The site, originally discovered in 1990, was investigated between 1999 and 2002 by teams of Colonial Williamsburg and University of California archaeologists, with student excavators during the summers. This section discusses the research goals, the various phases of investigation, and the process of doing archaeology.
After its initial discovery in 1990, the excavation of the Atkinson Site began in earnest in 1999 with the work of a joint summer field school from the University of California at Berkeley, the College of William & Mary and the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation under the direction of Ph.D. candidates Kevin Bartoy and Steve Archer. Initially it was believed that the excavations would last only a single ten-week summer season. However, as the first season’s work progressed, it soon became clear that additional work would be required beyond the first season to properly understand this important site. The excavations were resumed the following summer, and again in the summers of 2001 and 2002. In 2002, Colonial Williamsburg project archaeologist Mark Kostro assumed the direction of the excavations.
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Teaching assistant Sara Hopkins (standing) supervises the William & Mary field school students scraping loose dirt off the site to expose new features after the plowzone was removed. |
Methods of archaeological excavation are extremely precise and time consuming. At the Atkinson site, to ensure precision in the recording of where artifacts and features were found, a grid was superimposed at one-meter intervals across the site area. As the fieldwork progressed, each unique soil layer or feature was stratigraphically excavated, using shovels and trowels, following the natural contours and boundaries of the layers and features. Differentiation between the different layers and features was recognized by changes in the soil type, color, and texture. All the excavated soils were then sieved through a ¼-inch mesh screen that let the soil pass through but left behind the artifacts, which were then collected and sent to Colonial Williamsburg’s archaeology lab for processing and analysis. At the Atkinson site, the archaeologists also experimented with a variety of other more fine-grained recovery techniques such as flotation, chemical, and phytolith analysis that enabled the collection of not only traditional artifacts but botanical and small animal remains as well.
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| William & Mary students screen soil recovered from the site. | |
Supervisor Buddy Paulett instructs field school students in the finer points of excavating postholes. |
To see the progression of excavation, follow the links below:
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| Copyright 2002 Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.
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