In 2017, SUNY Brockport teamed up with the Cumming Nature Center to form Frost Town Archaeology. Since then, we have been systematically excavating multiple sites on the property, including the Hall family site and a Macumber building. The artifacts in this exhibit were excavated primarily during the 2022 undergraduate archaeological field school and organized by field school students.
This is an image of Bryant Sweeney, a 2022 field school student, excavating a pile of bricks behind the Hall Site foundation. Bryant is doing an excellent job of preserving the dirt around where he has extracted bricks for better documentation. Image: Photo by A. Smith, 2022.This image shows Thea Grube, a field school student from 2022, excavating a pottery-stamped plate at the Hall Site. You can see this exact piece in the display cases behind you. Image: Photo Taken by A. Smith, 2022.This plate was found during the 2019 excavations of the Hall Site and has served as the symbol of Frost Town Archaeology since. This plate is referred to as “Ironstone China,” which is a type of durable stoneware. This type of pottery was very popular in this region. Here you can see the potter’s stamp as well, which are easily datable. This stamp puts its manufacture in the 1890s, but we’ve found other stamps at Frost Town ranging from the 1870’s to the 1910s. Image: Photo by A. Smith, 2019.This image shows Dr. Miriam Rothenberg and Bekah Leathersich instructing two young RMSC day campers on the correct way to use a sifter. We sift all of our dirt to make sure we find even the tiniest artifacts. Image: Photo by A. Smith, 2022.
In 2019 and 2022, FTA held a summer undergraduate field school for SUNY Brockport and other university students. Both years, we focused primarily on the Hall Residence, using the Macumber site for public archaeology days.
The 2019 Frost Town Field School excavation team. Pictured here (left to right) is Rani Gill, Emily Yahn, Bekah Leathersich, Emma Wagner, Emily Russell, Samantha Russello, Brandon Amthor, Alex Smith, Alyssa Bressette, Max Traub, and Christ Vidler. Not pictured: Michael Garth. Image: Photo Taken by M. Garth, 2019.The 2022 Frost Town Field School and excavation team. Pictured here are (left to right), backrow: Sebastian Sanchirico, Thea Grube, Audrey Gallina, Demetrius Schwartz, Miriam Rothenberg, Seth Price, Alex Smith, Michael Garth, Rani Gill, Emma Wagner, Emily Yahn, Chris Vidler; front row: Max Traub, Emily Russell, Kathren Sage, Alex Mercando, Evelyn Patterson, Kathryn Cosman, Bryant Sweeney, Dylan Weinreber, Eliya Cooper, and Sydney Salisburg. Not pictured: Elijah Hanebury and Timothy Sandiford. Image: Photo by Z. Lyman, 2022.
