WANDER Magazine Fall/Winter 2022 Fall/Winter 2022 | Page 47

Archaeological excavations in the late 20th century discovered one of the bastions ( corners ) of the Piscataway fort on Heater ’ s Island . ( Maryland Historical Trust )

selves is important , but even more so is recording the exact context that they are discovered in . The relationship of artifacts to each other and to features on the site , like post holes or storage pits , allows archaeologists to piece together how these people lived and interacted with the landscape . Removing artifacts without recording this information , even with the best of intentions , destroys the ability to learn more from them . The looting of archaeological sites is akin to visiting a library , dumping the books on the floor , and then tearing them to pieces in order to keep select pages — it destroys some of

the most important information about our past and ensures that future generations will never be able to learn from them again .

Although the evidence is below our feet , preserving our archaeological heritage is just as important as the buildings and battlefields we fight to protect above ground . Good archaeological stewardship means not disturbing archaeological sites and working together to protect them from damage . To learn more , contact your local chapter of the Archaeological Society of Virginia by visiting virginiaarcheology . org .

Travis Shaw is Director of Education for the Virginia Piedmont Heritage Area Association . He holds a BA in history from St . Mary ’ s College of Maryland and an MA in history from American University .