A celebration of Archaeology Awareness Month  (10/19/13)PROGRAM – Sponsored by Friends of the Office of State Archaeology (FOSA) and the Archaeological Society of Connecticut (ASC) 11:00 – New England Hebrew Farmers of Emanuel Society Site: UCONN Judaic Studies Summer Field School Nick Bellantoni and Stuart Miller, University of Connecticut  (Nick Bellantoni, State Archaeologist, Presenter)Over 120 years ago, this Chesterfield, CT site was home to a cluster of Russian Jewish families who had relocated from the teeming neighborhoods of New York City’s Lower East Side to make a living as poultry and dairy farmers. Although the community was essentially defunct by World War II, the area still has the remains of the synagogue, the creamery, dairy barn, ritual slaughter house and a mikveh. In July 2012, UCONN’s Judaic Studies Program coordinated with the Office of State Archaeology to conduct a field school at the mikveh complex. These excavations were built on prior work at the site by the Public Archaeology Survey Team, Inc. and Historical Perspectives, Inc. The site is on the National Register of Historic Places and is listed as a State Archaeological Preserve.
Nicholas F. Bellantoni serves as the state archaeologist with the Connecticut State Museum of Natural History and Archaeology Center at the University of Connecticut. He received his doctorate in anthropology from UCONN in 1987 and was shortly thereafter appointed state archaeologist. His duties are many, but primarily include the preservation of archaeological sites in the state. His research background is the analysis of skeletal remains from eastern North America. He has been excavating in Connecticut for over 30 years.  Stuart Miller is Professor of Hebrew, History, and Judaic Studies Academic Director, Center for Judaic Studies and Contemporary Jewish Life at the University of Connecticut. He is an expert on ritual baths in ancient Israel and has conducted archaeological excavations at Sepphoris.  Read more.

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