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Summer course at Potomac State will have students digging in the dirt at Ashby’s Fort

As a participant in the WVV Potomac State College Archaeology Field Methods course, you’ll work side-by-side with other archaeologists and historical enthusiasts to unearth historical relics pertaining to Ashby’s Fort. Visit potomacstatecollege.edu for m

As a participant in the WVV Potomac State College Archaeology Field Methods course, you’ll work side-by-side with other archaeologists and historical enthusiasts to unearth historical relics pertaining to Ashby’s Fort.  Visit potomacstatecollege.edu for more information.

For anyone who’s ever wanted to assist with an archaeological dig, this is your chance.  West Virginia University Potomac State College will once again offer a special course this summer, Archaeology Field Methods (SOCA 293A), beginning May 14 and running through June 22.  Participants in the class will meet at Ashby’s Fort in Fort Ashby, W.Va. to excavate the site in search of historical artifacts.

This course will continue to build upon last summer’s archaeological dig, and the excavation that began at the Fort in 1998 that uncovered numerous objects relating to the era in which the Fort was active.

The instructor for the course is Archaeologist W. Stephen McBride, Ph.D., who currently serves as the director of interpretation and archaeology at Camp Nelson Civil War Heritage Park in Kentucky.  He is also co-manager of McBride Preservation Services, LLC which specializes in historical archaeology of the U.S., especially military sites of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Just imagine excavating and actually holding artifacts from the 1700s in your hands as you become a fellow-explorer with Dr. McBride, working side-by-side to unearth historical relics pertaining to Ashby’s Fort, which was commissioned by Colonel George Washington in 1755 during the French and Indian War.

According to historical documentation, Capt. John Ashby of the Virginia 2nd Company of Rangers was placed in charge of the Fort which encountered many skirmishes with Native Americans. 

One building is all that remains of the expansive Fort; however, there is still much to be discovered on the property surrounding Ashby’s Fort.  

The class will meet Mondays through Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Ashby’s Fort in Fort Ashby.  To register, contact Enrollment Services at 304-788-6820 or 800-262-7332 or at go2psc@mail.wvu.edu.