Digging CT history: Students learn archaeology ‘You can’t really get from a textbook’

Nearly 250 years after 6,000 American and French soldiers marched together through Connecticut to Yorktown to deal the final blow in the Revolutionary War, 29 high school students from both countries are uncovering the remnants of one of their camps at Bolton Heritage Park.

The program, sponsored by the Museum of Connecticut History in the Connecticut State Library, began in 2019 when a group of students traveled to France to dig in World War I-era trenches in the Seicheprey region of France in 2019. Seicheprey was the site of the first American intervention in World War I, a battle that was fought by Connecticut soldiers.

“I had no idea Connecticut troops were the first American soldiers to get into a battle in World War I,” said Joe Viski of Durham, who traveled to France for the first dig in 2019 and returned as a chaperone this year. “And it never really occurred to me that Connecticut ever really had any part to play in the Revolutionary War.”

Juliette Ferville, a French chaperone who was also a student during the 2019 dig, said she also had been unaware of her local history before the program.

“It’s sad,” Ferville said. “When you live somewhere, I think it’s important to be interested in the local history.”

Viski said the original dig gave him an irreplaceable opportunity to experience history firsthand.

“It’s an experience you can’t really get from a textbook or a classroom,” Viski said. “I had read about trench foot, and trenches flooding and having to bail them out with buckets. But when I saw it firsthand, saw just how deep it was — that really stuck with me.”

After the success of the French expedition, a sister dig was planned for Connecticut, but was put on hold because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, the museum was able to bring several of those students back along with a crop of new high school students.

Sixteen Connecticut high school students were joined by 13 students from France for the archaeological dig. Christine Pittsley, special projects director for the museum, planned a comprehensive survey of the entire process of an archaeological dig.

Bolton Heritage Farm was identified as the site of a potential encampment in April after a “circular anomaly” was detected via radar. After subsequent work with metal detectors, state archaeologists were able to confirm it was likely an encampment.

“What they’ve been looking for, basically, is a feature — maybe a fireplace, or maybe where some posts were in the ground,” said Ken Beatrice, a volunteer archaeologist who assists primarily with artifact identification.

Despite losing several days of dig time due to inclement weather, students did uncover several artifacts from the site, including a few personal affects from some soldiers.

A pipe stem was the favorite of several students, including Rowan Varney, a rising senior from Bolton.

“Nails and screws are just pieces of metal,” said Varney. “But when you find a pipe stem, someone actually smoked out of that. I’m touching something from that era that someone also touched and used.”

Varney was introduced to the program by her history teacher, who encouraged her to explore her love of history, particularly the Revolutionary War. But Varney said she had never thought much about archaeology until she actually got to dig for herself.

Students also found musket balls, a fragment from a belt buckle, and pins that identified the soldiers as members of the 41st Regiment.

On rainy days, students participated in other parts of the archaeological process at the University of Connecticut and at the Museum of Connecticut History.

Chiara Lopez, a French high school student, said cleaning 250 years of dirt off the artifacts was her favorite part of the process.

“I like digging and finding stuff, but it’s really exhausting. You have to be really patient,” Lopez said. “But cleaning all these things was super satisfying for me.”

In addition to the archaeology, Pittsley organized a thorough sampling of American culture for the French students, including trips to the state capitol, a drive-in movie, college tours, a clam bake, and a barbecue. But French students said even everyday activities were fascinating experiences.

“Everything is interesting. We discover every day a new thing about America,” Lopez said. “We went to Stop & Shop, and we were like, ‘This is crazy. There is so much stuff we don’t have in France.’ ”

The French students’ fresh eyes, in turn, shed a new light on things the American students took for granted.

Despite the cultural differences, students grew close over the course of the two weeks. Varney, who had never met anyone from another country before, was wearing matching friendship bracelets with her French roommate by the end of the trip, and said she is considering a career in archaeology.

The Office of State Archaeology will continue to look for more artifacts at and around Bolton Heritage Farm.

Kay Perkins is a freelance reporter in Connecticut.