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Ramptown research draws international media attention

Oct. 24, 2005

KALAMAZOO--Work by Western Michigan University's Archaeology Field School and the school's director, Michael Nassaney, has drawn international attention over the past three weeks.

Reporter James Prichard of the Associated Press' Grand Rapids, Mich., bureau did a story on Ramptown, a 19th-century community of freed slaves on the Underground Railroad near Vandalia, Mich. The story was triggered by Nassaney's final report to the Michigan Historical Center, which detailed the 2002 field school work of faculty and students, who set out to document the existence of the community, which disappeared many years ago.

The AP story was picked up by dozens of papers around the world, including the Guardian in London and the Washington Post and Newsday in the United States.

Related article
Archaeologists find location of Ramptown (June 17, 2002)

Media contact: Cheryl Roland, (269) 387-8400, cheryl.roland@wmich.edu

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