage of images showing the handwritten document and an inset of the words “Bunker Hill” highlighted, and a map showing the location of the redoubt on the recreated 1775 property map.

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City of Boston Archaeology @archaeology.boston.gov · 12/06/2026

Some Charlestownware just popped out of Trench 3! Nice to see some of this home-thrown pottery up by the Bunker Hill redoubt. (1/2)

A fragment of redware pottery with a greenish glaze and yellow slip decoration

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City of Boston Archaeology @archaeology.boston.gov · 12/06/2026

We’ve been so lucky to have AVAR - American Veterans Archaeological Recovery - on our crew for the excavation of the Bunker Hill redoubt! A thousand thanks to these incredibly hard workers for their professionalism, care, and commitment. And those beautiful trench walls! Come on! (1/2)

A smiling crew of archaeologists and volunteers standing in front of the Bunker Hill monument

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City of Boston Archaeology @archaeology.boston.gov · 11/06/2026

We decided to throw an addition onto Fancy Lad Corner to try and catch an edge of the slope. We want to better understand the historical topography of the hill. Say hello to Trench 3! (1/2)

Archaeologists from AVAR excavating an archaeological trench

A dented piece of lead buckshot held in a person’s palm

The backside of a round button with a wire shank held in a person’s hand

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City of Boston Archaeology @archaeology.boston.gov · 10/06/2026

Doing good archaeology means documenting your process. Once we finish a unit we make a profile, a carefully measured drawing of the soil changes observed during excavation. (1/2)

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City of Boston Archaeology @archaeology.boston.gov · 10/06/2026

Trench 2 is complete! Our 18th century buried ground surface was almost a meter down, but yielded some incredible artifacts: 2 turquoise colored glass gems from a pair of sleeve buttons, a copper alloy 2-piece domed coat button, a wig/hair curler, & 2 dropped provincial musket balls! (1/2)

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City of Boston Archaeology @archaeology.boston.gov · 08/06/2026

We’re almost down to a meter in Trench 1 and it is looking very promising. Beneath the fill of rocks is a dark organic layer that may be redeposited or may be a historic ground surface. Onward and downward! #digBOS250 #digBunkerHill #archaeology

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City of Boston Archaeology @archaeology.boston.gov · 05/06/2026

Trench 1 is crazy rocky while Trench 2 is dirt all the way down so far. Check out the in situ wine bottle base in the floor of T1. We’ve seen pieces of this bottle type across the site. Its diagnostic shape tells us we’re in 18th century soils. #digBOS250 #digBunkerHill #archaeology

An archaeological trench lined with rocks. There is a dark olive wine bottle base.

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City of Boston Archaeology @archaeology.boston.gov · 05/06/2026

Happy Friday! For your entertainment we present to you the Good Dogs of Bunker Hill 🐕🦮🐕‍🦺🐩 More archaeology to come later! #digBOS250 #digBunkerHill #archaeology

The first in a series of 4 happy dog photos

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City of Boston Archaeology @archaeology.boston.gov · 04/06/2026

It’s pretty toasty out here, but work continues at the Bunker Hill redoubt excavation! Trench 1 contains a dump of granite chips, potentially from the construction of the monument in 1843. We're up here with AVAR & Friends of Boston Archaeology so come say hi! #digBOS250 #digBunkerHill #archaeology

Two archaeologists kneeling in an excavation trench with one person sitting on the side of the trench.

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City of Boston Archaeology @archaeology.boston.gov · 03/06/2026

The 18th century is popping up in Trench 1! We just got a musket ball out the screen & it’s a whopper. The compression banding & ram rod strike tell us it’s been fired, but appears to have struck its target at low velocity since it held its spherical shape. #digBOS250 #digBunkerHill #archaeology

Compression banding on a lead musket ball held in a person’s palm

Ram rod strike mark on a lead musket ball held in a person’s palm

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City of Boston Archaeology @archaeology.boston.gov · 02/06/2026

Our first Revolutionary War artifact has turned up in a historic fill level! This d-shaped gunflint was made from grey English flint. It is a “spall” type which means it was knocked directly off of a flint nodule, and not made from a pre-prepared flint core. #digBOS250 #digBunkerHill #archaeology

View of a grey colored gunflint in a person’s palm

View of backside of a grey colored gunflint in a person’s palm

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City of Boston Archaeology @archaeology.boston.gov · 02/06/2026

Cool artifact alert! What do you all think? Key to the old Bunker Hill museum? Let us know your best guess in the comments! 🗝️ #digBOS250 #digBunkerHill #archaeology

A large brass skeleton key missing one tooth held in a person’s palm

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City of Boston Archaeology @archaeology.boston.gov · 02/06/2026

We’re back at it today! AVAR and Friends of Boston Archaeology are with us so come say hello and see some archaeology in action! We are working our way down to historic ground surface in our search for the remains of the 1775 Battle of Bunker Hill redoubt. #digBOS250 #digBunkerHill #archaeology

Archaeologists at work in an excavation trench on the lawn in front of the Bunker Hill Monument

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City of Boston Archaeology @archaeology.boston.gov · 01/06/2026

Day 1 at Bunker Hill begins! We’re collaborating with the National Park Service, Friends of Boston Archaeology, & AVAR - American Veterans Archaeological Recovery - to expose the redoubt built overnight by rebel forces on June 16, 1775. (1/2)

Archaeologists excavate in front of the Bunker Hill Monument obelisk

An archaeologist excavates a trench on the lawn while other screen in the background

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City of Boston Archaeology @archaeology.boston.gov · 29/05/2026

We are wrapping up the site at 190 Bowdoin today. This includes documenting, photographing, & backfilling our trenches. (1/3)

Two images showing souls in differing shades of brown ranging from darkest to lightest and labeled “A, B1, B2, and C”

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City of Boston Archaeology @archaeology.boston.gov · 28/05/2026

Trench 4 is getting deep! We had some mysterious pits behind the ell at 190 Bowdoin. One bottomed out around 70cm with a giant rock and one contained a 19th century iron water pipe all the way down at 120cm! Cue the sad trombone. (1/2)

A deep archaeological trench with volunteers digging

An archaeological trench with large pudding stone boulders

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City of Boston Archaeology @archaeology.boston.gov · 26/05/2026

Our final week at 190 Bowdoin has started! We’ve been wondering about the granite blocks scattered around so we did a little research. These linear marks tell us that these blocks were quarried using “plug and feather” technology. (1/3)

Close up of linear tubular holes on the edge of a granite block

View of granite blocks below brick foundation

Plug and feather chisels in place in a block of stone via Wikipedia

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City of Boston Archaeology @archaeology.boston.gov · 19/05/2026

☀️Today & tomorrow (5/19 & 5/20) will be too hot for us to excavate safely at 190 Bowdoin St. in Dorchester. See you on Thursday!☀️ Meanwhile, we’re remembering Roxbury’s own Malcolm X on his 101st birthday. (1/3)

A small altar for Malcolm X on his birthday with a signed card, a votive candle, and two pennies.

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City of Boston Archaeology @archaeology.boston.gov · 18/05/2026

We’re back at it in Dorchester at 190 Bowdoin! We’re extending our trench around the woodworking shop and opening test pits in the north yard. It’s a gorgeous day so stop by and say hello! #digBOS #digDOT #digHollinsPark #archaeology #Boston

Four people doing archaeology on a sunny day in a backyard

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City of Boston Archaeology @archaeology.boston.gov · 13/05/2026

Oh the agony of moving a bluestone slab weighing hundreds of pounds to look underneath and finding…a cement slab 😒 (1/2)

A bluestone slab in front of wooden stairs moved to reveal a cement slab

An assortment of late 19th century artifacts on a black kneeling pad

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City of Boston Archaeology @archaeology.boston.gov · 13/05/2026

We’re finding tons of late 18th/early 19th century artifacts in our workshop trench! This little bottle helpfully told us everything we could want to know about its origins right on the front. (1/3)

Broken amber bottle with embossed text:
Jacob L. Alther & Co.
Establ. 1881
Cor.
Chadwick & Yeoman Sts
1905
Boston, Mass

Bromley atlas showing location of Alther’s bottling plant.

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City of Boston Archaeology @archaeology.boston.gov · 13/05/2026

Day 2 at 190 Bowdoin St. is underway! We’ve got an artifact rich stratum right outside the site of the workshop. Our finds have been mostly 19th & 20th century, and we have high hopes for earlier deposits in lower strata. Stay tuned! #digBOS #digDOT #digHollinsPark #archaeology #Boston

A fragment of a decorative candy dish held up by a gloved hand. In the background an archaeological dig is taking place.

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City of Boston Archaeology @archaeology.boston.gov · 12/05/2026

1 half of our trench is almost devoid of artifacts & has a yellow, gravelly, compact soil. The other has softer brown soil with plenty of domestic refuse like this early 20th c. American stoneware crock. Check back in for more artifacts later! #digBOS #digDOT #digHollinsPark #archaeology #Boston

A person holding a piece of stoneware crockery decorated with blue floral design

Brown glazed interior of crockery visible in place in the archaeological trench

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City of Boston Archaeology @archaeology.boston.gov · 12/05/2026

Day 1 of our dig at 190 Bowdoin in Dorchester is kicking off! We’ve opened a trench in the workshop area to locate the northern wall. Don’t want to jinx it, but it looks like we’re coming down on it in the very first level! So far we got a couple of prosser buttons & a clay marble from the screens.

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City of Boston Archaeology @archaeology.boston.gov · 07/05/2026

This is the 4th post in a series about our next dig site at 190 Bowdoin St. in Dorchester & it is jam-packed, with important news at the end! Now back to the early 19th century… (1/10)

Grid of atlas images of 190 Bowdoin showing the construction and demolition of various structures on the property.

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City of Boston Archaeology @archaeology.boston.gov · 06/05/2026

This is the 3rd post in a series about our next dig site at 190 Bowdoin St. in Dorchester! Records detail a house on the property at least as early as 1759, but the extant house is only dateable as far back as 1810. (1/7)

Print ad from May 6, 1806 Boston Gazette

Text of the print ad reading:

Juvenile Academy at Dorchester.

This flourishing Institution is now under the care of Mr. Samuel Osgood, a much approved Preceptor. The Youth are instructed in Reading, Writing, Grammar, Arithmetic, Book keeping, Geography, Elocution, and the Latin and Greek Languages as preparatory for the University. A few more may be admitted upon the following terms–viz–

Entrance money for English scholars: $1.75
for Latin and Greek: $2.00
Tuition per Quarter: $6.30
Board in creditable families per week: $2.00

The vicinity of this Academy to Boston, the healthiness of the place, the talents of the Preceptor, and the circumstance that the Proprietors frequently visit the School, and attentively regard the morals and proficiency of the scholars, are considered as no inconsiderable recommendations in its favor.

As the Spring term is now to commence, Parents who wish to place their Children in so eligible a situation will please apply to either of the subscribers Thaddeus M. Harris, Moses Everett, Ebenezer Niles, Committee of the Proprietors.

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City of Boston Archaeology @archaeology.boston.gov · 05/05/2026

This is the 2nd post in a series about the history of our next dig site at 190 Bowdoin St. Prior to the arrival of Europeans, the place we now call Dorchester was part of the traditional homelands of the Massachusett people. (1/8)

A 1794 survey map of Dorchester by Matthew Withington.

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City of Boston Archaeology @archaeology.boston.gov · 04/05/2026

After a short lab break to regroup, we’re getting ready to start another new dig next week at 190 Bowdoin St. in Dorchester! This is the 1st post in a series. Check in tomorrow for an early history of the site! (1/5)

aerial overview of 190 Bowdoin St. showing a historic house & yard surrounded by large trees in a residential area.

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City of Boston Archaeology @archaeology.boston.gov · 22/04/2026

Happy Earth Day! Its day 6 of our dig at the former Boston Consumptives Hospital in Mattapan. This archaeological survey is happening ahead of a proposed urban farm project from our colleagues at GrowBoston. 1/2

A gloved hand holding an assortment of archaeological artifacts

Front of copper alloy sleeve buttons in a person’s palm

Back of copper alloy sleeve buttons in a person’s palm

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City of Boston Archaeology @archaeology.boston.gov · 21/04/2026

It’s day 5 of our dig at the former Boston Consumptives Hospital in Mattapan! This archaeological survey in Mattapan is happening ahead of a proposed urban farm project from our colleagues at GrowBoston. 1/3

A blue-grey lithic flake and a white clay pipe stem in a woman’s palm

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City of Boston Archaeology @archaeology.boston.gov · 17/04/2026

Who will be victorious? Colonial-style furniture escutcheon? Square rock? Ugly bubbly glass? Or gross pink rubber thingy? Vote for your favorite in the comments! 2/2 #digBoston #digMattapan #boston #archaeology #teamgrossrubberpinkthingy

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City of Boston Archaeology @archaeology.boston.gov · 17/04/2026

It’s a little drizzly, but we’re out here! Day 4 of our dig at 255 River Street in Mattapan is shaping up to be another good one with stone tool debitage (flakes) popping up already. Stay tuned! 1/2

A group of archaeologists and volunteers in raincoats screen soil on either side of a test pit in a field

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City of Boston Archaeology @archaeology.boston.gov · 16/04/2026

We’ve got flakes on flakes out here on River Street! One of our test pits has revealed what seems to be a small lithic workshop where a Native person or people spent time knapping stone tools along this ancient route. 1/3

Small blue-grey and pale pink flakes of stone tool debitage in a blue-gloved hand

Large grey-blue flakes resting on a khaki clad knee

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City of Boston Archaeology @archaeology.boston.gov · 16/04/2026

We’re back at it in front of the former Boston Consumptives Hospital for the 3rd day of our excavation! This archaeological survey in Mattapan is happening ahead of a proposed urban farm project from our colleagues at GrowBoston. 1/2

An overview of an archaeological excavation in front of a 19th century house

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City of Boston Archaeology @archaeology.boston.gov · 15/04/2026

Today is the 2nd day of our excavation at the former Boston Consumptives Hospital in Mattapan! Longtime volunteer Corinne who you might know from @mspca-angell.bsky.social just found this 20th-century figurine of a seated animal in the plowzone. Cat? Dog? Put your best guess in the comments! 1/2

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