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WILLIAMSTOWN SUN JUNE 5-11, 2024
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‘It’s an electric moment’
June’s Red Bank archaeology days, family dig offer ‘magic’ opportunities By ALBERT J. COUNTRYMAN Jr. The Sun
It will be an exciting two Sundays this month at the Red Bank Battlefield in National Park, with a veterans archaeology dig this Sunday and a family history dig on June 23. “Red Bank’s archaeology days offer participants the opportunity to work side by side with our professional archaeology team,” said battlefield park director Jen Janofsky. “They learn about the archaeological process and the important role archaeology plays in battlefield preservation and interpretation. “We also use this program as an opportunity to raise awareness that the battlefield is a burial site and worthy of our preservation efforts and respect,” she added, referring to the remains of Hessian soldiers found there in a mass grave two years ago. Coordinating the digs will be Janofsky, a professor of history at Rowan University, and Wade Catts, president of South River Heritage Consulting. The program is also supported by students in the university’s field school at Red Bank and volunteers from the Archaeology So-
Albert J. Countryman Jr./The Sun
Wearing authentic Colonial clothing and getting ready to cook a campfire dinner during the Red Bank Battlefield family day last year were Ben Carlton (left to right), Lenora Khan, Carol Murphy and Sharon Goodman of Middleton. There will be two public archaeological digs this month at the site, where remains of Hessian soldiers have been found.
ciety of New Jersey. A similar archeological dig at the battlefield on June 26, 2022 turned up the Hessians’
remains. The 15 solders were killed by the Rhode Island regiment of the Continental Army during the Battle of Red Bank
in 1777. “They were unceremoniously dumped in a mass grave,” Jenofsky explained. “Our goals
are to treat the remains with dignity and respect, identifying specific soldiers and assigning them names.” She and archaeologist Catts were leading the public participation dig in 2022, and over four days, some 100 volunteers worked screens and processed artifacts from the quarter-acre trench area deeded to the battlefield in 2021 by a local family. Several femur bones were found on the last day. “Public Archaeology is my favorite program that our park offers,” Janofsky said. “It’s one thing to visit a museum and observe objects from a distance. It’s another thing to actually unearth an object that hasn’t been touched in 250 years and in some cases, thousands of years, in the case of Native American artifacts. “When a participant discovers an object, it’s an electric moment,” she added. “This is when the public history ‘magic’ happens. It allows a deep and personal connection to the past.” This is the second year the Red Bank Battlefield is offering a special program for veterans and their families. “Veterans connect with batsee ARCHAEOLOGY, page 8
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