“An average of only one out of twenty people that tour the Montpelier mansion walk down to the Archaeology Lab,” notes Orange County High School student Eric Deloriea. After attending a summer archaeology program at President James Madison’s home, Montpelier, Eric chose to continue the Montpelier work through his Blue Ridge Virtual Governor's School Senior Project this year. He developed a blog and a series of short videos highlighting archaeological techniques used at the site which are posted on YouTube and linked to the Montpelier website. The purpose of the video project is to increase tourist’s knowledge of archaeology and promote interest in work going on in the lab.
The BRVGS Senior Project requirements include a research question, internship, and community service, and Eric’s research has centered around verifying the integrity of oral history through archaeology. “What we learn in books about history is nearly always true, but archaeology provides the most solid historical evidence with the presence of physical historical artifacts.”
Besides his work at Montpelier, Eric loves science and history, holds a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, is a member of the Orange County JROTC Battalion, is interested in technology, and is also a member of the National Honor Society.
To view the video series Eric developed, click on http://www.montpelier.org/content/archaeology-expedition-videos