On Saturday, January 30 at 1 p.m. at the Trent House Museum in Trenton, Richard Veit will deliver an illustrated lecture titled “A Monument to Fallen Royalty: Rediscovering Joseph Bonaparte’s Point Breeze Estate in Bordentown, New Jersey.”

Recent archaeological excavations in Bordentown have unearthed the remains of Joseph Bonaparte’s palatial estate, Point Breeze. Joseph, the elder brother of Napoleon Bonaparte and former King of Spain and Naples, fled to the United States in 1815 and lived in New Jersey until 1839, where he acted as an unofficial cultural attaché. Bonaparte held the largest library and art collection in the country at the time, and entertained many of the leading intellectuals, politicians, artists, and military figures. His passion was landscape architecture, and at Point Breeze he designed a unique 1900-acre picturesque landscape. This intriguing presentation will examine the archaeological evidence of the life of New Jersey’s only king in exile.

Mr. Veit is professor of anthropology and chair of the department of history and anthropology at Monmouth University. In 2007 he was the recipient of Monmouth University’s distinguished teacher award. He teaches courses on archaeology, New Jersey history, Native Americans, and historic preservation. He has authored or co-authored numerous articles and reviews and five books including Digging New Jersey’s Past: Historical Archaeology in the Garden State (Rutgers Press 2002), New Jersey Cemeteries and Tombstones History in the Landscape (co-authored by Mark Nonestied, Rutgers Press 2008), and New Jersey: A History of the Garden State (co-authored with Maxine Lurie, Rutgers Press 2012).

Admission is $10 ($8 for members). The Trent House is at 15 Market Street, where there is ample free parking. Complimentary light refreshments will be served.

For more information and driving directions, visit www.williamtrenthouse.org or call (609) 989-3027.