Astrolabe

Archaeological study of new Grand Turk site links settlers through time. By Betsy Carlson Photos Courtesy Turks & Caicos National Museum For a week in February 2010, two archaeologists from Southeastern Archaeological Research, Inc. (SEARCH) out of Gainesville, Florida joined Neal Hitch of the Turks & Caicos National Museum and Brian Riggs of the National Environmental Center to ...

By Jessica Brody ~ Photos Courtesy Turks & Caicos National Museum, Ludington & McCollum Collection The beaches, diving, snorkeling and remote location of the Turks & Caicos Islands create the ideal image of a “get-away” spot for many visitors, but in the 1970s, the Islands were truly a place to get away from it all. The ...

Abundant “musket furniture” gave the Ft. George site a distinct military flavor. Story, Photos & Illustrations By Dr. Donald Keith The sheer variety of artifacts found during our work on Ft. George and in collections donated to the Museum is surprising: plain and fancy tableware, iron fasteners and hardware, brass and pewter buttons, glass bottles and drinking ...

Button artifacts provide clues to the tale of Ft. George Cay. Story & Photos By Dr. Neal V. Hitch, Director, Turks & Caicos National Museum Buttons. They are intriguing to me. There have been many buttons found on Ft. George Cay. Many of these are now in the collection of the National Museum. Some are still in ...

Although recent field work revealed more Ft. George history, will time run out? By Dr. Donald Keith, Trustee, Turks & Caicos National Museum & President, Ships of Discovery November 7, 2009 marked the end of our two weeks of field work on Ft. George Cay. It was a little sad to backfill the test excavations, take down ...

Preserving Turks & Caicos’ historical archives. By Dr. Neal V. Hitch, Director, Turks & Caicos National Museum Photos Courtesy Turks & Caicos National Museum This paper was presented at the annual meeting of the Society of American Archivists on August 15, 2009, as part of a symposium on sustaining Caribbean archives. The theme of the symposium was the ...

Transformational community art comes to Grand Turk. By Leah Samuelson, Artists on Call Photos By Artists on Call From mid-January to mid-March, 2009, I spent eight weeks leading community mural projects in the Turks & Caicos Islands with an organization called Artists on Call. During this time, we completed three murals, two on Grand Turk and a third, ...

The museum acquires the earliest painting of Grand Turk. By Dr. Neil Hitch, Director, Turks & Caicos National Museum Photos Courtesy Turks & Caicos National Museum Collection In the Spring 1998 Astrolabe, Barry Dressel, then museum director, wrote a brief article describing the oldest image of the Turks & Caicos Islands. This image is a woodcut of South ...

pa lottery Where did all the donkey carts go? By Dr. Neal Hitch, Director, Turks & Caicos National Museum Photos Courtesy Turks & Caicos National Museum Collection Much of the history of the Turks & Caicos Islands is unrecorded. It is mix of oral history and hearsay. The mission of the National Museum has been to put facts behind ...

powerball By Dr. Toni L. Carrell, Ships of Discovery The surge was particularly strong along the fringing reef off Northwest Point, Providenciales, as James Hunter, Joe Lamontagne and I dropped over the side of our inflatable boat. We were there to look for the remains of the U.S. Navy brig Chippewa. It was the second attempt of ...

illinois lottery Ceremonial duhos from the Turks & Caicos Islands Story & Photos By Dr. Joanna Ostapkowicz During the second half of the 19th century, nine elaborate wooden ceremonial stools — or duhos —were recovered from caves in the Turks & Caicos Islands. In their time (ca. AD 1000–1500), these low stools — often carved in the form ...

Historic Ft. St. George Cay is a rich slice of TCI History. Story & Photos  By  Dr. Donald H. Keith, Trustee Turks & Caicos National Museum and President, Ships of Discovery June 12, 1998.  “Some people say there’s five and some say six.” Jack McWilliams yells to Jon Moore and me as we drop over the side ...

A behind-the-scenes look at the cutting edge Endymion Rock survey. By Dr. Donald H. Keith, Trustee, T & C National Museum and President, Ships of Discovery Being involved in the survey of underwater archaeological resources is one of the main fields of expertise of the Turks & Caicos National Museum. Due to a series ...

To these siblings, home is nowhere but Salt Cay. Story & Photos By Michele Belanger-McNair Most residents of Salt Cay tend to be somehow related through several hundred years of marriages and births. There aren’t many different surnames:  Simmons, Smith, Simons, Talbot, Robinson, Dickenson, Been, Wilson, Kennedy, Lightbourne, Selver, Landy, Hamilton, Glinton and ...

Longtime TCI Politician Hilly Ewing looks back on the old days. Interview By Andre Garneau and Embry Rucker Historical Photos Courtesy TCI National Museum Collection Hilly Arthur Ewing was born on December 11, 1930 in Blue Hills, Providenciales. He grew up to become one of the Turks & Caicos’ original political leaders. In fact, the government building currently ...