City of Alexandria, Virginia
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MEMORANDUM
DATE: SEPTEMBER 4, 2025
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL
THROUGH: JAMES F. PARAJON, CITY MANAGER
FROM: GRETCHEN BULOVA, DIRECTOR, HISTORIC ALEXANDRIA
DOCKET TITLE:
TITLE
Consideration of a Resolution to Authorize the City Manager to Accept a Transfer of an Alexandria Archaeological Collection from the Virginia Museum of Natural History.
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ISSUE: Consideration of a resolution to authorize the City Manager to accept the transfer of an archaeological collection from site 44AX202 excavated in Alexandria that is currently located at the Virginia Museum of Natural History (VMNH).
RECOMMENDATION: That City Council:
1) Accepts the collection from the Virginia Museum of Natural History;
2) Authorizes the City Manager, in coordination with the Virginia Museum of Natural History, to establish clear legal title to the collection; and
3) Authorizes the City Manager to execute all documents that may be required to finalize acceptance of the collection to the City.
BACKGROUND: Alexandria Archaeology (AA), a division of the Office of Historic Alexandria (OHA), seeks to obtain from the VMNH a collection potentially related to the domestic slave trade, excavated during the archaeological investigation of the 1500/1600 block of King Street (44AX202) – a crucial step in the ultimate reanalysis and potential exhibition of this significant resource.
Development work began on the 1500/1600 block of King Street (DSP 2002-00041, DSP 2006-00036) in 2006. Alexandria Archaeology, in carrying out its mandate under the City’s Archaeological Protection Code (Ordinance No. 3413 passed November 18, 1989 and Section 11-411 of the 1992 Zoning Ordinance), required documentary research and an archaeological investigation of the property. The applicant contracted Thunderbird Archaeology to perform this work, and a final report was approved by Alexandria Archaeology in February 2009 (Archaeological Evaluation of the King Street Properties in Alexandria, Virginia: Phase I/II Archaeological Investigations and Phase III Data Recovery of Site 44AX202).
Alexandria Archaeology is the preferred repository for all collections excavated within the City of Alexandria, curating about 3 million artifacts from over 260 sites. Our Archaeological Standards (revised 2021) require that collections excavated under the purview of the Protection Code must be stored in a repository meeting federal curation standards (36 CFR 79) and Alexandria Archaeology must be notified and approve of this location. However, the collection from site 44AX202 was not deeded to the City nor was Alexandria Archaeology alerted to its curation location. The burden of obtaining clear title to collections amassed under the Protection Code falls with the Cultural Resource Management firm. A deed was not obtained and standards of the code were not met for this project.
In October 2023, Alexandria Archaeology staff learned that the collection from 44AX202 was located at the Virginia Museum of Natural History (VMNH) in Martinsville and had been since 2013. City staff do not know under what circumstances the collection was transferred from Thunderbird Archaeology to VMNH. The collection consists of five Hollinger records boxes and two tubes. Alexandria Archaeology staff began corresponding with VMNH’s Registrar and Assistant Curator of Archaeology to develop a plan for returning the collection to Alexandria for long term curation. VMNH does not hold a clear title to this collection despite repeated attempts over the years to secure a signed deed of gift from the property owner/development company of 1500/1600 King Street. VMNH staff worked with the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Attorney General’s Office to develop a plan for transferring the archaeological collection to Alexandria and in November 2024 sought to initiate this process. The Commonwealth of Virginia chose to not seek legal title to the collection, but did agree to transfer the artifacts and copies of all associated paperwork to the City of Alexandria thus shifting the burden to establish title to the collection to the City.
Upon transfer, the City would establish clear title to the collection pursuant to the legal process outlined in Code of Virginia Chapter 26 Section 55.1-2606. This process requires the City to hold the collection for five years or longer prior to publishing two newspaper notices of the City’s intent to claim title to the property.
It is critical that the City of Alexandria receive this collection and pursue clear title according to our standards. This collection represents an important part of Alexandria’s history. Excavations revealed features and contexts at site 44AX202 that may be associated with slave dealer Edward Home and his use of the property as a pen to imprison enslaved people awaiting sale. It is one of three such sites archaeologically excavated in Alexandria (the others being Freedom House 44AX75 and the Bruin Slave Jail 44AX173). Alexandria Archaeology is currently working on an initiative to reanalyze the spatial, documentary, and material culture evidence from these three sites pertaining to the lives of enslaved people trafficked through the city from ca. 1820s-1860s. The project includes cataloging the artifacts into the Digital Archaeological Archive of Comparative Slavery (DAACS) to facilitate cross-site comparisons and increase digital access to the collection by scholars and the general public. This reanalysis work occurs at the Alexandria Archaeology Museum’s public lab, which receives over 30,000 visitors a year. Additionally, interpretations from this reanalysis will inspire new exhibit content and public programming at the Freedom House Museum.
DISCUSSION: VMNH made multiple attempts to contact the property owner/developer (DSF Long King I, LLC) via certified mail to obtain a signed deed of gift. They received no responses, and the LLC has long since dissolved.
There is a small but unlikely chance that an individual or entity may make a valid claim within the next five years. However, even if a valid claim is made, that claimant will have to ensure that the collection is curated at a facility that meets the City of Alexandria Archaeological Standards as outlined in the City’s Protection Code.
FISCAL IMPACT: The fiscal impact of acquiring this collection will be minimal and will include the staff time and resources necessary to undertake Virginia’s undocumented property law for this collection. Newspaper advertising rates range from about $50-250 per column inch, depending on the publication and location within the publication.
ATTACHMENT: Resolution
STAFF:
Emily A. Baker, Deputy City Manager
Eleanor Breen. City Archaeologist