Alexandria Archaeology Museum

Visit the Alexandria Archaeology Museum to learn how the City’s archaeologists, volunteers and students work with residents and developers to study and manage archaeological resources important to the community's past.

The main exhibit, Archaeologists at Work: The Lee Street Site, highlights one city block to provide a fascinating glimpse of Alexandria’s history and the way in which archaeologists study the past. Small “table top” exhibits feature other Alexandria sites and finds. Hands-on activities engage visitors of all ages. Learn more about exhibits. 

Coming to the Museum

• Calendar of Events 
• Museum Brochure
• Parking map 
• eCoupon 

Staying Informed

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Current News and Information

Opportunities to Participate

• Summer Camp is back! If you are age 12-15, you can register for this popular program and work on a real archaeological dig. Session I: July 16-20, 2012; Session II: July 23-27, 2012. To register, fill out the Summer Camp Application and send your payment to the Alexandria Archaeology Museum. For those in need, please fill out the Scholarship Application.

• Field School in Public and Historical Archaeology, a joint program of the Alexandria Archaeology Museum and George Washington University, takes place May 21-June 2. Register through GWU.

• Volunteering at Archaeology: The following orientation is free and open to the public. Space is limited and reservations are required. Contact Alexandria Archaeology to reserve your space -- please provide your telephone number. Field Excavating, Saturday, June 9, 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.  Learn more about the Shuter's Hill excavation. Volunteers dig alongside professional archaeologists. Volunteers MUST be at least 16 years of age.

Current Projects

• Fort Ward Park: Learn about recent excavations in Fort Ward Park. Work now taking place focuses on the 20th century African American community. The first archaeological investigation in Alexandria was conducted in 1961 at Fort Ward. Read a summary of the 1961 excavations as well as full site reports and other studies.
  
• Potomac Yard: Throughout ongoing development of Potomac Yard, the Office of Historic Alexandria has been committed to preserving its history. Learn more about the Potomac Yard planning process, including the North Potomac Yard Public Art and History Interpretive Plan, and read a history of the site by Francine Bromberg, Preservation Archaeologist for Alexandria Archaeology. Visit Potomac Yards to see new historical signage.
  
• Shuter's Hill:  Summer excavations will once again take place at Shuter’s Hill, on the grounds of the George Washington Masonic Memorial. Check our calendar for programs at open houses at this plantation site.

CIvil War Sesquicentennial Events and Information

• At the Museum: Civil War Sundays. Explore the Civil War in Alexandria with Civil War Sundays, a showcase of an original May 26, 1861, edition New-York Tribune detailing Colonel Elmer Ellsworth’s death in Alexandria, a Peeps Diorama illustrating Ellsworth’s death, a TimeTravelers Passport exhibit featuring the Civil War drummer boy, diorama of a heating system constructed in Alexandria to warm Civil War hospital tents during the winter of 1861, a cocked and loaded Wickham musket discarded in a privy during the 1860s, and an exhibit on the Lee Street Site during the Civil War. Free! Weekly, 1-5 p.m.
  
• Bike Trail: Alexandria Civil War Defenses of Washington Bike Trail. To mark the Civil War Sesquicentennial, Alexandria, surrounding jourisdictions and the National Park Service created the the Civil War Defenses of Washington Bike Trail. A map, cue sheet and information on Civil War sites are provided for self-guided bike rides.
  
• The Current Dig: Shuter’s Hill. In 2012, Alexandria Archaeology will conduct its fifteenth season of excavation at the site of the Mills/Lee/Dulaney plantation on Shuter’s Hill, on the grounds of the George Washington Masonic Memorial. Shuter’s Hill is an 18th century plantation and later estate occupied by Union troops. Shuter’s Hill became the site of two Union forts in the Defenses of Washington during the Civil War.

Other News and Information

• The Waterfront: The Alexandria Waterfront History Plan was prepared by the Alexandria Archaeological Commission as a general framework and direction for the City's Waterfront Plan. Learn more about The Historic Alexandria Waterfront.

• Awards Nominations: Nominations being accepted for the Ben Brenman Award. The Award is open to businesses, organizations, families, professional preservationists, volunteers, students and other individuals who have demonstrated work or efforts in archaeological investigation, research, site protection, education, public interpretation, open space design, collections, or conservation. The deadline for nominations is Wednesday, June 1.

• Alexandria Archaeology at 50: The year 2011 marked 50 years of archaeology in Alexandria. The City of Alexandria and Alexandria Archaeology receveived the inaugural Daniel G. Roberts Award for Excellence in Public Historical Archaeology on January 6, 2012 at the annual Society for Historical Archaeology conference in Baltimore. SHA honored Alexandria Archaeology for its 50 years of public service and excellence. Learn about Alexandria Archaeology at 50 and the award, read conference papers, and view a presentation to the Alexandria City Council.