This blog follows the reconstruction of the Revolutionary War Public Armoury on the James Anderson site
Reconstruction of the Blacksmith's & Public Armoury
August 17, 2012
Archaeology Update
Many of you have watched the Roving Webcam over the summer, no doubt marveling at the meticulousness of archaeological excavation! Indeed, it is a slow and careful process. Since our start in early June, we have sorted through and excavated an extraordinary number of fencepost holes. The Armoury’s western boundary was, apparently, non-negotiable. Or was it?
Excavated privy pit with cow horn (left center). Smaller horn on brick (lower right).
In addition to fenceposts, archaeologists have excavated two other important features at the Armoury this summer. One appears to be a sawpit. About ¼ of this sloped-sided, flat-floored pit has been excavated to date, and the chunks of clinker, bits of iron, and French gunflint it contained suggest that (once it was no longer used) it was filled with Armoury debris. Our best guess…and this may change as we continue the sawpit’s excavation… is that it was part of the 1778 staging area for the Armoury’s construction. Carpenters may have prepared materials for the Armoury on site, rather than bringing them to the property fully finished.
A second interesting feature is a privy, excavated just this week. The rectangular pit looked alarmingly like a small grave from the surface, but contained a far more peculiar set of artifacts: large pieces of window glass, whole bricks, clinker, iron, lead shot, and two cow horns. And how do we know that it is a privy? Bags of soil sent into the lab for flotation (a process in which water is circulated through a sample of the dirt, allowing lighter components…seeds, small bones, and fish scale, typically… to rise to the surface) produced thousands of raspberry and/or blackberry seeds, the archaeological “signature” for privy fill.
Raspberry seeds under magnification (chicken "toe" in foreground) .
What’s most interesting about the sawpit and the privy is that they sit on the far side of the Armoury fence (outside of the complex), and yet are filled with Armoury debris. This leads us to wonder about the nature of this fence. Was it down for time to increase the Armoury’s useable space? Or was it not yet standing when the sawpit and privy were in use? To add another wrinkle, these features are only inches from the fenceline, so it wasn’t a bold encroachment, but a rather timid one.
Two more weeks of excavation remain in the summer season. We look forward to answering these and other questions as the project draws to a close. In the meantime, enjoy the new Roving Webcam angle which allows viewers to watch our Building Trades brick masons as they construct the tin shop chimney!
Contributed by Meredith Poole, Staff Archaeologist
Funded by a generous gift from Forrest E. Mars Jr., of Big Horn, Wyoming.
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Dale says:
I’ve seen this referred to before: “thousands of raspberry and/or blackberry seeds, the archaeological “signature” for privy fill.” What do these seeds have to do with privy identification?
Meredith Poole says:
Dale~
At the risk of opening too deep a privy discussion I will simply say that raspberry seeds are incredibly durable, surviving the digestive tract….and the ensuing hundreds of years (given the proper conditions)! Parasite egg casings are another “signature”, but can be harder to spot.
Chris Hansley says:
Hi Meredith,
Thanks so much for the update. Why close-up while the weather is still good? After you close-up for the season, what will you be doing? Will you continue at this site next season? Or will this end the dig at this site?
Have a great weekend,
Chris
Meredith Poole says:
Hi Chris,
The primary reason that we plan to close the Armoury excavation around Labor Day is that we anticipate being finished. If not, we will stay until the excavation is complete. That said, there are other projects awaiting our attention, both in the office and in the field. There are also some extremely patient craftsmen (brick masons and carpenters) and a project manager who are eager to begin construction of a workshop, a privy, and a storage building on the real estate that we currently occupy!
Ron Trabandt says:
Hi Meredith,
Thank you for the update on the current work at the Armoury backyard. Apparently, there was a second privy on the site as opposed to the previously excavated one found in early June. I look forward to more information.
Ron
Meredith Poole says:
Ron,
There may have been a second privy…or many privies… or successive privies. These features were filled and moved with, well, regularity! The privy that we will reconstruct is one that we found in 2000 at the southwest corner of the (also soon to be reconstructed)workshop. Why not the one we just found? The most recent find is located inches over the property boundary, on Lot 17, next door.
Anton Pecha says:
Some time ago the blog asked for new topics to discuss. In reference to new topics, my understanding is that only a small percentage of the city of Williamsburg has been studied archeologically. Could you discuss what the road map looks like in the area of future study (short and long term)? Even areas that currently don’t have plans, but may have great potential interest? Does CWF try to acquire adjacent property in the hope of enlarging the museum? Are some of these unexplored areas outside the current 301 acre site? I know the museum reconstruction followed the 1782 Frenchman’s Map. Does CW own all the property shown on the Frenchman’s Map? Does CW believe the 1775 city of Williamsburg was larger than what is shown on the Frenchman’s Map?
Rick Brouse says:
So what is happening on the site? Did I see on FB that there is a “film shoot” today? What’s up with that?
Meredith Poole says:
Hi Rick~
Good to hear from you again. The site is still active. In fact, we’ve now decided to extend our field season through the end of October. Current activity is focused on excavating the 3rd quarter of the sawpit (or at least that what it appears to be). We excavate features as large as this in quarters to give us opportunities to make section drawings of each profile, and to provide opportunities to reassess our plan of attack should things turn out differently than we expect them to.
Today the Armoury also was the site of filming for the Electronic Field Trip “The Amazing Trade Shop Math Race!” In it, student teams compete in a variety of challenges as they explore how math applies in the historic trade shops.
This episode of the Colonial Williamsburg’s Electronic Field Trip will air in the 2013-2014 school year. It is a follow up to the Emmy Award winning “The Amazing Trade Shop Science Race!”
Rick Brouse says:
Thanks Meredith. I’m still here….”silently” watching daily. Checking the blog, CW’s web site & FB pages. I’ve seen the “The Amazing…..”! Looking forward to the EFT in a few years. Thank you. Keep up the great work(s)
RB.
Russell says:
Hi Meredith!
Thanks as always for the updates, I hope the dig continues to go well. I noticed on the webcam this morning that there’s a front end loader working with a dump truck behind the Armoury. What’s up?
Meredith Poole says:
Russell,
It’s hard to sneak anything by you! There was, indeed, a front end loader and dump truck at the Armoury site this morning. It was hauling away our backdirt pile which had grown too large and unkemp for the space it occupied…..so it was hauled off (with incredible skill by Mr. Brown) this morning. The demoralizing part is how short a time it took to remove a pile that took us nearly 3 months to create!
The dig continues to present us with surprises: another dog burial, and the discovery that what we were calling the saw pit (with dimensions 12′ x 7′) is larger than we thought. While the 12′ dimension still holds, it is now clear that the north-south dimension is larger than 7′. In fact, the feature runs beyond the current bounds of the excavation. So we’re hoping for some new clues….and for the rain to stop so that we can dry the pit and continue probing this latest mystery!
Russell says:
Hi Meredith,
Actually, you could look at it as impressive that your painstaking work moved so much dirt as to require a front end loader to remove! I admire the patience required for what you do. Is there some size beyond which it becomes unlikely that the large hole was a saw pit? Any other theories? It sounds like so far you’ve not found any other suggestive features beyond it’s dimensions.
Dave S says:
Thanks for the mini update! It is fun to follow the work and see the knowledge evolve.
I wonder what will be found around my house if it were excavated. I’m sure some coins and probably tools.
Keep up the good work.
I enjoy the cams!
Kenneth Schwarz says:
Dave- It might be a surprise to see what is in the ground around your house. Not only the coins that you dropped, or the tools that were left out and forgotten, but buried utilities, probably left over debris from construction of your house, and likely stuff left by prior occupants to the site.
Archaeologists excavate those lost bits to learn about past activity on the site- as our staff is learning at the Armoury.
Meredith Poole says:
If Dave is dropping coins around his house, perhaps we archaeologists should relocate, and try digging there!
It’s not often that we find anything with intrinsic value (like coins or jewelry). People generally make an effort to find those sorts of things when they’ve been dropped. I suspect that Dave does the same!
Mimi says:
If you are going to relocate, you are welcome to come up here! Step off of our deck and you are on the Horse-Shoe Trail that was used during the Revolutionary War. It was the supply trail from Philly to north of Harrisburg. We haven’t found anything yet more interesting than some bullet cartridges that are modern. But we haven’t dug up our backyard to as much of an extent as Meredith and her team would!
Peg Frankfurt says:
I noticed today, Sunday, that a worker was working on the chimney. I was quite surprised as there didn’t seem to be much progress of late, via the web-cam. Is this due to wanting to get to a certain point before winter or a chance to use workers from another site?
Kenneth Schwarz says:
Thanks for the question, Peg. Jason is working on the chimney, but like many of us, Jason is working on several projects at once. He is on the tinsmith shop site when his schedule permits, and devotes his time to other projects when they are the priority.
As a seven day a week, 365 day a year operation, many of Colonial Williamsburg’s employees work schedules that reflect this reality. Sunday is a typical work day for Jason- and for me in the blacksmith shop. If you could see through the window behind Jason’s chimney, you would see me returning from my lunch break in just a few minutes. From my desk and back to the anvil.
Kerry Lancaster says:
Kenneth
You mentioned some forms or wooden items that tinsmiths used
perhaps at the Armoury. Will those be available for us to see soon? Also can you give us a little history on solder and early flux in the 18th century. Thanks
Dave S says:
I don’t recall seeing any toys in the excavation bounty. Why? I’ve found metal toys while digging in my garden. Is it because colonial children didn’t have toys, or were they made from materials that didn’t survive?
Meredith Poole says:
Dave~
We do find some toys…clay marbles are probably the most common. In fact, we found one last week at the Armoury. Other common “toys” are porcelain doll parts, and parts of tea sets, and mouth harps.
I suspect that many of the metal toys that you find are from the 19th century, when manufactured toys were more common. But you are also correct that many 18th century toys (things like bilbo catchers and cloth dolls) were made of materials that have not survived in the ground.
One final note: while there were probably youngish boys working at the Armoury, it’s unlikely that there was a lot of “playing” going on. We find toys more often on domestic sites where families carried out their daily lives, rather than on industrial sites like the Armoury.
Dale J says:
KEN: Now that you have mentioned the Blacksmith Shop how is it working out? Happy with it? Seems like a long time since we have seen the inside of the shop esp after watching it’s constuction everyday for nearly a year.
Dale
Marie M. says:
KEN: I was wondering if the webcam will be changing since work on the outside will be stopping because of winter? Also,do you know what happened to the Capital webcam, it has been down for a very long time???
Meredith Poole says:
Marie~
Excuse me for answering Ken’s mail, but this popped up just as I was preparing a blog post that relates to your question. Things are hardly stopping for the winter! In fact, over the next 4 months you will see more building activity at the Armoury than you have for some time now. Please check tomorrow’s blog post for details.
In the meantime, the webcam will take up a temporary position inside the shop later this week. At the end of next week (September 28th) it will move outside to capture the next frame raising. Thanks for asking.
Kenneth Schwarz says:
Hi Marie- This morning Meredith and I were talking about moving the web cam into the blacksmith shop, and you will probably see the change on Thursday or Friday. Then on September 28, the Carpenters crew will be raising the frame for the new storage building just to the south of the Armoury. We will have the camera fixed on that action on the 28th. As for the Capitol Camera, there is extensive maintenance work going on at the Capitol at the moment, and I believe that the picture interruption is due to the maintenance work. Much of the Capitol Building is covered in scaffolding for the next three weeks.
Christine Hansley says:
Hi Meredith and Ken,
Sorry for so many questions.
Glad to hear the Capitol camera is not dead – just taking a few weeks off. Will we get to see via webcam any of the final weeks of the dig at the Tin Shop site? If not, would it be possible for you to post some current photos? Have you found out anymore info on the saw pit? Have you found any artifacts of interest lately?
Please give “Lady” Eleanor a good scratch for me.
Have a good week,
Chris
Meredith Poole says:
Hi Chris.
We love questions…no apologies needed! Big news on the sawpit (or should I say “sawpit”)front. At last reporting we had begun to suspect that it was larger than the 12′ x 7′ we first predicted. We now have reason to believe that its measurements are closer to 12′ x 17′. Garland points out that it may still be a sawpit, but one designed for a few teams of sawyers. We will see. Archaeology requires a great deal of patience.
Some neat artifacts of late. This morning, a whole (and very large) key, and most of a tobacco pipe. And in recent weeks we have added another dog burial. I took more photos today and will have them posted before the week is out. Promise.
Eleanor is healthy and happy. Her relationship with the “foodways” folks in the Anderson kitchen is growing increasingly cozy. Go figure. Apparently her affections can be bought. I’ll give her a scratch, nonetheless.
Christine Hansley says:
Hi Meredith,
Thanks for being a surrogate cat scratcher.
I had a thought about the large “sawpit.” What did the forges use for the fires. Wood if I am not mistaken. With 4 forges in the Armoury, a fireplace in the Tin Shop, a firelace in the kitchen and the bread oven to keep burning, they would have needed a lot of firewood. Would slaves have been used for this hard and boring work?
Just a thought. And thaks for the update.
Have a good evening,
Chris
Dave S says:
A few teams of sawyers! Wow! What does this mean? Could there have been a pit constructed for some type of lumber yard or other constructon activity?
Would a large pit be used for one building? Seems unlikely to my untrained mind.
A tin shop is discovered, and now what? It is so much fun to follow the blog. Of course, in a few minutes, we read of a discovery which takes many hours of careful scratching with a trowel.
Much appreciated.