Archaeology Month is just around the corner!
Every October, events and programs are held across Pennsylvania to celebrate the commonwealth’s deep past. PA SHPO partner agencies and organizations, including the Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology (SPA) and their local chapters, the Pennsylvania Archaeological Council (PAC), local historical societies and universities, offer public archaeology programs for all ages to highlight their region’s archaeological and historical significance.
We know you’re as busy as we are, so save these dates now so you don’t miss out!
2026 Archaeology Month Virtual Learn at Lunchtime
The PA SHPO is continuing the popular Learn at Lunchtime series for Archaeology Month. This year we are excited to bring you a series of talks themed around the American Revolution and the 250th birthday of our country.
Join us every Friday in October for a different webinar. Presentations begin at 12:15 p.m. and last approximately 20 minutes followed by a Question-and-Answer session.
Registration is required to attend these free, virtual programs. You can find information about the speakers and registration below. Sign up for one or all five!
October 2, 2026: Kimberly Max Brown, PhD will present “Community Engaged Archaeology at Fort Mifflin: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Philadelphia’s Past”
Described as “one of the nation’s most neglected, unknown and unvisited historic sites,” Fort Mifflin in Philadelphia has yet to experience a systematic plan of archaeological investigation, warranted by the importance of its history. Over the course of 2 years, the Archaeology at Fort Mifflin project explored and documented the Fort with geophysics, investigated with excavation and archaeobotany the food system of the fort, identified critical historic preservation needs, and built on existing public programming
About the Speaker
Kimberly “Max” Brown, PhD is Executive Director of Eternal Soldier, an organization that promotes programs, public speaking events, workshops and book groups for Veterans on military history and service, biography, famous narratives, battlefield technology, myth and art. Eternal Soldier, based at the Penn Museum, focuses on Veterans’ stories, past and present. Funded by a fellowship from the Loeb Classical Library Foundation at Harvard, Max completed a workshop design series with men and women Veterans to improve and expand Eternal Soldier programs. Aided by the learnings from that effort, and with funding from the National Park Service, most recently Max initiated an archaeological project with a team of Veterans at Fort Mifflin in Philadelphia, site of arguably the greatest artillery battle of the American Revolution.
Max is also the Philadelphia Director of Health Equity and Engagement Capacity Building at the VA Center for Health Evaluation Research and Promotion at the Crescenz VA Medical Center. Her work centers on improving the health and healthcare of Veterans while also advancing health equity focused quantitative and qualitative methods throughout the Center’s research portfolio. Her expertise lies in utilizing qualitative, mixed method and community-based research techniques to incorporate and empower Veteran perspectives in VA biomedical research.
Max is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate Group in Art and Archaeology of the Mediterranean World and a Penn Museum Consulting Scholar. Eternal Soldier combines her passion for ancient cultures, especially Ancient Rome, with her dedication to Veterans.
Registration Link: https://pa-archaeology-month-community-engaged-archaeology.eventbrite.com
October 9, 2026: Emily Briggs will present “Locating Fort Wallace: Public Memory, Avocational Knowledge, and Archaeological Research in Western Pennsylvania
Fort Wallace, traditionally associated with Wallace’s Mill and McGee Run in Westmoreland County, is a Revolutionary-era frontier site that remains important to local memory, avocational researchers, and public history. This presentation will discuss an emerging thesis project that uses documentary research, historic maps, GIS, oral history, and community-sourced information to better understand the Fort Wallace landscape. Special attention will be given to how archaeologists can responsibly work with local residents, collectors, and interested members of the public while protecting sensitive archaeological site information.
About the Speaker
Born and raised in Washington County, PA, Emily Briggs is a graduate student in the M.A. in Applied Archaeology program at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Her research interests include historical archaeology, public archaeology, frontier landscapes, community memory, and the preservation of archaeological resources in western Pennsylvania. Her current thesis research focuses on Fort Wallace, a historically referenced frontier site in Westmoreland County, and explores how documentary evidence, GIS, oral history, and avocational knowledge can be responsibly integrated into archaeological research.
Registration Link: https://pa-archaeology-month-locating-fort-wallace-registration.eventbrite.com
October 16, 2026: Debbie Miller will present “In the Shadow of Independence: The Archaeology of Old Philadelphia”
Since its establishment in 1948, archaeology has played a central role in the research and interpretation of Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. More than eighty archaeological sites have uncovered the stories of the people who lived and worked here, from Benjamin Franklin and George Washington to the diverse communities whose daily lives and contributions shaped the nation’s founding. This presentation highlights the park’s archaeological resources and explores how decades of excavation and research have transformed our understanding of eighteenth-century Philadelphia. By uncovering the stories preserved beneath our feet, archaeology provides new perspectives on the people, places, and events that defined America’s early history while enriching how the National Park Service interprets and shares these stories with the public.
About the Speaker
Debbie Miller is the Archaeologist and Curator of Archaeological Collections at Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She has previously served as an archaeologist with AECOM, Stenton, and the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, among other organizations. In addition to her professional work, Debbie serves as a technical advisor to the Committee on Historic Designation for the Philadelphia Historical Commission and is on the Board of the American Ceramics Circle. Her research focuses on early American ceramics, eighteenth-century social and material culture, and historic landscapes.
Registration Link: https://pa-archaeology-month-in-the-shadow-of-independence.eventbrite.com
October 23, 2026: Ben Ford will present “The American Revolution in Western Pennsylvania: Archaeology at Historic Hanna’s Town”
“The American Revolution in Western Pennsylvania: Archaeology at Historic Hanna’s Town” uses the site of Historic Hanna’s Town in Westmoreland County to explore life before, during, and after the American Revolution in western Pennsylvania. The wide range of artifacts from the site illustrate how the town was connected to local and international economies, and why the residents were early proponents of revolution. When the Revolution came home and Hanna’s Town was burned in 1782, the archaeological record also indicates how the townspeople rebuilt. This talk draws on decades of archaeological investigations by volunteers, professionals, and students.
About the Speaker
Ben Ford is the Chair of the Anthropology, Geospatial and Earth Sciences Department at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and an anthropologist specializing in historical and underwater archaeology. Originally from Cincinnati, he now lives in Indiana, Pennsylvania with a spouse, two kids, dog, and bearded dragon. His recent publications include The Shore is a Bridge: The Maritime Cultural Landscape of Lake Ontario and Our Blue Planet: An Introduction to Maritime and Underwater Archaeology (with Jessi Halligan and Alexis Catsambis).
Registration Link: https://pa-archaeology-month-the-american-revolution-in-western.eventbrite.com
October 30, 2026: Dr. Matthew A. Kalos will present “The Archaeology and Memory of Paoli Battlefield”
This research explores the archaeology at Paoli Battlefield. Rather than examining just, the battle, Dr. Kalos applies and landscape approach that examines the cultural history, the battle, and the mnemonic legacy of the landscape. The aim of the presentation is to introduce the discipline of conflict archaeology and use Paoli Battlefield as a case study illustrating the role of conflict archaeology in examining the Revolutionary War era.
About the Speaker
Dr. Kalos is an assistant professor of Anthropology and Human Geography at Brookdale Community College. He earned his PhD from Temple University where he studied the Paoli Battlefield. For his doctoral research he created and applied a layered landscape approach, examining the physical, the cultural, the battle, and the mnemonic landscapes. He currently serves as a research fellow with the Center for Integrative Research in Conflict Archaeology (CIRCA) where he explores the archaeology of memory as it applies to conflict sites. Dr. Kalos is the co-editor of the volume The Archaeology of the American Revolution (University of Florida Press, 2025).
Registration Link: https://pa-archaeology-month-the-archaeology-and-memory-of-paoli.eventbrite.com
More Archaeology Month Events
The full calendar of events for Archaeology month can be found here.
Additionally, International Archaeology Day is October 17, 2026, and the Archaeological Institute of America provides a Calendar of Events from across the nation and around the globe.
Annual Poster
Each year a poster is produced to share some facet of Pennsylvania archaeology. The Society For Pennsylvania Archaeology (SPA) and Pennsylvania Archaeology Council (PAC) alternate responsibility for the poster each year. This year the poster, A Toast to the New Nation, highlights the importance of taverns and other social places during the American Revolution and some of the artifacts that have been found at tavern sites across the Commonwealth.
The 2026 Pennsylvania Archaeology Month poster, “A Toast to the New Nation,” explores the archaeology of 18th-century taverns, ordinaries, and public houses. More than just places to eat and drink, taverns were important gathering places where travelers and local residents exchanged news, received mail, played games, conducted business, and discussed the issues of the day. This years poster brings together archaeological objects and historic collections from institutions and organizations across Pennsylvania and beyond to explore tavern life and the material culture of the Revolutionary era.
The SPA maintains a gallery of previous posters. Copies of the poster are available free at many of the events this month, can be downloaded and printed from the SPA website, or physical copies are available through the mail by contacting Dave Burke at the Archaeology Curation Team.
Share Your Sites!
Do you have (or think you have) an archaeological site you would like to register with our office? Let us know!
The Pennsylvania Archaeological Site Survey (PASS) program is the statewide inventory of all recorded archaeological sites in the commonwealth representing 16,000 years of Pennsylvania’s history. Archaeological sites provide unique sources of information that help us tell the story of the people and practices that shaped the landscape of the commonwealth. The more sites we record, the better (and more complete) story we can tell.
PASS Coordinator and SHPO Staff record site at Conrad Weiser Homestead (36BK0614).
PA SHPO archaeologists are always willing to accept archaeological site data. For more information on the PASS program and registering archaeological sites please visit our website.
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