Shane Harriman: Searching for lost history
Shane Harriman could never have predicted his research would earn an award or bring him to the mountains of northern Italy.
Raised in Orrington, Maine, Harriman has always had an affinity for the outdoors. After graduating from John Bapst Memorial High School in 2022, he chose to attend the University of Maine for its comfortable proximity to home and extensive history program. However, his time in Orono has led him away from the Maine woods and towards the search for lost history.
As a history major and anthropology minor, Harriman was looking for senior-year field research to round out his resume. He went to his professors for recommendations and they directed him towards STEMPA, an Italian-based research project whose name in English translates to Excavation, Remote Sensing, Study of Materials and Landscape of the Sette Comuni Plateau.
“Always go to your professors. Dr. Daniel H. Sandweiss and Dr. Bonnie Newsom gave me incredible options for field work,” Harriman said.
STEMPA aims to bring students and researchers together to conduct and assist with excavations and archaeological surveys carried out in the Veneto-Trentin Highlands in Northern Italy.
In the spring, Harriman signed up for STEMPA’s summer dig, a three-week excavation of Bostel di Rotzo, an ancient mountain settlement that dates back to the Second Iron Age. As part of a team of university students and faculty from around the world, Harriman was there to help with archeological analysis. In particular, he was there to perform geophysical surveys.
“I mostly worked on finding air pockets in the ground, as well as perfectly circular post-holes,” he said. “What was interesting was the air pockets didn’t align with what archeologists had originally interpreted as their purpose. I worked with them to come up with the idea that poachers in the 1800s might have dug further than we had assumed.”
Harriman used the skills taught in Bostel di Rotzo as preparation for his future career. “I know how to perform stratigraphic excavations and archeological context recordings,” he said. “I also learned the basics of my job, like traveling and proper shoveling.”
In addition to exploring lost history at an archaeological site, Harriman helped uncover an untold part of a renowned scientists’ story, work that earned him a university honor. In May, Harriman was awarded the Hildegarde B. Perkins fund by the UMaine History Department for his research paper “The Multifaceted Legacy of Dian Fossey.”
During his research, Harriman struggled to find direct writing by Fossey. His intrigue led him to an online auction that included Fossey’s personal letters dating back to 1972 during her work as a conservationist. Harriman credits this discovery and his subsequent publishing of the letters as his biggest achievement.
“Shane demonstrated that Fossey was a complex figure, who carefully shaped her public image to champion the cause of wildlife conservation while downplaying her tense relationship to local communities in conservation areas,” said Mary Freeman, associate professor of New England history at UMaine. “Shane went above and beyond with his research to find a trove of Fossey’s correspondence that was only available through digitized copies of letters posted to an online auction website.”
Harriman cited Fossey for his inspiration for hands-on learning, and credited UMaine for its variety of field-school opportunities.
“College gives lots of opportunities. I’m so grateful that’s something we all get access to at UMaine,” Harriman said. “I feel as though I’ve been able to learn the importance of others’ beliefs. UMaine helped give me a glimpse of the genuine importance of differing perspectives.”
With graduation approaching in the spring, Harriman plans to apply for his master’s degree and continue his pursuit of lost history.
Story by Mello Vancil, news intern
Contact: Marcus Wolf, 207.581.3721; marcus.wolf@maine.edu