Alexandria Archaeology Museum

People explore and interact with artifacts and displays at a museum exhibit, with several adults and children working on activities at tables and examining objects in a busy, well-lit room.

A group of workers in safety vests excavate and study the wooden remains of an old ship buried at a construction site, with construction vehicles and equipment surrounding the area.

A woman kneels on a bucket, smiling and handing an object to a young boy at an outdoor event. Another woman sits nearby, smiling. A black van labeled Alexandria Archaeology is parked in the background.

A museum display features information panels about Alexandria’s maritime history, a model ship, and a glass case containing artifacts such as a bottle, a blue object, and pottery fragments. An illustrated waterfront scene is in the background.

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Step right into the museum’s laboratory where archaeologists reconstruct Alexandria’s history, fragment by fragment.

The museum’s exhibits highlight the process of archaeology and the latest Alexandria finds. A Community Digs its Past: The Lee Street Site, the museum’s main exhibit, weaves the story of the wharves, taverns, bakery and Civil War privy excavated at the corner of Lee and Queen Streets together with the story of archaeologists at work, from excavation and historical research to artifact processing and archaeological conservation. In the Museum’s Public Laboratory, you may find volunteers washing, marking and cataloging artifacts from the latest dig. Participate in hands-on activities, and explore small temporary exhibits highlighting archaeological research.

The museum is open Fridays and Saturdays 11 a.m.-4 p.m., and Sundays 1-4 p.m.