Colonial Meeting House Uncovered in Massachusetts
Archeologists working near Bunker Hill said Sunday that they have uncovered hundreds of artifacts in the 350-year-old ruins of the first meeting house in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, where Gov. John Winthrop once lived and ruled.
“I think it’s one of the most important archeological finds in the country right now,” said Mike Roberts, the site’s project manager. “This is the heart of Massachusetts.”
The 800-square-foot foundation of “Great House,” built in 1629, was discovered beneath a small park in Boston’s Charlestown section.
The town was originally laid out by about 100 Puritans, headed by engineer Thomas Graves, who were hired by the Massachusetts Bay Company of England to settle there from Salem.
A combination of documentary and archeological research was used to verify the authenticity of the find.
The excavation is being funded by the state and federal governments because the ruins are in an area scheduled for destruction when work begins in two years on an underground highway project.
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