The Garden Site Project: Community Archaeology at UA Little Rock

You don’t need to travel all over the world to do archaeology – there is archaeology right under our feet! The UA Little Rock Garden Site Archaeological Project takes place right here on campus and aims to understand the history of land on which our campus is situated. We would love for you to come join us during the 2024-2025 academic year and contribute to understanding the place where we study, live, and work.

Work on this project began during the Fall 2023 semester, when students who enrolled in Anth 4487: Archaeological Investigation were able to locate the foundation of the mid-20th century Safeway Ice cream plant and recovered more than 400 associated historical artifacts.

Archeology research Archeology research

During the 2024-2025 academic year, we will be investigating other use areas through shovel and auger testing, excavation, and associated archival research. We invite the entire campus community to participate with our fieldwork and lab work. Come learn how archaeology is done and literally touch the history of our campus and of Little Rock.

If you are interested in participating, you can indicate your interest through this form and we will add you to the mailing list. Then, sign up to volunteer here! If you have any questions, please reach out to our Project Director, Dr. Maureece Levin, at mlevin@ualr.edu.

This project is supported in part by a grant from the Arkansas Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities, as well as the College of Humanities, Arts, Social Sciences, and Education at UA Little Rock.