Archaeology Field School

Built in the early nineteenth century, remains of John Stoddart's gristmill still stand alongside the Great Falls of the Lehigh River in northeast Pennsylvania.
Kutztown University regularly offers an archaeology field school in the summer, providing opportunities for students to get their hands dirty as they uncover traces of the lives of those who lived in eastern Pennsylvania hundreds or thousands of years ago. Previous field seasons have focused on Stoddartsville, best known as the site of an early-nineteenth-century milling village in northeast Pennsylvania, and the KU Site, a prehistoric site on the campus of Kutztown University.
Fieldwork conducted by the Kutztown University Archaeology Field School (KUAFS) has included mapping historic and prehistoric features (e.g., historic grave markers), pedestrian survey, geophysical survey (with Dr. Laura Sherrod), and archaeological excavation. Analysis of the artifacts recovered from Stoddartsville and the KU Site is ongoing. Students regularly present the results of their fieldwork and artifact analyses at local, regional, and national conferences.
In Summer 2022, the field school will focus on Joanna Furnace, a nineteenth-century ironworks located in southeastern Pennsylvania. The field school will be offered as 2 two-week sessions run back-to-back during Summer Session I:
- Archaeological Field Methods (ANT 263): June 6 – June 17, 2022
- Advanced Archaeological Field Methods (ANT 264): June 20 – July 1, 2022
Students can enroll in one or both sessions. There are no course prerequisites for the field school, although courses in archaeology and allied social and natural sciences will be useful. During the field season, students will stay in housing on campus and have access to the dining halls. Room and board will be paid for by the project; you need only pay tuition (financial aid is available). Students interested in participating in the archaeology field school should submit a completed KUAFS (2022) Student Form to Dr. Khori Newlander (newlander@kutztown.edu, Old Main 459) by Friday, May 6, 2022.

Archaeological Fieldwork at Stoddartsville
Uncovering evidence of the Stoddartsville General Store

Archaeological Fieldwork at Stoddartsville
Looking for evidence of the millhands who worked at Stoddartsville

Archaeological Fieldwork at Stoddartsville
Excavating in the Stoddart Mansion

Archaeological Fieldwork at Stoddartsville
Excavating in the Stoddart Mansion

Archaeological Fieldwork at Stoddartsville
Mapping grave markers in the Stoddartsville Cemetery

Archaeological Fieldwork at Stoddartsville
Conducting geophysical survey in the Stoddartsville Cemetery






For more information about the field school, contact Dr. Khori Newlander (newlander@kutztown.edu, Old Main Room 459) in the Department of Anthropology & Sociology.