Metal Detecting Applications in Archaeology [Deeper Digs]
When: August 21, 2025 2:00-4:00 PM ET
Duration: 2 hours
Certification: RPA-Certified
Pricing
Individual Registration: Individual Registration: $99 for SAA members; $149 for non-members
Group Registration: Group Registration: $139 for SAA members; $189 for non-members
Program
Joel Dukes has been an archaeologist with the National Park Service Northeast Archaeological Resources Program based out of Lowell, Massachusetts since 2008. Prior to that he was an archaeologist for the US Forest Service for eight years. As a regional NPS archaeologist he serves as an archaeological advisor for several parks including the Appalachian Trail, Statue of Liberty and Minute Man National Historical Park. Joel has an interest in exploring new archaeological methods for investigating and interpreting battlefields and has led and participated in projects at battlefield parks including Gettysburg, Appomattox, Minute Man, and Saratoga. Mr. Dukes holds an M.A. in Anthropology/Archaeology from the University of Georgia (1993). He is an Advanced Metal Detecting for the Archaeologist instructor and has also served as a Scientific Recovery Expert with the Defense Department POW/MIA Accounting Agency.
Joseph Balicki, RPA, Archeological Consultant
Joseph Balicki is an instructor for Advanced Metal Detecting for the Archaeologist and is a graduate of the Catholic University of America (MA). During his career in Cultural Resource Management, the Archeology of Military sites was one of his primary areas of expertise, and he is proficient in conducting KOCOA analysis, primary research, and metal detector surveys on military archeological sites ranging from fortifications, battlefields, winter quarters, and cantonments to front-line temporary bivouacs. His 2011 article “The Watch-Fires of a Hundred Circling Camps: Theoretical and Practical Approaches to Investigating Civil War Campsites” conclusively demonstrated that, at present, metal detection is the most effective method for identifying and examining military sites. He is a strong advocate for the inclusion of realistic metal detection methodologies on all historic sites as these collection strategies will result in a different data set than traditional field methods. Current research interests include conflict theory and best practices for effective metal detection by archaeologists.
2). Participants will be introduced to a variety of metal detection survey methods and ways to improve performance.
2). Participants will learn the role that experience, quality metal detectors, environmental conditions, and appropriate time devoted to a project have on metal detecting investigations.
Sampling Wet and Inundated Sediments and Soils in Archaeology [Foundational Skills]
When: September 10, 2025 3:00-4:00 PM ET
Duration: 1 hour
Certification: RPA-Certified
Pricing
Individual Registration: Free to SAA members; $69 for non-members
Group Registration: Free to SAA members; $89 for non-members
Dr. Garrison has recently retired from the University of Georgia where he taught geology and archaeology for 32 years. Archaeological sedimentology played a central role in his teaching and research, which encompassed the study of both terrestrial and lacustrine/marine sediments. From 1990 to 1992 he worked as a Marine Archaeologist at the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and served as research faculty at Texas A&M University from 1979 to 1989. Dr. Garrison received his PhD. from the University of Missouri and both his B.S. and M.A. from the University of Arkansas.
2. Learn the basic steps in the collection and characterization of wet sediments.
3. Appreciate the importance of sedimentological/pedological study in archaeology.