TDEC To Host Annual Archaeology Conference Saturday January 24

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation's Division of Archaeology will host its annual conference on research in Tennessee archaeology Saturday Jan. 24 at the Tennessee State Library and Archives.

The event, 9 a.m.-2:30 p.m., is free and open to the public. No registration is required.

The Current Research in Tennessee Archaeology program will include presentations on underwater archaeology, remote sensing and drone surveys, and investigations at both precontact and historic period archaeological sites.

"Our Current Research conference is a great event that showcases the range of archaeological research happening across the Volunteer State," said State Archaeologist Phil Hodge. "It provides an opportunity to learn about new discoveries and for students and the public to meet the archaeologists doing this work and learn firsthand about their research."

The many presentations will include:

• Outlining the history and archaeology of the Gray farmstead in Williamson County.
• The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga compiling a list of historically documented shipwrecks across the state, including the Chattanooga Packet, sunk in 1921.
• Recent investigations at an abandoned, overgrown cemetery in Memphis documented and mapped for inscribed headstones and more than 80 likely grave depressions in a wooded area.
• Investigation of the remains of Tennessee and Mississippi volunteer soldiers who fell and were buried on the battlefield at the Battle of Monterey in the Mexican American War in 1846.

More information on the program can be found on the Division of Archaeology website.