On June 9th, the Alexandria Archaeology Museum opened a new permanent archaeology exhibit called A Community Digs its Past: The Lee Street Site. Cases and panels display artifacts and reveal the archaeological process and the history of Alexandria as seen through the lens of the Lee Street Site (archaeological site number 44AX180) and several other waterfront sites. The exhibit answers questions like: what is urban archaeology; what did Alexandria look like in the past; and what do archaeologists do? The exhibition was made possible by a grant from Historic Alexandria Foundation and is the cornerstone of the museum. 

The City’s archaeology museum has been in the Torpedo Factory Art Center for nearly 40 years. The museum studies and interprets archaeological sites from across the city, holding the past in trust for residents and visitors. The new Lee Street Site permanent exhibit is a milestone for the award-winning program and marks one of the most impactful changes to the space in the last two decades. “We’re looking forward to welcoming residents and visitors to our museum and public laboratory where there’s always something new to learn about Alexandria’s buried past,” said Dr. Eleanor Breen, City Archaeologist.  

Alexandria Archaeology partnered with local graphic design firm StudioA to create a more modern, visually pleasing exhibit. StudioA has previously worked with The Jewish Museum of Maryland and the National Museum of African American History and Culture. The Alexandria Archaeological Commission and Friends of Alexandria Archaeology provided much-needed volunteer support by reviewing drafts.

Museum staff redeveloped the content of the exhibit to be more accessible to visitors and to tell a more inclusive history of the port city, while effectively explaining the archaeological process to the public. The newly designed exhibit centers the experiences of free and enslaved African Americans in Alexandria. One exhibit case explores the remains of a bakery at the site operated by Robert Jamieson, an enslaver who began to free some of his enslaved people as baking became industrialized in the 19th century. A document highlighted in the exhibit from 1828 records the manumission of Jane Turley and her four children, Maria Ann, Thomas, John, and George. Documents like this provide a glimpse into Alexandria’s complex and sometimes difficult history.

New findings from the Robinson Landing (44AX235) and Hotel Indigo (44AX229) sites help contextualize what is known from the Lee Street site. The redeveloped exhibit uses these more recent archaeological discoveries along the waterfront, including four historic ships and numerous remnants of businesses and homes and associated artifacts, to interpret the port city’s diverse past.

Visit the Archaeology Museum’s new A Community Digs its Past: The Lee Street Site and for more information on this exhibit and archaeology in Alexandria, visit https://www.alexandriava.gov/Archaeology.

For reasonable disability accommodation, contact archaeology@alexandriava.gov or 703.746.4399, Virginia Relay 711.

For inquiries from the news media only, contact the Office of Communications & Public Information at newsroom@alexandriava.gov or 703.746.3969. 

# # #

This release is available at alexandriava.gov/go/4686.