Zachary Stockmal – shares a ‘Day of Archaeology’ (07/24/13)

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Zachary Stockmal
Digital Media Freshman Westphal College
Drexel University
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

July 24, 2013

Zachary Stockmal photographs detail of the Dennis Farm barn stone wall. (Photo by Justin Wu.)

I am a freshman studying Animation and Visual Effects at Drexel University. This summer I am participating in the Drexel STAR (Students Tracking Advanced Research) Scholars Program. Justin Wu, another Drexel student in the same major, and I are currently working with Digital Media professor Dr. Glen Muschio and archaeologists Dr. Patrice Jeppson and Wade Catts. Together we are working with Denise Dennis, the 1st child in the 8th generation of the Dennis family. The project we are working on concerns the archaeological remains of The Dennis Farm Charitable Land Trust. It is a 153-acre property that used to be owned by the free African-American family of Prince Perkins and is now owned by descendants of the Perkins-Dennis family.

Today, we went over a feature map made by McVarish and Catts of John Milner Associates (Historical Preservation and Cultural Resources Services). The map shows architectural remnants of a barn and other structures on the Dennis Farm. We matched that information with photographs of the structures we took of the site 2 weeks ago. This information is going to be used to digitally recreate the barn into an interactive 3D model.

Today was a great start into delving into a rich historical site, and the excitement and encouragement we have received from our superiors is going to make this a worthwhile project.


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