This page contains archaeological videos that offer brief overview of work done by ISAS and other archaeological excavations and preservations throughout Illinois.
University of Illinois' Alma Mater Sculpture Removed for Restoration
On August 7, 2012, the Alma Mater sculpture was removed from its pedestal at the corner of Green and Wright Streets for a full restoration at Conservation Sculpture and Objects Studio Inc. in the Chicagoland area. The work is being overseen by the U of I Preservation Working Group.
Archaeology at the Site of Fort de Chartres III (November 2011)
(French Colonial Historic Project)
Initial testing of an 18th-century French Colonial Fort near Prairie du Rocher, IL.
A Visit to the Holy Family Church
(French Colonial Historic Project)
A brief tour of the church in Cahokia, built in 1799.
The Zimmerman Site, La Salle County
(French Colonial Historic Project)
The Zimmerman site, in La Salle County Illinois, was the home of the Kaskaskia tribe of the Illinois Confederation during the 1600s. In 1673, Father Jacques Marquette arrived at the Grand Village of the Kaskaskia, building a mission there and thus initiating what we know as the period of European history in Illinois.
Archaeological excavations, funded by the La Salle County Historical Society, were conducted at the site during the early 1970s.
The artifacts from those excavations have been stored away and largely inaccessible for over 20 years. In 2010, Robert Mazrim of the Illinois State Archaeological Survey worked with Historical Society board members to relocate and stabilize the collection.
The project also afforded an opportunity to reanalyze the artifacts, to better understand the character of the Illinois Confederacy presence at this important site.
In January of 2011, Mazrim returned the collection to La Salle County, and gave an informal talk to Historical Society board members.
East St. Louis Basketry
Jeff Illingsworth from Mercyhurst Archaeological Institute examines prehistoric basketry from 2009 excavations in East St. Louis, Illinois by ISAS archaeologists.
Prehistoric Agriculture
On July 5, 2006 TV Station WCIA interviewed Sarah Wisseman at ISAS offices in Champaign about prehistoric agriculture.
