State archaeologist Timothy Ives spoke at the Annual Meeting of the Barrington Preservation Society on the topic of “Stone Heaping Practices of Nineteenth-Century Farmers: New Insights from Archival Sources” on January 26, 2020 held at the Wharf Tavern in Warren, RI. Click here for a 29-minute video of his presentation.

Dr. Ives, who works as one of two archaeologists at the Rhode Island Historic Preservation and Heritage Commission, presented his latest research into the history of the relatively abundant stone heaps encountered in New England’s forested uplands.

His recent search of 19th century agricultural journals and newspapers turned up a number of previously overlooked accounts that describe farmers generating such features, providing a modest but valuable peek into forgotten social history.

Click here for a 29-minute video of this presentation on stone heaping.

Click here for a one-hour presentation on stone walls by Tim Ives.