Telling the story of Ten thousand Years of Agriculture in Burlington's Intervale

On the initiative of Zoe Richards of Burlington Wildways, along with naturalists Kate Kreusi and Alicia Daniels, and advised by state archaeologist Jess Robinson, we created six signs, now installed in Burlington’s Intervale as part of the Lake Champlain Basin Program, to tell the story of the archaeology of this unique farmland in the Winooski Valley.

We began the project in 2019, working together on text and images. A few interruptions occurred, including my work on 1177 BC) but finally the signs are installed in a beautifully renovated grove in the Intervale, right across the last parking lot, and trailheads for walking and skiing, and surrounded by farm gardens. I’ve thought a lot about ways to tell stories of archaeology visually—in creating my adaptation of 1177 BC, and in my work as illustrator of artifacts on excavations in Greece and other sites. Until now haven’t had the chance to bring that practice to my hometown to tell a story of people who lived here and benefited by the fertile flood plain soil for centuries before the present.