Dover, Tenn.–Fort Donelson National Battlefield is hosting an event this afternoon (Friday, May 12) featuring archeologists from the National Park Service’ Southeast Archeological Survey presenting about their profession, of new historical items discovered, and about information gathered during recent archeological surveys across the battlefield.
Tomorrow’s program will be offered at 3:30, 4:00, and 4:30 PM at the park’s Education Pavilion, located at 120 Fort Donelson Park Road, Dover.
The program will offer introduction by national park staff, with primary interpretation by the archeologists, themselves.
Areas discussed will include what field surveys are, examples of information that material excavated and documented provide, remote sensing (ground penetrating radar), the use of GIS for mapping and recording, and artifact identification. Also, how historians and other national park staff use the information gathered for interpretation, planning, and battlefield preservation.
Items excavated by the team during this round of field survey will be on display, with examples of how the location/position of the items, and the concentration of such provide evidence to determine lines of battle, troop movements, and other mysteries.
Lastly, one much-lauded find of this week – an item that apparently is of a .58 caliber Minié bullet (“mini ball”) and a .69 caliber round ball that collided during the heat of battle.
We encourage you to come out and visit with the archeologists.