Counter clockwise, Dennis Cavalier, of Marietta, assists Rory Bloomfield, 6, Bailey Bloomfield, 8, and Hunter Hale, 10, all of Marietta, during a small scale archaeological dig during Archaeology Day at the Campus Martius Museum on Second Street, in Marietta Saturday. Peggy Bloomfield, of Lowell, watches her grandchildren engage in the activity. Cavalier has been with the museum for 12 years, and has assisted professional archaeologists throughout the years during excavations at Marietta’s historical landmark The Castle. (Photo by Maria Rutherford)

MARIETTA — The Campus Martius Museum dug into the area’s history on Saturday for their Archeology Day event.

Area residents we’re able to bring in their collections to share with the public, which featured an assortment of artifacts, fossils, arrowheads and various other pieces of history that were scattered throughout our lands at one time.

Organizers and volunteers of the event were very knowledgeable about archaeology and the many branches of science it involves, and were able to educate attendees about what can be learned about history by digging up the past. Visitors were able to look into the past through presentations, model comparisons, hands-on activities and story telling.

One such activity featured a small scale excavation so patrons could experience how to properly dig for artifacts, as well as learn about the tools used in doing so.

Dennis Cavalier, of Marietta, who has been with the museum for 12 years, and has also assisted professional archaeologists during an excavation for Marietta’s historical landmark, known as The Castle, volunteered to lead the activity.

Cathy Holland, of New Matamoras, teaches these gentlemen all about the vastness of flint locations that are widespread in Ohio, and also about the significance fossils play in determining different factors about time periods throughout history. (Photo by Maria Rutherford)

If individuals had discovered objects that they weren’t able to get properly identified, they could bring those pieces to the museum and have a professional, by the name of Bill Pickard, examine them to determine what they were and their value.

Cathy Holland, a former New Matamoras teacher, gave visitors an opportunity to learn about the area’s flint types and which areas of Ohio each type originated from and what they were used for by indigenous people.

The museum’s director, Erin Augenstein, was pleased with the response of the community in regards to the event, and hopes to hold more events like it in the future.

“We would like to give a big thank you to the amazing Archaeology Day volunteers, friends of the museum, and the students of Parkersburg Catholic Schools, who gave us their Saturday, to make this event so special.” Augenstein said. “We hope our patrons enjoyed the experience and were able to learn something new about the rich history of our area.”

Maria Rutherford can be reached at mrutherford@newsandsentinel.com

Bill Pickard of Marietta helped patrons learn how to be able to identify arrowheads, fossils, or other various things they had discovered, but were not sure of exactly what it was. (Photo by Maria Rutherford)