Every year since 1982 the Society for Historical Archaeology has awarded the J. C. Harrington Medal to an archaeologist who “made outstanding contributions to the field.” The back of the medal depicts three famous archaeological sites, including the Mormon Temple in Nauvoo, Illinois. The medal itself is named after a man deeply involved in the archaeology and restoration of Nauvoo. At some level, that is the organizing rationale for this book. As the author describes it, “Nauvoo deserves to be remembered for what it reveals about the history of historical archaeology in general” (5).
If perhaps that strikes you as small beer, you are not entirely wrong. But that is not really what Excavating Nauvoo is about. Instead, fully two-thirds of the book is taken up with an administrative history of Nauvoo Restoration Inc., the organization that was formed to buy up and then restore properties in Nauvoo important to...
