Anthropology Students Featured in Adirondack Explorer Article on Crown Point Historic Site

July 28, 2025

Adirondack Explorer

Christopher DeCorse

Anthropology, Ph.D.

Archaeology

New York State

Student Experience

Adirondack Explorer

A person in a beige outfit and cap sitting outdoors, smiling at the camera. — Matthew O'Leary

In 2024, Syracuse University launched an archaeological field school at Crown Point, New York, to excavate debris piles left in the 1960s by archaeologist Roland Robbins, who unearthed artifacts from the historic French fort, St. Frédéric.

Led by anthropology Ph.D. candidate Matthew O’Leary, the dig offers students hands-on experience with 18th-century materials from a site that saw French and British occupation, without disturbing intact historical layers. The project, supported by state agencies and public programs, aims to better understand the fort's layout and history while training future archaeologists.

“The piles are the perfect opportunity to conduct an educational experience to train future archaeologists in field methods and public interpretation without disturbing any new context,” O’Leary says. “Students are engaging with real, complex, and engaging materials without disturbing any new soil.”

Read more in the Adirondack Explorer article, “Students uncover Colonial era secrets at Crown Point Historic Site.”