"A Backward Glance: Landscape Archaeology at The Mount, Home of Edith
Wharton"

Lecture at the Massachusetts Archives



Secretary of the Commonwealth William Francis Galvin announced today that
the November talk in the Massachusetts Archives and Commonwealth Museum's
fall lecture series will be Timothy Binzen's presentation: "A Backward
Glance: Landscape Archaeology at The Mount, Home of Edith Wharton" at 10:30
a.m. on Saturday, November 3, 2001, at the Massachusetts Archives building
on Columbia Point in Dorchester (220 Morrissey Boulevard, Boston, MA 02125).

The Mount, an estate in Lenox, Massachusetts, was the home of American
novelist Edith Wharton at the turn of the 20th century. Wharton completed
several works while living at The Mount and was instrumental in the design
and construction of the mansion, its classical gardens and formal pathways.
Comprehensive restoration of this National Historic Landmark is now nearing
completion. Landscape archaeology has revealed many details of Wharton's
designs that had long been obscured by vegetation and has enabled their
accurate reconstruction. Tim Binzen will present historic photographs,
recent excavation photographs, and anecdotes to explore Wharton's
aesthetics, as they were expressed at The Mount.

Timothy Binzen is a cultural resources consultant and project archaeologist
with Archaeological Services at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He
received his MA in anthropology from the University of Connecticut.

The program is free and open to the public. Parking is free, and the
building is handicapped accessible. For additional information or a brochure
listing future lectures call 617-727-2816 or see our website at
www.state.ma.us/sec/arc <http://www.state.ma.us/sec/arc> .