Lunch & Learn: Alden Archaeology

Alden Archaeology: Exhibiting the Daily Lives of a Mayflower Family

This program is made free to the public, both virtually and in person, through support from the Plymouth Local Cultural Council.

Options of Online or In-person available

In 2019, the Alden House Historic Site in Duxbury, Massachusetts, installed a new archaeology exhibit for the 400th Anniversary of the Mayflower Landing. The exhibit was the first permanent, professional installation based on the archaeological collection from the 1960 Roland Robbins excavation of the John and Priscilla Alden First House site. The exhibit drew on recent research and re-examination of the Alden and other Plymouth Colony archaeological sites and collections, and used documentary evidence, photographs, images, and reproductions to tell a new narrative of daily life in 17th Century Plymouth Colony. This presentation will explore the challenges and opportunities this archaeological exhibit and accompanying catalog offered for telling the Aldens’ story, their daily lives, their interaction with Native Americans and other colonists, and their connection to the wider Atlantic world.