Investigation of the Late-Woodland American Indians at the Stanton River Battlefield State Park is a joint effort by the Longwood University Archaeology Field School , the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), and the Archaeological Society of Virginia. The investigation at the site has yielded information on daily life along the banks of the Staunton River from 1000 A.D.to 1450 A.D. The site, which is called an "outdoor laboratory for our students" has been used by the Archaeology Field School every summer since 1998. This effort is headed by Dr. Brian Bates. Dr. Bates indicated that several thousand visitors, including school children from surrounding counties and from as far away as Richmond, have toured the site since the project was initiated.

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The site is included on the National Register of Historic Places.

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The dig site is known as the "Wade Site" named in honor of Randy Wade. It can be viewed seasonallly while the Longwood University Archaeological students are at work, but the mound at the "Wade Site" can be viewed year round from the trail. Artifacts from this site are on display at the Roanoke Visitor Center. K. Johnson Bowles, director of the Longwood Center of Visual Arts, began work on the exibit in the fall of 2001. You are invited to come and get a glimpse of what life was like near the Staunton River a thousand years ago.

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More information on the Longwood University Archaeological Field School and the Randy K. Wade 44CH62 site findings can be found at the following link:

Dr. James W. Jordan Archaeological Field School; Staunton River Battlefield

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