May 22, 2008

Making its way into theatres Thursday is, “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.”

The movies bring drama and excitement to the field of archaeology, but a group of field school archaeologists from James Madison University and the University of Virginia say there's more to what you see in the movies.

“We're not being chased by boulders or various ghosts, we're out here. Usually archaeology is a very pain staking process,” Montpelier’s director of archaeology, Dr. Matthew reeves said.

The excavation site for 18 UVa and JMU students is the South Yard at James Madison's Montpelier.

“What we're doing right now exploring, using archaeology to try and find the foundations for the homes, where the chimney bases are where the yards and fence lines and the like,” Dr. Reeves said.

The purpose of the dig is to locate the quarters where Madison's domestic slaves once worked and lived.

“This is a brass button with gold guild on it, it would have been part of a coat,” dr. Reeves said.

Paired with a trained archaeologist, each student works in a 5x5 square unit.

“In piecing all the units together that's when you come across the entire picture of what when on in this site. I've learned a whole lot about how the actual process of archaeology works,” UVa first year, John Schwab said.

“They learn everything from how to excavate the soil, identify the different artifacts and soil layers and how to fill out the paper work,” Dr. Reeves said.

Students are also learning that being an archaeologist goes far beyond the big screen.

“To actually get out here and see it and practice out in the field and get hands on training, it's fun to see them grow as students,” Dr. Reeves said.

“I don't think Indiana Jones gets to look at the entire picture of how an entire society lived, so I think Indiana Jones misses out on something,” Schwab said.

Guiding the archaeology team is a 19th century insurance map of the slave quarters. The team hopes after completing the excavation, the quarters can be reconstructed.

Visitors are welcome to see the excavation process now though June 12th at Montpelier.

For more about Montpelier’s archaeology programs visit www.montpelier.org/latest_dirt/