Staff from the Museum’s Cultural Resource Survey Program (CRSP) recently hosted staff and six student interns from the NYS Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) at the historic period DeGraff archaeological site in the Mohawk Valley of Central New York. The CRSP performs surveys and site investigations in advance of proposed road construction on behalf of NYSDOT, and the site visit provided the interns a first-hand look at archaeological field work.
The goal of the work at the DeGraff site is to determine if it meets the eligibility criteria for the National Register of Historic Places. This is accomplished by examining the site’s contents, function, integrity (if it has intact deposits), and research potential. While the work is ongoing, more details about the site are coming to light. While historic maps indicate that the DeGraff house was standing by the 1850s, some of the domestic and architectural artifacts suggest a late eighteenth or early nineteenth century occupation. In addition, there is new evidence that an earlier building stood on the site.
