Education 1 November 2012

SSCC welcomes Montpelier archaeologist for Nov. 13 event

By
Kris Cross-

Specializing in American slave sites, archaeologist Matt Reeves, Ph.D., will present "Archaeology at James Madison's Montpelier: Rediscovering and Restoring the Madison Plantation Landscape" 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 13, in the auditorium on Southern State Community College's Central Campus, 100 Hobart Drive, Hillsboro. The speaking event is free and open to the public.

"My classes have been working with Dr. Reeves for a number of years now, and I am thrilled that he is finally able to visit Southern State," said Don Storer, Ph.D., professor of chemistry at SSCC.

The director of archaeology at James Madison's Montpelier, Dr. Reeves' specialty is sites of the African Diaspora-including plantation and freedman period sites-and Civil War sites. He has worked on plantation sites in the Caribbean, Maryland and Virginia.

 

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Over the past 12 years at Montpelier in Orange County, Va., Dr. Reeves has excavated two plantation complexes of the Madison family, locating dozens of Civil War encampments, slave quarters, mill sites and work areas. As part of his speaking engagement, Dr. Reeves will also visit with Southern State students in their classrooms.

"Students in my chemistry classes are required to complete a final project that introduces them to research and puts the chemistry they have learned into a context that makes the reason for learning it more understandable," said Dr. Storer. "Next semester, the students will be involved in analyzing soil samples from Montpelier. They will test the soils and then provide the archaeologists with three-dimensional maps of the elements.

"The students don't have to be archaeologists to benefit from this work but, by completing this project, the uniqueness of it will make our students stand out among the other applicants when applying for pre-professional programs or scholarships."

For more information on Dr. Reeves' Nov. 13 presentation on archaeology, please contact Dr. Storer at 1-800-628-7722, ext. 2645, or dstorer@sscc.edu<mailto:dstorer@sscc.edu.

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