Boston 250 Archaeology

The Battle of Bunker Hill, one of the first battles of the American Revolution, greatly changed the impression British forces had on the military abilities of the Continental Army. In addition to the deaths of over 300 troops, British forces fired upon the town of Charlestown burning it to the ground.  

The goal of Charlestown 250 Archaeology is to document underrepresented histories of Charlestown residents impacted by the events of the battle and to better understand the archaeological features associated with the battle.

The City Archaeology Team has created a reconstructed property map of Charlestown in 1775. Each property is clickable, with details including a direct link to the property deed (via free familysearch.org account).  

Map of Charlestown Land Ownership on June 17, 1775.

Using historic documents and references, the Archaeology Team reconstructed a census of Charlestown in 1775

Link to reconstructed 1775 Charlestown “Census”

Residents fled Charlestown before much of the events surrounding the Battle of Bunker Hill.  About a third of the families who fled sent in claim documents that named their new or temporary homes. Below are links and a map showing the locations where over 100 Charlestown residents fled.

Link to diaspora map

Link to a list of resident claim locations

Every resident of Charlestown lost their homes and livelihood. All or nearly all residents had left Charlestown following the Battles of Lexington and Concord, and most took their most valuable possessions with them, leaving behind the majority of their possessions, their homes, their businesses, their livestock, and their farmland.

The Claims summary document includes listings for individuals who submitted a claim which has since gone missing and is not included in the archive. If anyone is aware of the location of an original Charlestown 1775 claim, please email us at archaeology@boston.gov. We would like to include the information it contains in our dataset. The archaeology team is actively working on transcribing these claims.

Link to the transcribed index of Charlestown 1775 Claims

Link to the folders of images of the claims document

Link to transcribed claims (ongoing)

Link to Letters to the Vice President, Secretary of State, and Massachusetts State Representative requesting restitution for Charlestown losses

There have been multiple archaeological surveys surrounding the Bunker Hill Monument, the site of the redoubt on Breed’s Hill and currently a National Park. These surveys have revealed the likelihood that the 1775 redoubt structure may still be identifiable under the current surface of the grassy hill.

Ground penetrating radar (GPR) and other non-invasive remote sensing techniques have been useful for finding earthworks, and a previous GPR survey on the monument hill in the 1990s had promising results suggesting an oval-shaped trench present on the hill. Technology has significantly improved since this original survey and the City Archaeology Program is actively working with the National Park Service and other partners on a plan to re-survey the top of the hill to provide an even better underground snapshot of the location and condition of the 1775 redoubt.

A goal of the project is to accurately document the presence and location of the 1775 redoubt, including the potential for an archaeological trench across the original redoubt to reveal a section of the surviving fortification as part of the 250th celebrations in the summer of 2025.

In addition to the redoubt, the team is also actively working to use remote sensing techniques to identify areas of potential burials for the more than 300 individuals who lost their lives during the battle, including both colonial and British forces. The colonial forces included people of color and Native individuals from multiple Native nations. No burials will be disturbed as part of this work, but radar and documentary surveys may help to better protect these locations. The City Archaeology Program is coordinating with the National Park Service on Native consultation.