Baltimore Community Archaeology Lab

We are honored to have BCAL Director Kat Ahlrichs serving in an advisory capacity on the Commission on the House of Reformation and Instruction for Colored Children representing Seat II: One Academic Expert in Forensic Anthropology, Archaeology, and African American
History.

For decades, the remains of hundreds of Black children have rested in unmarked graves at a state-supported institution that was supposed to protect and care for them.

The creation of the Commission on the House of Reformation and Instruction for Colored Children is an important step toward uncovering the truth about what happened at the former Cheltenham institution, honoring these children with dignity, and ensuring their stories are never forgotten.

Full press release: https://oag.maryland.gov/News/Pages/Attorney-General-Brown-Announces-Members-of-the-Commission-on-the-House-of-Reformation-and-Instruction-for-Colored-Children.aspx

We are spending the next three weeks in the field documenting an Archaic period Indigenous site in Idlewylde, Maryland. Access to the site is a little tricky, so we're scheduling public participation shifts and will transport volunteers from TU to and from the site. We'd love to have you come dig with us!

We're honored to be one of the 2026 Heritage Fund recipients! This grant helps fund this year's workshop!

Meet the 2026 Heritage Fund Awardees - Preservation Maryland Preservation Maryland is proud to announce the recipients of the 2026 Heritage Fund grants, a cooperative effort between Preservation Maryland and the Maryland Historical Trust. The Heritage Fund supports projects […]

As part of our workshop this year, we're including a workshop for professional archaeologists to learn from K-12 teachers how to collaborate effectively with K-12 teachers! If you're a professional archaeologist, make sure to sign up for this great opportunity!

https://forms.gle/ut8qTVd2cEHmgE8G6

We're still thinking a lot about the oyster shells from North Point. As we ramp up for another month in the field near our North Point sites, we're sending shells off for radiocarbon dating. If we add dates to stable oxygen isotopes from shells at two sites, plus the of our Indigenous partners, we can come up with a much fuller picture of how lifeways differed at these two sites.

If you're not already getting the Baltimore County Heritage Network's monthly newsletter, distributed by the Historical Society of Baltimore County, sign up at the website below! There are currently 21 heritage organizations (including us!) that are part of the network and share our events and updates in the newsletter.

Baltimore County Heritage Network – Historical Society of Baltimore County Baltimore County Heritage Network Baltimore County has a rich history, with significant contributions to Maryland’s and America’s cultural, technological, environmental, and social evolution. There are many great museums, societies, historic sites, and other groups championing this history. Howe...

Come join us tomorrow for our last public lab day this spring! We need to wash and inventory the artifacts we recovered from Veterans Memorial Park last month!

In one week, on Monday May 18, we'll be back out at the VFW in Sparrows Point for some final survey. These surveys help us determine where the highest concentrations of artifacts are so we know where to place our more intensive excavations in June. Come help us figure it out!