Investigation of the Late-Woodland American Indians at the Stanton
River Battlefield
State Park is a joint effort by
the Longwood University
Archaeology Field School , the Department of Conservation and
Recreation (DCR), and
the Archaeological Society of Virginia. The investigation at the site
has yielded information on daily life along the banks of the Staunton
River from 1000 A.D.to 1450 A.D. The site, which is called an "outdoor
laboratory for our students" has been used by the Archaeology Field School
every summer since 1998. This effort is headed by Dr. Brian Bates.
Dr. Bates indicated that several thousand visitors, including school
children from surrounding counties and from as far away as Richmond,
have toured the site since the project was initiated.
The site is included on the National
Register of Historic Places.
The dig site is known as the "Wade Site" named in honor of Randy Wade.
It can be viewed seasonallly while the Longwood University Archaeological
students are at work, but the mound at the "Wade Site" can be viewed
year round from the trail. Artifacts from this
site are on display at the Roanoke Visitor Center. K. Johnson Bowles,
director of the Longwood Center of Visual Arts, began work on the exibit
in the fall of 2001. You are invited
to come and get a glimpse of what life was like near the Staunton
River a thousand years ago.
More information on the Longwood University and the sites findings can
be found at the following links:
News releases
Findings
River Project
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