Archeology at Petersburg National Battlefield

Photo of dirt with pottery sherd in center, text on photo "Archeology is the study of people from the past and their day-to-day lives". Photo of dirt with pottery sherd in center, text on photo "Archeology is the study of people from the past and their day-to-day lives".

Archeologists, paleontologists, and historians all study different parts of the past; they sometimes use similar information for their research. 

 
Two park employees stand with a volunteer around a screen unit, to survey materials from tree falls on the Eastern Front.
Park employees from the Resource Management Division worked with volunteers to survey materials in the areas around tree falls on the Eastern Front.

We can learn more about people who lived as recently as 50 years ago, or as distantly as 2,000 years ago or more through archeology. What they ate, where they lived, what clothes they wore, what they made, and what technology they used.
Archeology at Petersburg National Battlefield ranges from searching for Civil War mines/tunnels to learning how people lived in this area during and before the Civil War.

Metal detecting, digging, and possessing a metal detector within Petersburg National Battlefield is illegal. For more information about efforts to protect archeological resources within the national parks, visit the NPS Archeological Resources Protection Act site.

 

 
Two park employees stand with tall metal rods, called augers, trying to locate a countermine underground.

Park Employees use augers to search for mining tunnels in front of Colquitt Salient.

 
Aerial photo of a dig site at City Point, focusing on a 17th century borrow site.

An Archeology project at City Point, excavating a 17th Century borrow pit.

 

Dig a Little Deeper

Last updated: August 23, 2024

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Contact Info

Mailing Address:

Petersburg National Battlefield Administration Office
1539 Hickory Hill Road

Petersburg, VA 23803

Phone:

804 732-3531 x200
If you cannot reach us by phone - please e-mail questions to the address listed.

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