Excavating around Harmony Hall, Prince Georges County, Maryland.

The National Park Service, Regional Archeology Program (RAP) has had a volunteer and internship program since the early 1980s. The Regional Archeology Program serves the archeological needs of national parks in Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia. Our program offers the novice an opportunity to experience field excavation, artifact processing, archeological collections management, and documentary research. Volunteers and interns work alongside professional archeologists as they uncover and document the archeological resources of the Washington, D.C. area. These archeological remains represent more than 12,500 years of changing human lifeways and different cultures. Recent archeological projects include: the salvage of flood-damaged sites along the C&O Canal, excavation of a free African-American's house at Manassas National Battlefield Park that stood before, during, and after both battles of Manassas, mapping an eighteenth-century mill complex in Prince William County, VA, and processing objects recovered near the Washington Monument, during a recent street realignment in Washington, D.C..

Excavating at Manassas National Battlefield Park.

Anyone 16 or older is welcome to join RAP's volunteer program. Volunteers may try their hands at field or laboratory work, we suggest both. We require a minimum of 4 consecutive hours, twice a month. Transportation to the site and/or laboratory, located in Prince George's county, is the responsibility of participant. If you are interested in volunteering or if you would like additional information contact us at the address below.

Recent interns of the RAP have come from George Washington University, American University's Washington Semester Program, the Washington Center, University of Maryland, and through Harvard University's Latin American Scholarship Program of American Universities. Internship programs are tailored to fit university or college requirements and the student's interests. Internships are unpaid, but local transportation costs may be reimbursed. If your school has an internship requirement and you would like additional information contact us at the address below.