Previous Education

B.A. (Archaeology), Memorial University, 2025

Supervisor

Dr. Oscar Moro Abadía / Dr. Bryn Tapper

Keywords

Contemporary Archaeology, WWII, Conflict Archaeology, Aviation, Settlement Patterns, Community Archaeology, GIS, Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador.

Research Statement

My MA research is an archaeological and historical analysis of the Old Town of Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador, focusing on the community’s development and eventual abandonment. Established in the mid-1930s due to its strategic location along transatlantic aviation routes, this study combines landscape archaeology, material culture analysis, and archival research to gain a detailed understanding of the community’s organization and growth. A landscape archaeology framework is employed to examine settlement layout, land use, and infrastructure, with particular attention to building foundations, road networks, and other modifications to the built environment. Historical and contemporary maps and aerial photographs will be analyzed to document changes in the community over time and to identify patterns of expansion, reorganization, and decline. Additionally, previously recovered artifact assemblages will be analyzed to support interpretations of daily life, practices, and activities within this short-lived community. Together, these data will be synthesized to generate a high-resolution timeline of Old Town Gander’s occupation and abandonment, and to establish the site’s significance within broader history of early-mid twentieth-century settlement and infrastructure development in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Contact

Email: aaetulk@mun.ca