Archaeology

Erie Canal Lock One Could Anchor Albany Waterfront Redevelopment

August 9, 2026 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Advocates and archeologists seeking to leverage the legacy and impact of the Erie Canal to imagine a brighter future for Albany, gathered Thursday at the site of Lock 1 in Albany’s Warehouse District to share initial findings of an exploratory excavation that confirms the lock’s location.

The initial excavation has uncovered the location of the lock walls where they were expected be found based on previous magnetic imaging and historic maps and surveys. [Read more…] about Erie Canal Lock One Could Anchor Albany Waterfront Redevelopment

New York’s Ramapo Iron Villages During the American Revoltuion

August 3, 2026 by Clare Sheridan Leave a Comment

In the decades leading to the American Revolution, colonist began trying to exploit rich deposits of iron ore in the Ramapo Mountains, part of the Appalachian Mountains in northeastern New Jersey (Bergen and Passaic counties) and southeastern New York (Rockland and Orange counties). [Read more…] about New York’s Ramapo Iron Villages During the American Revoltuion

A Delft Tile Mystery at Schuyler Flatts, Hudson River

July 30, 2026 by Editorial Staff 2 Comments

Delft tiles are traditional, tin-glazed earthenware originating from the Netherlands as early as the 16th century. They are best known for their distinctive blue-and-white or polychrome hand-painted designs.

Developed in the Dutch city of Delft during the late 1500s as a local response to imported Chinese porcelain, these tiles were popular in New Netherland and New York, and were used on walls, hearths, and fireplace surrounds. [Read more…] about A Delft Tile Mystery at Schuyler Flatts, Hudson River

Ice Harness Racing on Lake George & The Old Military Dock

July 29, 2026 by Joseph W. Zarzynski Leave a Comment

In horse racing vernacular, the “post parade” at a track is just before the start of the equine competition. It is the grand procession of racehorses and jockeys passing in front of the viewing stands on their way to the starting gate.

Arguably, some of the most historic post parades are at the thoroughbred track in Saratoga Springs. Yet, you could say that during harness racing on frozen Lake George in the 19th and 20th centuries, those post parades were unique, too. [Read more…] about Ice Harness Racing on Lake George & The Old Military Dock

‘Last’ Piece of Battle of Valcour Bay Exploded Cannon Discovered

July 19, 2026 by Editorial Staff 1 Comment

On October 11, 1776 during the Battle of Valcour Bay one of the cannon aboard the gunboat New York exploded, killing Patriot sailor Thomas Rogers and injuring his crewmen Jonas Holden and Daniel McCay.

Most of the original cannon pieces are at the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum in Vergennes, VT, but new explorations of the Valcour battle area have just uncovered the last major piece of the exploded cannon. [Read more…] about ‘Last’ Piece of Battle of Valcour Bay Exploded Cannon Discovered

Crown Point Historic Barracks To Be Stabilized

July 13, 2026 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (State Parks) is embarking on a $750,000 barracks preservation project at Crown Point State Historic Site.

Located on a peninsula on the shores of Lake Champlain, the historic site contains the ruins of two forts, one French (Fort St. Frederic) and one British (Fort Crown Point), which played crucial roles in 18th-century military events and the American Revolution. [Read more…] about Crown Point Historic Barracks To Be Stabilized

Excavations To Begin At Albany’s Lock One

July 11, 2026 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The NYS Department of Transportation (DOT) has granted a permit for an archeological excavation to confirm the location of historic Lock One of the Erie Canal in Albany’s downtown Warehouse District.

This according to a recent message to supporters of The Albany Waterway’s project to uncover the old lock, buried for a century, and transform the site. The lock was once connected to a boat basin, an associated weigh lock, and the Hudson River. [Read more…] about Excavations To Begin At Albany’s Lock One

Bunker Hill Redoubt Where Joseph Warren Died Rediscovered

June 18, 2026 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

June 17, 2025, marked the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill. New England militiamen inflicted 1,054 casualties on the British, 50 percent of the British force.

The Bostonians and their allies sustained 411 casualties that day, including the man who stood at the heart of the battle, Dr. Joseph Warren, the namesake of Warren County, NY, who was brutally killed and mutilated by the British at the end of the battle. [Read more…] about Bunker Hill Redoubt Where Joseph Warren Died Rediscovered

Revolutionary War Artifacts Discovered in Ticonderoga

June 11, 2026 by Editorial Staff 2 Comments

As part of its ongoing excavation and study of the Ticonderoga‘s Liberty Hill site, Fort Ticonderoga is announcing the discovery, documentation and preservation of more than five hundred new artifacts at the site – where the Declaration of Independence was read to the Continental Army at Ticonderoga for the first time in July 1776 — with several of the most compelling examples dating from the American Revolution in 1776. [Read more…] about Revolutionary War Artifacts Discovered in Ticonderoga

Workers Unearth Mysterious Cannonballs in Lake George

June 7, 2026 by Joseph W. Zarzynski Leave a Comment

The Williams Monument lies several miles south of the head of Lake George along Route 9. On September 21, 1921, workers digging a hole for a sign near the obelisk revealed five cannonballs believed to date to the French & Indian War (1754–1763).

Following the unexpected discovery, made in 20 inches of soil, the laborers refilled the excavation. They then dug a post-hole in a different spot. [Read more…] about Workers Unearth Mysterious Cannonballs in Lake George

Facial Reconstruction Brings Revolutionary War Soldier to Life

May 28, 2026 by Editorial Staff 1 Comment

The New York State Museum has unveiled a facial reconstruction of a Revolutionary War soldier whose remains were recovered from the Courtland Street Burying Ground in Lake George, NY.

Created by forensic artist Jenny Kenyon, the reconstruction depicts a young soldier believed to have been in his teens, offering a powerful new glimpse into the lives of the individuals who died while serving during the American Revolution. [Read more…] about Facial Reconstruction Brings Revolutionary War Soldier to Life

LiDAR Archaeology Reveals Former Black Adirondack Farmsteads

May 17, 2026 by North Country Public Radio 1 Comment

When most people think of archaeology, they might picture researchers digging in the dirt or trekking through a remote landscape searching for artifacts.

But on a recent morning outside of Lake Placid, a team of researchers traded shovels for handheld tablets as they watched a drone lift off from a bright orange landing pad, tilting forward and beginning its programmed flight over a dense stretch of Adirondack forest. [Read more…] about LiDAR Archaeology Reveals Former Black Adirondack Farmsteads

Rev War Remains Being Brought to Lake George for Reinternment

May 15, 2026 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The skeletal remains of 44 people believed to have been associated with the Continental Army effort to invade Quebec in 1775 will be transported in historic U.S. military vehicles on Wednesday, May 20 from the New York State Museum in Albany to Lake George.

Scientists there have spent seven years identifying and reconstructing the remains. They will be reinterred in a new memorial at Lake George Battlefield Park being dedicated Friday, May 22. [Read more…] about Rev War Remains Being Brought to Lake George for Reinternment

The Early History of Glass Making in New York State

May 14, 2026 by Guest Contributor 2 Comments

According to J. Leander Bishop’s A History of American Manufactures from 1608 to 1860 among the early settlers on Manhattan Island was a glass maker Jan Smeedes who is supposed to have been among the first to receive an allotment of land on the present [1880] South William Street between Wall and Pearl.

He probably carried on the business of glass making on the east side of the street just north of Hanover Square. This street formerly bore within the above limits the name of “the Glass maker’s street” and afterward Smee Street from its original occupant. [Read more…] about The Early History of Glass Making in New York State

1928 Angler Catches Jug of Liquor Fishing Lake Champlain

May 11, 2026 by Joseph W. Zarzynski Leave a Comment

Whitehall‘s Patrick J. Harvey was lucky when it came to fishing and foraging. In late February 1928, spring-like weather had already arrived. With the milder temperatures, Harvey was fishing from a boat on Lake Champlain. Beneath lay the sunken wreck of the British battlecraft Confiance from the War of 1812.

The once-mighty warship lay near the mouth of the Poultney River. [Read more…] about 1928 Angler Catches Jug of Liquor Fishing Lake Champlain

Lake George’s Forward Shipwreck

May 4, 2026 by Joseph W. Zarzynski Leave a Comment

The 1906-built Forward launch was one of the first gasoline-powered vessels on Lake George. The 45-foot-long watercraft was initially a recreational boat for the Bixby family of Bolton Landing.

It later served as an excursion watercraft under different ownership. According to local lore, in the 1930s, the wooden runabout sank. [Read more…] about Lake George’s Forward Shipwreck

Museums, Diplomats & Art Thieves

May 1, 2026 by Jaap Harskamp Leave a Comment

In September 1887, in broad daylight, a robbery took place at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art (the Met). The thieves got away with a pair of ancient bracelets described in a New-York Tribune crime report as “solid gold, about four inches in diameter, richly carved and studded with all manner of precious gems.”

The police did not recover the items, but Tiffany & Co. created fine replicas (the firm acted as “sole agents” for the reproduction of the Museum’s works of art). Originating in Cyprus, the bracelets were part of the Museum’s “Cesnola Collection,” the formation of which itself was a story of mass thievery. [Read more…] about Museums, Diplomats & Art Thieves

Royal Savage: Neglected Champlain Warship Finally ‘On View’

April 17, 2026 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Veteran journalist and newspaper editor Anthony Hall of the Lake George Mirror alerted us to this story. Subscribe (or just make a gift) to the Mirror to support the important work of local journalists.

In the murky depths of Lake Champlain, the skeletal remains of the Continental Navy schooner Royal Savage rested for over 150 years, a silent witness to the birth of the American Navy.

However, after recovery in 1934 through turbulent years of improper storage, possibly being sold off to the highest bidder, and the government’s rescue of artifacts, countless hours of preservation, 3D-scans of original timbers and 1:12 scale models, visitors to the National Museum of the U.S. Navy in Washington, DC, can finally see history re-imagined. [Read more…] about Royal Savage: Neglected Champlain Warship Finally ‘On View’

Cellar Holes and Old Foundations

March 27, 2026 by Guest Contributor 2 Comments

As I kneel digging in the dirt of the gently collapsing stone foundation, birds singing, knees aching, and dirt permanently embedded under my fingernails, I try to imagine life here in Vershire, Vermont, in the 1880s.

I’ve been excavating the bottle caches and midden (trash) heaps of this foundation for three years now, sifting artifacts from the soil. I’m trying to assemble the story of the people who lived here 140 years before me, to anchor myself and my partner within a broader continuity of relationship with this land. [Read more…] about Cellar Holes and Old Foundations

Spectral Database Planned for Museum of Natural History Mineral Collection

March 25, 2026 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Wiley, which calls itself “a global leader in authoritative content and research intelligence for the advancement of scientific discovery, innovation and learning,” has announced a new collaborative project with the American Museum of Natural History to extend access to the Museum’s renowned mineral collection to scientists around the world.

This new project, a Raman spectral database, serves the museum’s mission to disseminate knowledge about the natural world “through scientific research and education.” [Read more…] about Spectral Database Planned for Museum of Natural History Mineral Collection

Archaeology

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