Archaeology Volunteer Opportunities

Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site

Archaeology at Colonial Dorchester has always relied on volunteers to help conduct excavations and process artifacts in the archaeology lab. Excavations usually take place over the course of 1-2 months in the spring and fall of each year. Processing artifacts in the lab – cleaning, sorting, and photographing – takes place throughout the months following each excavation season. Excavation can be physically demanding, but there are a variety of roles open to volunteers of all abilities. Anyone interested in helping to uncover Dorchester’s history is encouraged to contact the park’s archaeologist. 

Requirements: Volunteers must be at least 18 years or older (15-17 years may be considered with an adult present). No previous experience necessary. 

Contact: Madison Del Vecchio, Archaeologist and Interpretive Ranger, mdelvecchio@scprt.com

Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site

Archaeology volunteer opportunities are available on a rotating basis at Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site. These opportunities typically involve artifact screening, lab work, and artifact curation. If you are interested in volunteering with archaeology at Charles Towne Landing, please contact the park’s archaeologist. 

Requirements: Volunteers must be 18 years or older. Previous experience is preferred, but not required. All volunteers must be able to pass a background check. 

Contact: Nicole Isenbarger, Archaeologist, nisenbarger@scprt.com

Archaeology Internship Opportunities

SC State Park Service-Resource Management 
Sesquicentennial State Park
9564 Two Notch Road Columbia, SC 29223
Contact: Stacey Young
Email: syoung@scprt.com

The SC State Park Service Archaeologist is responsible for archaeology projects on all 47 operational parks and newly acquired properties. Projects may include: resource protection, preservation, management, research, education, and interpretation pertaining to precontact or historic period sites located on SC State Parks. We offer a variety of opportunities for student interns and are able to facilitate both on-site and remote learning opportunities. Internship projects can be developed based on student’s skills and interests. A few possible sites include: Hampton Plantation State Historic Site, Santee State Park, Lee State Park, Givhans Ferry State Park, and Edisto Beach State Park.

Students can choose their area of focus from the following:

• Archaeological Lab – learn precontact and historic period artifact types; artifact processing (washing, sorting, cataloging) and data entry.
• Artifact Research –Assist with ongoing research projects; select a specific artifact type and conduct in-depth analysis. Write a short paper or summary of your research. Summaries could lead to presentations at a local conference or lecture, published on the SC State Parks website, or incorporated into the site report.
• Education and Outreach – assist with public programming. Task may include creating hands-on activities, social media or website content.
• Artifact Photography– Learn standards of artifact representations using digital photography.
• Collections Management – assist with curation of archaeological collections from previous excavations of various SC State Parks archaeological sites. Task may include: conditions assessment, scanning and organizing associated fieldnotes and photographs, digitizing archaeological site maps, creating finding aid.
• Archaeological Excavations – learn field methodology and techniques for archaeological survey and testing; shovel test, test unit, data collection, site mapping, record keeping.
• Archaeological Site Reporting- learn how to complete an South Carolina Site Inventory Record and write site descriptions for archaeological reports. 

Minimum Qualifications:

• Candidates should be seeking a degree in Anthropology, Historic Preservation, GIS, Education, or closely related field.
• For internships with an Archaeology focus, preference is given to students who have had a field school or prior experience.
• Preference given to applicants classified as junior or senior.
• In-person internship hours must be completed during normal business hours Monday through Friday 8:00 am to 12:00 pm & 1:30 pm to 5:00 pm. Each visit should be a minimum of 2 hours to ensure enough time to complete tasks.

We will be accepting applications for Fall 2024.

Please send a letter of intent and a copy of your resume/vitae that details your field and lab experience, past achievements, qualifications, and relevant coursework. Be sure to state your preferred area of focus. During the selection process we conduct informal interviews with each applicant to allow them the opportunity to discuss their interests and experiences and address any questions. All accepted interns are asked to complete a Background Check two weeks prior to their start date.

Examples of Past Internship Projects:

• 2022 University of South Carolina-cemetery documentation project
• 2015 College of Charleston-artifact processing, researched maker’s mark on English ceramics

Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site
1500 Old Towne Rd., Charleston, SC 29407
Contact: Nicole Isenbarger
Email: nisenbarger@scprt.com

Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site (CTL) is the c.1670 town settlement and first capital of England’s Carolina colony. CTL is one of only a handful of original settlement sites that exist in the United States. Anthropology students seeking a focus in Historical Archaeology will benefit from their time spent at CTL, where they will have the opportunity to work on one of the few seventeenth century archaeological sites and artifact assemblages in the state. Students will also be introduced to methods and approaches to public archaeology and our public education programming that informs and engages the public about our findings and research. We offer a variety of hands-on experience opportunities for student interns, and are able to facilitate both on-site and remote learning opportunities. Students often complete a project during their internship based on their skills and interests. 

Students can choose their area of focus from the following:

• Artifact Research – Compile references and annotate bibliographies, create reference guide, assist with ongoing research projects, select a specific artifact type to conduct in-depth analysis on.
• Archaeological Lab – learn seventeenth century artifacts; process artifacts; sort architectural rubble for architectural features like wood or straw impressions on mortar, impressions on bricks from the wooden molds or maker’s fingerprints; data entry.
• Education and Outreach – assist with public programming, create hands-on activities, social media blurbs, assist with exhibit maintenance.
• Artifact Photography & Illustration – Learn standards of artifact representations using digital photography, digitizing hand-drawn field maps, artifact pen & ink scientific illustration techniques.
• Collections Management – assist with curation of previous archaeological collections from 1967 to 2007, scan and document fieldnotes and photographs, import cultural resource data and artifact information into GIS.
• Archaeological Excavations – learn research-level field techniques; document archaeological contexts; archaeometry, archaeobotanical, and lipid sample collection techniques; waterscreening techniques.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Candidates should be seeking a degree in Anthropology, Historic Preservation, GIS, Education, or related field.
• For internships with an Archaeology focus, preference is given to students who have had a field school or prior experience.
• Applicants should be a junior or senior.
• In-person internship hours must be completed during normal business hours Wednesday through Friday 9 am to 12 pm & 1:30 pm to 4 pm. Each visit should be a minimum of 2 hours to ensure enough time to complete tasks.

We will be accepting applications for Fall 2024.

Please send a letter of intent, and a copy of your CV/resume that details your field and/or lab experience, past achievements, qualifications, and relevant coursework to the park archaeologist. We accept applications from multiple institutions throughout the state and southeast and have limited availability. It is advised that you apply the semester prior to when you would like to start your internship. During the selection process we conduct informal interviews with each applicant to allow them the opportunity to discuss their interests and experiences and address any questions you may have. All accepted interns are asked to complete a Background Check two weeks prior to their start date.

Examples of Past CTL Internship Projects:

• 2016 University of Maryland – pen and ink artifact illustrations
• 2017 College of Charleston – 17th c. marked tobacco pipe analysis, identifying maker’s and countries of 
• origin
• 2017 College of Charleston – experimental archaeology study on how bottle glass fractures
• 2022 College of Charleston – 17th c. glass bead analysis
• 2022 College of Charleston – social media and public education
• 2022 Coastal Carolina University – conducted portable X-ray Fluorescence analysis on brick rubble 
• from c.1670 structure in original town
• 2023 Clemson University – VR model of c.1670 impermanent wooden building reconstructed from archaeological features