by gwffoundation | Feb 9, 2016 | Archaeology, Behind the Scenes, Lives & Legacies
Sometimes, it can be a challenge to precisely identify an artifact. When faced with this challenge, archaeologists working in the lab put their five senses to work and call upon some interesting ‘tricks of the trade’ to make those difficult...
by gwffoundation | Jan 20, 2016 | Archaeology, George Washington's Ferry Farm, Lives & Legacies
Recently, a 3D image of a smoking pipe was added to the Virtual Curation Lab, an online project of Virginia Commonwealth University. You can view rotate, zoom, and manipulate the image by clicking the photo above or by clicking here. The smoking pipe was discovered...
by gwffoundation | Jan 13, 2016 | Archaeology, Historic Kenmore, Lives & Legacies
During excavations around and under Kenmore’s 19th century portico in the early 2000s, archaeologists discovered several small metal disks. Some disks were significantly corroded but a few still showed markings clearly. They were stamped with the words “Braxton...
by gwffoundation | Jan 6, 2016 | Archaeology, George Washington, George Washington's Ferry Farm, Lives & Legacies
As an archaeologist, I am often asked “What is the coolest thing you’ve ever found?” The answer is complicated. Although I’ve unearthed 10,000 year old Paleoindian hearths, elaborate porcelains, coins, long lost jewelry, and ancient stone tools, I say that the...
by gwffoundation | Nov 23, 2015 | Archaeology, Lives & Legacies
Archaeologists at Ferry Farm regularly find evidence of ‘expedient’ tool making by Native Americans. These quickly-made tools were created for a single, immediate job and, once used, just discarded. In this video, we break off a flake of obsidian and use...
by gwffoundation | Nov 5, 2015 | Archaeology, George Washington's Ferry Farm, Lives & Legacies
This cuff link or ‘sleeve button’ – made in the mid 1700s – was recovered by archaeologists from George Washington’s boyhood home at Ferry Farm. It is one of the earliest examples of the Washington family’s resistance to King George III. What makes this sleeve...
