In June in 2011, I joined a field school and students from the College of William & Mary on an archaeological excavation in Southampton. On rainy days, we would sit under the porch of the hostel and wash excavation finds with toothbrushes, learning how to date pottery shards and identify fish bones and teeth; on Fridays, seminars were facilitated by the W&M teaching staff, and I started to understand Bermuda’s Maritime and built heritage differently.
When the field school finished at the end of the month and the students returned to the States, I welcomed the opportunity to do some research for the much anticipated exhibit, Shipwreck Island (and was grateful to spend time inside after a month outside, in the sun). That summer ignited my love of museum collections, and affirmed my decision to pursue a career in museums and the cultural heritage sector. It also made me very wary of sheep – the flock chased me up the hill many times that summer, bleating loudly, in hopes that I would feed them.
I am proud to have contributed to the research for Shipwreck Island. Thirteen years later, I am delighted to have returned to the museum as a Consultant, supporting the work of the curatorial team and focusing on exhibit research.