City Park Archaeology

City Park Archaeology: South Meadow Project is a six-week intensive community-oriented research project led by museum archaeologists with the help of local teenage science-scholars-in-training. This research is built upon results from ground-penetrating radar, oral history, archival documents, and historic photographs, and will answer questions about how Denverites have utilized community space over the past 150 years.

The Denver Museum of Nature & Science (DMNS) and City Park have grown up together. Their roughly 120+ year history has borne witness to Denver’s early experiments in landscape architecture, urban park planning, civic and social events of celebration and protest, community gatherings, public memorials, and the Victorian ideals of the City Beautiful movement. It has been a hub of community, expression, memorial, protest, and recreation for millions of Denverites. Despite its storied history, no formal archaeology has ever been conducted within Park boundaries. This project hopes to begin to remedy this gap. Please come visit!

Excavation will occur most Tuesday, Wednesdays and Thursday from June 11-July 24^th. Students will excavate test trenches and 1x1 m units, screen the earth for artifacts, record their findings, and replace all the fill and sod each Thursday afternoon. By the end, you won’t even know we were here! (except for several forthcoming reports and presentations).

This excavation is permitted through the Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation Permit #84603.