Tarragindi Archaeology Dig

08/18/2026

If you are an on-campus student at Berrien Springs Public Schools, you can still register for our 12 archaeology dig and local history programs for FREE through the Berrien Springs Parent Partnership (see https://bspp.homeoftheshamrocks.org/). You can take a look at our Fall 2026 classes at our website below at tarragindi.org. Parents and guardians can come along too!

We want to see young people in our community thrive and use local archaeology and history as a catalyst to build a sense of belonging and place in young people in Berrien County. Young people who feel they belong somewhere have better learning and success outcomes, are healthier, have better mental health and wellbeing, and recover from trauma more successfully.

All classes are taught by Dr Jan Sigvartsen PhD (Dr Jan) and Leanne Sigvartsen (Ms Leanne) who have been thoroughly background checked. We have a strict no bullying policy. We are happy to cater for kids and teens with a diagnosis - just let us know how we can make them more comfortable. https://tarragindi.org/

In Spring 2025, the Tarragindi Archaeological Dig team and our students (aged 5-18) started excavating an almost 200-year-old farm belonging to one of Berrien County's earliest settler families. The dig uncovered a slew of items, including over 1,000 antique and vintage bottles from 1900-1971 and th...

07/24/2026

Want to try digging at a real archaeology dig? Join Dr Jan at the Tarragindi Dig, in Berrien Springs. Free through the Berrien Springs Parent Partnership. Parents can dig too! See our 12 other local archaeology, history, and genealogy programs at tarragindi.org. Are you not eligible for the Partnership - no problem - you can join as a fee-paying student too, register at tarragindi.org

07/24/2026

Love Archaeology? This semester Dr Jan and the Tarragindi Archaeology Dig is adding an ancient stone tool making class to our 12 archaeology, local history, and genealogy programs. Parents can come along too! See tarragindi.org for details/syllabus Free through the Berrien Springs Parent Partnership.

07/02/2026

Dr Jan was solicited to submit a chapter in an edited book being published by academic publisher, Shefield Phoenix Press in the United Kingdom. The chapter provides evidence that psychological trauma and moral injury may be catalysts for afterlife beliefs in ancient peoples. So if you didn't get reward or justice in this life, you will be rewarded in the afterlife. Afterlife beliefs where enemies are tortured or destroyed etc. may be an indication of severe trauma at a personal or societal level. The chapter has been accepted and is ready for publication! Very exciting - congratulations Dr Jan!

07/01/2026

Leif Sigvartsen made the local papers with his 1804-1807 coin that he found.

BERRIEN SPRINGS — Last year, Leif Sigvartsen found a Maria Theresa Thaler coin – dated 1780 – at the Tarragindi Archaeology Dig in Berrien Springs, a dig site that is

07/01/2026

If you still want to register for the Old Jailhouse Dig this summer, you can. It's free. Go to tarragindi.org and fill in a summer dig registration form.

07/01/2026

We have found some very interesting things at the Old Jailhouse Dig! We found a bunch of chert flakes and chunks and some broken arrows suggesting someone made stone arrowheads on this site! You can still join the dig by registering at tarragindi.org.

06/23/2026

Look what one of our diggers found at the Old Jailhouse Archaeology Dig today! It is a Peltier "Bumblebee" marble from 1927-1937. This is one of the rarer versions that has "adventurine" (copper or mineral specks) in the black swirls that make them sparkle! We also found some "slag" so there must have been a blacksmith in this area at some stage. We'll post our native American finds separately.

06/17/2026

Our Summer 2026 Dig is off to a running start! We found some amazing stuff today including broken arrowheads, a coin, old china, and a fossilized bone. I've sent some emails to see if we can identify what the bone is, but jet black bones usually take thousands of years to hundreds of thousands of years to form.

06/17/2026

This is the 1838 Old Jailhouse dig. This was with our advanced Spring 2026 archaeology students. Our biggest finds were native American beads, and a gravel patch that suggests that the old jailhouse was most likely pole structure - like a barn. Check out the spearhead one of our students found on a trail near their home! Amazing what you find when you study archaeology and local history and know what to look for!