Metro Nashville Historical Commission

08/31/2026

The “Evenings With An Archaeologist” Series continues September 24 with “Fifty Years of Historical Archaeology in Tennessee,” featuring Sam Smith, who spent decades as the Tennessee Division of Archaeology’s Historical Archaeologist surveying and excavating sites across the state.

📍 Sunnyside Mansion, 1113 Kirkwood Ave.

🕠 Reception at 5:30, presentation 6:00-7:00 pm

Registration required — contact [email protected] to reserve your seat!

08/19/2026

If you're following along with the currently proposed rule changes to the Section 106 review process under the ACHP, check out this excellent overview provided by our state partners at the Tennessee Historical Commission. If these changes pass:

-"local governments will be completely excluded from the consultative process and have no input in federal projects in their municipalities"

-"citizens throughout the state will no longer be able to provide information or advocate for historic sites important to their communities"

-cultural landscapes that may no longer be considered include cemeteries, battlefields, rural landscapes, and large urban historic districts

The public comment period will open in the next few weeks for those who want to take action on this issue. You can find more information and guidance on next steps through the National Trust for Historic Preservation: https://savingplaces.org/section106.

07/15/2026

Archaeological Field School Days 10 and 11: Wrapping Up

Like all field schools, we spent the last two days moving fast to finish the excavation and document the units with the threat of thunderstorms looming constantly in the background. We were able to reach the base of the root cellar in two of the excavations units and map the foundation walls. The image below shows the orange subsoil clay with the intersection of two of the limestone walls above. The remainder of the unit is filled with loose limestone and brick.

The excavation was only possible thanks to the amazing staff at the Nashville Zoo and the hard work of 30 students and volunteers. They not only excavated through rain and triple digit heat, but they discussed archaeology and shared their findings with over 500 curious members of the public who came to see the excavation.

Over the next few months, we will clean and process the 49 bags of artifacts we recovered. Analysis of the artifacts (such as this ceramic marble) and the field records will provide insight into the everyday life of the people that lived and worked on the property during the 1860s and 1870s.

This foundation has provided us with a unique set of data, but Nashville has many other sites with similar, irreplaceable records that need to be documented and conserved. Please consider joining the Nashville Public Archaeology Program at the Metropolitan Historical Commission to help us preserve this record and share this data.

07/07/2026

Check out this story from WKRN on William Driver, the Nashville sea captain who gave the American flag its enduring nickname, "Old Glory." The feature includes insights from Nashville City Cemetery Site Manager Bryan Gilley and explores the remarkable history behind one of the cemetery's most visited graves.

William Driver was a retired sea captain who found himself in Nashville in the middle of the Civil War. But it’s his contribution to the legacy of the American flag that endures more than 160 years…

07/07/2026

Archaeological Field School Days 8 and 9: The End of Week Two

We are now two weeks into the excavation, and we have excavated and sifted dozens and dozens of buckets of soil. In the process, we have located three sides of the early nineteenth-century building that sat next to the Croft House. The walls of the structure appear to have been leveled just below the surface, resulting in piles of stone around the walls.

Excavating within the building has proceeded slowly as the interior of the building is full of loose rock and brick. In this fill layer is a wide range of domestic material from animal bone to personal items. On Friday and Monday, we recovered more bone buttons as well as a corset busk and doll leg. The building fill has proven to be a time capsule from the 1860s and 1870s.

07/06/2026

Archaeological Field School Day 7: Volunteers

The Metropolitan Historical Commission staff works together to preserve the architectural and archaeological heritage of Metro Nashville and Davidson County. The Nashville Public Archaeology Program is committed to documenting archaeological resources in Nashville, the 13th largest municipal area in the country. This program is only possible because of the collaboration of staff and the hard work of many volunteers.

The excavation at the Nashville Zoo has brought together students and a wide range of aspiring archaeologists. They have labored for almost two weeks in the heat to explore the remains of the nineteenth-century building adjacent to the Croft House. This work would not have been possible without these volunteers, the support of the Zoo, and the help of so many others. For example, yesterday, we were fortunate to have Dr. Tiffany Fracchia of the Department of Anthropology at Vanderbilt University provide the team with an introduction to bone and bone identification. In the photo here, she is teaching faunal anatomy with a giraffe skull, courtesy of interpretive programming at the zoo. Coincidentally, later that day, we recovered a portion of a pig mandible and the fragment of a bone-handled fork from fill layers within the foundation of the building. We also uncovered a large cow rib in this fill (pictured). We are excited to continue the excavation through July 8th and are always welcoming new volunteers.

07/02/2026

📣 Here's the July History Gram, just in time for the holiday weekend! 🇺🇸 ⚽️ 😎

July 2026 History Gram Nashville.gov sent this bulletin at 07/02/2026 10:51 AM CDT July 2026 MHC News Public Archaeology Program Updates Nashville City Cemetery Updates What's New with the Nashville Historical Foundation Celebrating America250 Annual Rep. John Lewis Way March Around Town MHC News Th...

07/01/2026

Archaeological Field School Days 5 and 6: Foundations

We spent much of Monday and Tuesday working on delineating the foundation walls and trying to keep cool as the temperature reached towards the triple digits. The excavation units contain many loose limestone rocks, and we carefully excavated around each one to determine if they came off the walls or are intact portions of the foundation walls. The picture of Test Unit 3 shows just how much rock is in each unit. The process is slow, especially as we photograph and map these stone concentrations. After documentation, we are able to remove this wall fall.

With the loose stone removed, we can see that we have a portion of the northern, southern, and eastern edges of the building foundation. When combined with the notes from the 1989 excavation, we will be able to fully map the building for the first time. We also have begun to encounter intact fill layers inside the building’s footprint. Dating the layering of these soil levels and the artifacts found within them will help us understand the history of the building and how it was filled in. For instance, we found several ceramics including one with a maker’s mark and registry mark (pictured here). Based on reference works, we know that W. and E. Corn was a potter in Burslem, England, and in operation from 1864 to 1891. This date range fits with the 1870s date when we believe the building was deconstructed.

07/01/2026

Archaeological Field School Day 4: Nailed it!

Friday was an exciting day as we continued working in Level 2. In addition to carefully excavating their units, students and volunteers learned how to measure distances by using the pacing method, as well as establishing direction based on both true north and magnetic north on the compass. The field school students ended their day with a lesson on mapping and why it provides important context for the project both now and in the future.

In each unit, they noted that the soil becomes much more mottled and compacted in Level 2, containing many fragments of brick and mortar. In Unit 1, we exposed a rock feature in the north end that is believed to be the building foundation. In Unit 2, an intact glazed brick was uncovered and a possible additional portion of the stone wall. Unit 3 provided us with pieces of brick, mortar, glass and a can key. Unit 4 had similar artifacts including a tooth from both a cow and a pig. The picture below shows the wide range of historic and even prehistoric artifacts in Level 2.

As a special treat today, we were able to take a break from the excavation for a tour of the historic Croft House led by a very knowledgeable zoo volunteer. This provided valuable insight into the family history and workings of the original property, including the structure we currently are excavating. The house itself contains over 90% original furnishings and household items from the Croft Family including family portraits dating back to the 1800s. We hope our excavations can add to this history.

06/29/2026

Archaeological Field School Day 3: Buttoning Down

Even with the heat, we made great progress in our excavation adjacent to the Grassmere or Croft House in the Nashville Zoo, thanks to the help of the Nashville Zoo staff.
Excavating through the topsoil and mulch of the path, students and volunteers have begun to find the limestone rocks of the building’s wall. In two of the four units, we have started to uncover these dry-laid stones, helping us to understand the dimensions of the building.

We also have been finding an increasing number of artifacts below the topsoil. These artifacts in the upper soil layers appear to be a mix of early to mid-nineteenth century objects and some modern artifacts. Of course, we have encountered coal, mortar, and brick, but we also documented butchered animal bone and teeth, plate and bottle fragments, and several buttons (see below). The mixing of material is common in the upper soil layer, but it is very exciting to start to recover artifacts dating to the early history of the property. Stay tuned or come out and see the excavation!