In an exclusive video with The Phillipian, Ryan Wheeler, Director and Chair of Archaeology, walked through the recently finished renovations of the Robert S. Institute of Archaeology, which re-opened to the public in October 2023 after five years.
A new elevator, metal shelving, and 3D-printed wall molding are just a few of the results from the five-year renovation process of the Robert S. Peabody Institute of Archaeology, which reopened its doors to the public in October 2023. In a video interview with The Phillipian, Ryan Wheeler, Director and Chair of Archaeology, conducted a tour of the Peabody and relayed recent changes to the museum.
The first phase of renovations focused primarily on the basement and the installation of fire suppression and climate control systems to preserve archeological collections. Wooden cabinets previously used to store artifacts were replaced with movable metal shelving for more convenient access to items. The Peabody also began to digitally catalog the museum’s more than 600,000 artifacts, a process that took over four years to complete.
Furthermore, an elevator was added to increase accessibility and facilitate the transportation of collections in a safe and efficient manner. To restore the decorative molding on neighboring walls that had been damaged due to the elevator installation, the original plaster designs were replicated with 3D printing.
Ryan Wheeler:
This is another local site associated with Lucy Foster, who was a free Black woman who lived in Andover from 1815 to 1845. During the 1940s, the archaeologists that worked here couldn’t travel very far because there was gas rationing due to World War II. So they decided to do local archaeological surveys instead of traveling to other places that are perhaps more exotic… It was a 19th-century site, but it’s the first time archaeologists ever investigated a place that was associated with an African American individual. You can even see some of the items are parts of Lucy Foster’s glasses. Having these very personal items associated with this individual is really exciting.
Keren Song ’26:
The people [at the Peabody] are great resources for everything. They even have a library on the second floor where there are books related to the history of this region, America in general, and the Indigenous population. I’m wondering if we can have more connection of the student population to Peabody by hosting a night at the museum or just hanging out and talking to the people who work there. I wish the history courses would also take kids to the library on the second floor rather than just focusing on the [Oliver Wendell Holmes Library], especially because a lot of the [lowerclassmen] history courses focus on the fact that America is not ours.
