Anthropology Lab and Archaeological Collections
Anthropology Laboratory
Located in the nine-room historic Liberty Hall Farmhouse, the lab consists computer workstations for student and faculty research and analysis, a library of research reports and archaeological source material, small-group teaching spaces, facilities for processing and storing artifacts, and the outdoor processing of sediment samples using wet screens and a flotation machine.
Archaeological Collections
W&L is fortunate to have a facility dedicated to caring for its archaeological collections, from initial washing as artifacts come out of the field, through cataloging and analysis, and, finally to curation. Archaeological excavation is by nature a destructive process, and archaeologists recognize that they have an ethical obligation to properly care for these collections so that current and future researchers can develop new insights from the collections.
For over three decades, W&L students, faculty, and staff have excavated a variety of historic and prehistoric sites in the local area, the collections of which are housed at the laboratory. These sites include Liberty Hall on the historic Washington and Lee University campus and the Longdale Mining Complex in western Virginia. See our current research here.
For more information on student research possibilities in archaeology, see Opportunities for Students.