A salvage archaeological project of the Graham-White Site (44RN0021), conducted December 1990…

The Commonwealth of Virginia's Department of Historic Resources awarded a contract valued at $9,380.00 to the Salem Museum and Historical Society under contract number PO05428678, effective August 4, 2026. The prime contractor will undertake a collection preservation and pest remediation project focused on archaeological materials recovered from the Graham-White Site (44RN0021), a salvage archaeological excavation conducted by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources between December 1990 and April 1991. The collection comprises more than 42 boxes of artifacts, soil samples, and charcoal samples currently curated at the Salem Museum and Historical Society.

The scope of work includes rehousing the deteriorated collection using archival-grade materials, processing the entire collection through the Virginia Museum of Natural History's anoxic chamber for disinfestation purposes, and conducting a comprehensive inventory of all bags and containers. The project will be led by Dr. Kay McCarron of the Salem Historical Society, and all deliverables, including the completed inventory and grant report, are to be submitted to Elizabeth Moore at the Department of Historic Resources in Richmond, Virginia. The anoxic chamber disinfestation method is specifically selected for its non-damaging approach to artifact preservation.