Intern Spotlight: Vincent Turner

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This is the third in a series of posts highlighting our awesome summer interns! Today, we’re highlighting graduate student Vincent Turner from the University of Maryland.

Vincent Turner

“My name is Vincent Turner and I started as an intern for the Lost Towns Project at the beginning of June. I am currently between my first and second years in the Historic Preservation Master’s program at the University of Maryland, College Park. I have several projects this summer that involve updating cemetery records for Anne Arundel County and helping with public outreach.

An example of a cemetery survey form used by Anne Arundel County and the Anne Arundel Genealogical Society

“I am currently preparing cemetery information for GIS data migration which is fascinating because I get to see all of the information available on cemeteries in Anne Arundel County. This data will be used to make it easier to find all of the information available on individual cemeteries.”

Thanks, Vincent, for your work on preserving local cemeteries!

Do you want to get involved in historic cemetery preservation? Anne Arundel County’s Preservation Stewardship Program has a Historic Cemetery Survey initiative for members of the public to assist in documenting cemeteries. After all, we can’t protect a cemetery if we don’t know it exists! Click here for more information.

Vincent is one of our two funded interns this year! Your support can help us provide internships to the next generation of archaeology and historic preservation professionals. If you are able, please consider making a tax-deductible internship donation to the Lost Towns Project today. Every contribution, no matter the size, makes a big difference in preserving local history. Thank you!

Intern Spotlight: Julia Ribblett

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This is the second in a series of posts highlighting our awesome summer interns! Next up is Julia Ribblett from the University of Evansville.

Julia sorting artifacts from Whitehall

“Hello! My name is Julia Ribblett and I am a rising sophomore at University of Evansville in the city of Evansville in the southwestern edge of Indiana. I am working towards a bachelor’s degree in Archaeology with minors in both Art History and Anthropology! I am an intern with the Lost Towns Project to gain first-hand experience in archaeological studies and research.

Julia (L) with volunteer Mandy (R) sorting artifacts from Riviera Beach

“So far, I have worked on at the River Farm site in Lothian, Maryland, teaching middle schoolers how to analyze basic stratigraphy during a STEM program field trip. I have also participated in field work at a site in Denton, Maryland, and worked with artifacts from Whitehall. Since the start of my internship, I have learned the proper techniques for troweling and how to measure an archaeological lot on an excavation, as well as how to wash, organize, and label artifacts.”

Thanks for your hard work this summer, Julia!

Your support can help us provide internships to the next generation of archaeology and historic preservation professionals! If you are able, please consider making a tax-deductible internship donation to the Lost Towns Project today. Every contribution, no matter the size, makes a big difference in preserving local history. Thank you!

Intern Spotlight: Kaitlin Sennewald

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This is the first in a series of posts highlighting our awesome summer interns! First up is Kaitlin Sennewald from the University of Maryland.

Kaitlin Sennewald, 2022 Summer Intern

“My name is Kaitlin Sennewald, and I’m a rising senior at the University of Maryland. I am studying Environmental Science and Policy with a concentration in Culture and Environment.  This summer, through my internship with Lost Towns, I am learning about archaeology lab and field methods by assisting in excavations and processing material from many different sites, including Whitehall, River Farm, and Kinder Farm.

Kaitlin (L) with fellow intern Julia (R) at the River Farm Site in Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary

“I have learned a lot about processing artifacts as well as about field techniques, including excavation, site mapping, and artifact identification. I also look forward to learning more about local history by participating in digs at multiple different sites throughout the summer.”

Thanks, Kaitlin! It’s been a pleasure working with you this summer.

Your support can help us provide internships to the next generation of archaeology and historic preservation professionals! If you are able, please consider making a tax-deductible internship donation to the Lost Towns Project today. Every contribution, no matter the size, makes a big difference in preserving local history. Thank you!

Welcome Summer Interns!

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TWO graduate students, FIVE undergrads, ONE high schooler, and ONE recent grad walk into an archaeology lab…

Wait–it’s not a joke:

This is our amazing crew of 2022 interns and they are keeping the Lost Towns Project and Anne Arundel County’s Preservation Stewardship Program BUSY this summer!

Interns Kaitlin Sennewald and Julia Ribblett learn the basics of archaeology field techniques at the River Farm Site in Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary

Our Interns hail from educational institutions across Maryland, as well as the Midwest, New England, and the UK, and are focusing on a variety of archaeology, preservation and heritage research. Projects range from learning the basics of field and lab methods, documenting historic cemeteries, and studying the impacts of climate change on historic sites, to a study of the the archaeology of black spaces on plantation landscapes, zooarchaeology (the study of animal bones), and analyzing artifacts from the Ogle Research Collection to explore interactions between Native American groups in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic over 2,000 years ago. Stay tuned for their blog posts as they highlight their research projects.

Special thanks to funding from Maryland Humanities and their SHARP Recovery Grants Fund1, matched by generous donations by our supporters. This funding has allowed the Lost Towns Project offer two interns financial stipends for the first time ever. Offering financial support has raised the quality and commitment of our intern pool, and undoubtedly helped with gas expenses!

We would love to offer funding for three interns next summer. If you are able to help us support the rising stars in the fields of archaeology and historic preservation, please consider making an internship donation to the Lost Towns Project today. (LTP is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit–so it’s tax deductible!) History will thank you!

1Funding for these grants has been provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and Maryland Humanities as part of the American Rescue Plan (ARP) and the NEH Sustaining the Humanities through the American Rescue Plan (SHARP) initiative.

Summer 2022 Internship Information

For the summer of 2022, The Lost Towns Project and Anne Arundel County Cultural Resources Section are offering four internship positions: two paid positions and two positions for college credit. Applications are due April 1st, 2022. Please click on the links below for full internship descriptions and more information.

Internship Descriptions:

Hammond Plantation Archaeology: One Internship with Stipend Available

The intern will assist staff working on the MHT Non-Capital Grant Project “Slavery, resistance, and freedom: recording Anne Arundel County’s past”. The goal of this project is to create a more inclusive history by researching, documenting, and sharing the diversity of Black households in nineteenth-century Anne Arundel County, including sites inhabited by both enslaved and free African-Americans, before and after emancipation. The intern will be required to:

  • Assist staff with desk audit of sites as necessary
  • Assist with research on Hammond Plantation, particularly the 19th-century domestic sites already identified on the property 
  • Participate in Phase I and Phase II excavations at the USNA Dairy Farm (the location of Hammond Plantation), in Gambrills, MD
  • Participate in artifact processing (washing, labeling, cataloging, etc.) at the Anne Arundel County Archaeology Laboratory in Edgewater, MD
  • Assist with managing volunteers throughout excavation
  • Contribute to blog and social media posts
  • Write a final report on their activities

See the full listing for this internship here.

Historic Cemetery Documentation: One Internship with Stipend Available

The intern will assist the Cultural Resources Section with updates to the Anne Arundel County Cemetery Database, data creation, completion of inventory forms, and with development of a summer public workshop for the County’s Preservation Stewardship Program. This project will enhance and verify existing documentation in the County’s cemetery database, as well as develop additional databases or resources for research analysis. The intern will be required to:

  • Assist staff with desk audit of the existing cemetery database, which includes georeferencing  existing maps with cemetery information to build a spatial database for cross-reference
  • Assist with developing, coordinating, and leading a single 2-hour public workshop on the history, significance, and preservation needs of the Hammond Plantation Cemetery at the USNA Dairy Farm
  • Assist with the completion of historic cemetery inventory forms with statements of historic significance where needed
  • Assist with developing a dataset for transfer to the Maryland Historical Trust for curation of cemetery location data in its statewide repository

See the full listing for this internship here.

Archaeology Field & Laboratory Methods: Two Internships for College Credit

Interns will learn the basics of archaeological field and labwork by participating alongside professional archaeologists and volunteers in excavation, recording, and artifact processing in the field and lab. The intern will be required to:

  • Participate in artifact processing (washing, labeling, cataloging, etc.) at the Anne Arundel County Archaeology Laboratory in Edgewater, MD (approximately 70% of time)
  • Participate in Phase I and Phase II excavations at one or more archaeological sites across Anne Arundel County (approximately 30% of time)
  • Work with other interns and volunteers as needed
  • Contribute to blog and social media posts
  • Write a final report on their activities

See the full listing for this internship here.