2025 Delmarva Archaeology Symposium explores history across Delmarva

Over a dozen history and archaeology experts shed light on projects spanning a variety of important topics across the Delmarva Peninsula during this year’s Delmarva Archaeology and History Symposium.

The day-long event featured presentations from professionals with the Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs, the University of Delaware, the Delaware Department of Transportation and local private archaeological and architectural consulting firms, who collectively celebrated the successes of preservation work in Delaware and beyond.

From bringing personhood back to enslaved people through the Plantation Stories Project at the John Dickinson Plantation to showing the distinct trade route shift from the Chesapeake to Philadelphia through the lens of the Carter Farm project in Millsboro, the symposium highlighted the topics being explored by today’s historians. 

Sarah Carr and Hannah Lewis of HCA’s State Historic Preservation Office organized the event, held at The Arsenal in Historic New Castle in April 2025, in conjunction with the Archaeological Society of Delaware.

“This year’s presentations shed light on so many interesting research projects underway, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to bring so many unique resources together,” said Lewis, noting that it was her first time planning such a large event. “I look forward to learning more from all of these projects and professionals in the future.”

Other presentations offered insights from architectural investigations at the Cannon Maston House near Seaford, which has provided a better understanding of one of Sussex County’s oldest buildings, and from recent archaeological surveys highlighting the significant cultural resources across time and cultures discovered near Millsboro and Summit Bridge.

Additional presentations provided an overview of a rescue archaeology project undertaken at Lovett Farmstead to recover artifacts inadvertently unearthed during work on this historic building in Middletown, as well as discussions surrounding the importance of collections management, highlighted by the recent revisions to HCA’s archaeological curation standards and guidelines.

Carr and Lewis also presented information on SHPO’s ongoing revisions to the state’s archaeological and architectural survey guidelines.

With planning already underway for next year’s symposium, HCA staff extend their thanks and gratitude to the Archaeological Society of Delaware, the New Castle Historical Society and all of the attendees and presenters at this year’s event.