Archaeological Field School at the Ravenscroft Site
In 2009 the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation will conduct its 25th annual archaeological
field school in conjunction with the College of William and Mary. Two five-week sessions will
focus on the Ravenscroft Site, an
eighteenth-century property located in Williamsburg’s Historic Area.
Session 1: June 1–July 3, 2009
Session 2: July 6–August 7, 2009
Beginning in the spring, participants can register for the program through the College of William
and Mary (www.wm.edu/registrar).
The Ravenscroft Site
The Ravenscroft Site is located at the corner of Nicholson and Botetourt Streets in
Colonial Williamsburg’s Historic Area. The property consists of two half-acre lots first
purchased in 1715. At least two brick structures were built here during the early
eighteenth century, and the property was continuously occupied through the 1940s.
Among the Ravenscroft property’s eighteenth-century residents were a tavern
keeper (who may or may not have plied his trade here); two printers of the colony’s
newspaper, the Virginia Gazette; a series of tenants; and many enslaved Africans.
The summer of 2009 marks the fourth field season at the Ravenscroft site. Excavations
conducted between 2006 and 2008 focused on a 14-by-16-foot brick cellar which was
constructed sometime after 1720. Although its precise function is still not entirely
clear, this small building has physical characteristics that suggest it served as a store.
Excavation of the cellar of the small outbuilding.
This summer archaeologists and field school students will open a new portion of the
site, focusing attention on an area between the property’s main structure (a cellar,
found and reburied in 1954) and an unidentified outbuilding shown on a Revolutionary
War period map. This area was selected for its potential to reveal the dates and
functions of these two structures, one of which has not yet been archaeologically explored.
Students registered in the 2009 Archaeological Field School will learn excavation
techniques and recording, as well as the identification of many common eighteenth-century artifacts.
They will be introduced to archaeology’s specialties, including
Archaeobotany, Conservation, and Zooarchaeology, through lectures and required reading.
As in past years, the upcoming Ravenscroft excavation will focus on public
interpretation. Students interact with visitors on a daily basis, providing
site background as well as interpretation of the excavation currently
underway. Other opportunities to engage the public include hands-on activities
for children (offered three mornings each week), and contributions to a
blog chronicling progress of the excavation.
A young guest participates in a hands-on program
at the
Ravenscroft site.
Participants can register for the program through the College of William
and Mary (www.wm.edu/registrar).
For additional program details, please contact
Meredith Poole (mpoole@cwf.org),
Andrew Edwards (aedwards@cwf.org),
or Dr. Marley R. Brown, III (mrbro1@wm.edu).
Learn more by exploring the links below:
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