Archaeology Dig Diary July 25, 2006

Archaeology Dig Diary - Tuesday, July 25

One thing you can say about archaeology is the surprises never end. The excavation of the most mundane feature can sometimes produce new bits of evidence that have major impacts on the interpretation of the site. The excavation of the pipe trench associated with the 1906 farmhouse is one such case. As the last section of trench was being excavated, a previously unknown cellar foundation wall was uncovered. This new section of stone cellar is significantly different from the section of stone wall Kate is digging; it is shallower, uses a different type of stone, is not mortared, and most importantly, does not line up with Kate’s foundation.

Modern pipe trench intruding stone cellar.

There are several possible explanations for this new cellar, each with major implications for the interpretation of the building. The first possibility is that there were two building episodes that are not related to each other. If this is true, then Kate’s cellar either cuts the new cellar or is cut by the new cellar. A second possibility is that they both existed at the same time. In this scenario the new cellar could be a different room in the cellar, an entranceway, or some type of repair.

In order to determine the relationship between the two foundations we have changed our excavation strategy. The original strategy called for the quartering of the entire 30’ by 10’ cellar. Instead of removing the first quarter, we have extended this excavation by about four feet in hopes of uncovering where these two foundations touch. Once this additional area is excavated we will be able to determine which of the scenarios outlined above is accurate.

Just north of the stone-lined cellar, Heidi has begun excavating the root cellar. This 6 ft. square pit is a little over 2 feet deep and contains a large number of animal bones. The most exciting artifact found is a piece of one of the figurines that have been found scattered throughout the rest of the site. The presence of this piece in a sealed deposit will allow us to determine if Mary Washington was the owner of the figurine collection or if it belonged to someone else.