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The UNCW Archaeological Field School in the Lower Cape Fear region will be returning in 2026.

Over the course of the session, students will learn archaeological surface surveying, excavation techniques, record-keeping, mapping, and basic lab techniques, including flotation. We will also go on field trips to some local archaeological sites of interest, depending on availability, including nearby archaeological field schools.

The class will be 6 credit hours and will be intensive. It will take place all day Tuesday-Friday, and half-days on Monday. Actual hours of excavation will be decided by vote of the crew.

Laboratory and Project Components

Depending on how much material we find, we will put aside at least one half-day a week for laboratory artifact processing and perhaps more. This will familiarize everyone with standard archaeological lab techniques—washing, inventorying, pottery analysis, etc. We will always have lab days or field trips on our Monday half-days, and will dig Tuesday-Friday, weather permitting.

Each student will also have either a group or individual project that will include an oral and written report, to ensure that everyone is keeping their mind on the larger issues of archaeology, as well as the dirt. More information will be available at the scheduled time.

Where Is the Site?

The site is a well-known state historic site about twenty minutes from downtown Wilmington and about forty minutes from UNCW, depending on traffic. Local students can live in their usual residences, and we will meet at the site (or a designated Wilmington meeting point, such as UNCW) every morning. We can arrange on campus lodging for out-of-town students, if necessary.

Why Choose This Site?

The Cape Fear region is archaeologically important in both the prehistoric and historic periods. Prehistoric occupations began in the Paleoindian period (13,000 BP) and extended up to European Contact. Following the Yamassee War (1715-1716) many indigenous groups were decimated or left the area, although the Waccamaw Siouxan people remain in the Cape Fear region.

The Lower Cape Fear is one of the earliest parts of North Carolina settled in the colonial period, with Brunswick Town formed in 1726.

The area of Russelborough served as the Governor's mansion in North Carolina for Governors Dobbs and Tryon, and so was the seat of North Carolina government from 1758-1770. Governor Tryon abandoned the area after he was besieged by irate colonists during the Stamp Act crisis. Russelborough was bought by local wealthy merchant William Dry, and burned by the British during the American Revolution. The site of Russelborough is interesting for several different reasons. It was one of the earliest rice plantations in the region. Brunswick Town was built by enslaved African people, as were the house and outbuildings at Russelborough. Excavation in the area will hopefully help us learn more about the lives of enslaved people during the 1700s in the Lower Cape Fear.

Wilmington, upriver of Brunswick Town, became the largest city in North Carolina through the Civil War years and into 1898. Areas from the former Brunswick Town upstream to Wilmington were used as naval stores plantations, and later as rice plantations.

The Lower Cape Fear is the northernmost part of the Gullah-Geechee Heritage Corridor, an area where Black descendants of rice plantation slaves formed their own unique culture. The port of Wilmington was an important blockade runner port during the Confederacy, making the Wilmington area the focus of one of the last military campaigns in the Civil War, in December/January 1865.

Following the Civil War, Wilmington was a multiethnic, bustling port. The coup of 1898 suppressed the multiracial Fusionist coalition that had been elected to run the city and replaced it with a white supremacist city government. A majority of the Black population in Wilmington was forced out of town or left, permanently changing the ethnic makeup of the city.

What Work Will We Do?

Despite this complex history, relatively little archaeology has been performed in the area.

We will specifically be focusing on the outbuildings around the Russelborough house. Russelborough itself has been previously excavated, and there is quite a bit of historic information about it. There is practically nothing known about the enslaved people who lived and worked in and around the house. We hope to learn more about them and their way of life by excavating the outbuildings.

What Are the Costs of the Field School?

UNCW has not yet posted summer tuition costs. The field school will not charge fees for lodging or food, but each student will need to buy individual insurance from the university as part of registration, at a cost of about $18. A good estimate would be one 6-credit summer class, plus $18.

Are There Any Required Prerequisites?

It is preferred that everyone have at least ANT 207 Archaeology (Introduction to Archaeology) or an equivalent, but this is negotiable. Please contact Dr. Eleanora Reber to discuss and/or negotiate this. 

What About Housing?

This is a 'commuter' field school, in that if you already have housing in the Wilmington area, you will live there during the field school, and drive to site or archaeology lab each morning. You are responsible for your own food, including packing your own lunches.

If you do not have housing in the Wilmington area, you can stay in the Ä¢¹½´«Ã½ dorms as a summer student, or look for a local sublet or rental. Dr. Reber is happy to provide you with resources to look for housing, but this will be your responsibility.

How Do I Apply for the Field School?

If you're interested in taking the field school, or even considering it, please send an email to Dr. Eleanora Reber for more details. A Zoom or face-to-face meeting will also be arranged, whichever you prefer.

There is no formal application form. If you'd like to apply for the field school, please notify Dr. Eleanora Reber. You will hear from her about your acceptance into the field school. This should give you time to plan your summer schedule prior to the opening of summer preregistration. Following acceptance into the field school, a packet of information and other forms will be sent to you.

We may schedule one orientation meeting before the field season begins. This will depend on everyone's schedules.

Enrollment is limited to 15 students!

For Non-UNCW Students

We are always interested in hosting non-UNCW students! For academic credit, you will need to register as a Visiting Summer Student at UNCW and then register for the class. You can then transfer it in to your home institution in whatever way is standard there.

Please apply to the Field School via email (and receive an acceptance) prior to registering as a Visiting Student! And you may want to check with your home institution on what forms are necessary to transfer in a domestic transient study credit.

I'm Interested!

For more information, please contact Dr. Eleanora Reber.