A Huge Announcement!

 

It gives me great pleasure to announce that the Smith's Island Archaeology Project has been awarded a two-year US National Endowment for the Humanities Archaeology and Ethnography Fieldwork grant (RFW-292027) to support excavations in the summers of 2023 and 2023, as well as close collaboration with Historic Jamestowne / Jamestown Rediscovery  and with Bermudian geneticist Carika Weldon. On very short notice I have been able to gather a good crew of talented young archaeologists and archaeology students from some of the top grad programs in the US to continue excavations at Smallpox Bay in May and June and to also set up and operate our archaeology lab using the new BNT-ARC facility being set up in the Globe Hotel Museum cellar in St. George's. 

Looking ahead to a very bright future!

SIAP welcomes adult volunteer participation in this summer's field excavations and lab work between May 22 and June 28. Interested participants under the age of 18 are also welcome if accompanied by parents or guardians (per Bermudian law). If you are interested, please contact me via WhatsApp (585-485-9870) or email/text at michael.jarvis@rochester.edu.

I am enormously grateful to everyone who helped prepare this grant application at UR, Jamestown, GSSI, BNT and BAMZ .  With this grant we can take Bermuda archaeology to the next level as we build at 21st-century lab facility, conduct additional ground penetrating radar (GPR) surveys, and embark on new zooarchaeological and ancient DNA (aDNA) analysis of SIAP site material.

The $130,000 initial NEH grant includes the opportunity to unlock another $20,000 in additional matching NEH funds if SIAP can raise $20,000 from external sources.  This match scenario will enable funding of the envisioned GPR surveys and aDNA profiling. Please consider helping us reach our full funding potential using THIS LINK or the Giving and Support tab on this blog. 100% of donations go to SIAP and qualify toward the NEH match initiative.