History Beneath Our Feet: Archaeology of a Capital City

Discover the importance of archaeology to preserving the past and how excavations at ten locations within Trenton have helped inform our knowledge of human occupation and activities in the area, going back to prehistoric times. Stories that have been lost to time reemerge through artifacts on view, including pottery sherds that illuminated the existence of a long-forgotten local potter; artifacts that marked a previously unknown Indigenous people’s site; a cowrie shell that may have belonged to enslaved people; a hollowed-out wooden log that served as Trenton’s water system in the 19th century, and more. Among the archaeological sites explored are the New Jersey State House, Petty’s Run, the Trent House and the Old Barracks Museum.