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Springfield
Springfield: Excavation and Public Archaeology at a Bermuda National Landmark
by Anna Agbe-Davies
Introduction
Springfield has long been recognized as an architectural treasure. The "buttery" south of
the main house is a widely-photographed and -recognized sight, even gracing the cover of
the Sandys volume of the Bermuda National Trust’s Architectural Heritage Series.
Since 1994, the Trust has undertaken archaeological projects at Springfield in cooperation
with Colonial Williamsburg’s Department of Archaeological Research.
Two previous seasons of archaeology focused on the yard surrounding the main
house, particularly the courtyard between the main house and the outbuildings
behind it. We decided to work in the yard to the east and north of the complex of
standing buildings, to assess the archaeological potential of these areas, and also for
comparison with the materials found in previous years. The survey of the yard will
provide valuable information that the Trust can use in planning further excavation
projects, and protecting intact archaeological deposits.
Prior to becoming a Trust property, Springfield was the family home of the
Hinsons and Gilberts, beginning in 1671 and running to the 1960s. The architectural
and archaeological records reflect the development of a prominent and wealthy West
End family over several centuries. The site also bears witness to the lives of the
people held as slaves by the Gilberts. At one point, as many as 19 men, women and children
serving the Gilberts as domestics, masons, laborers, pilots and boatmen lived at
Springfield. One of the outbuildings has been identified as a "slave quarter" and
archaeology is being used to study materials from this structure alongside those from the
main house.
Linda Abend (in the red cap), co-chair of the Trust’s
Archaeology Committee, works with some volunteers.
Younger excavators were participants in a day
camp called "Time Travelers."
The work this season at Springfield was designed taking into account work previously
done at the site, the Trust’s interests in outreach, and cultural resource management
strategies. The work plan consisted of approximately three weeks of fieldwork with
both adult volunteers and a children’s day camp, supervised by the archaeologists.
Excavations on the House Lot
We established a grid encompassing the north and east yards of the Springfield lot
and distributed 1x1 meter units across it every 10 meters. Some of these units were
offset to avoid trees and other landscape features. A total of 21 square meters were
excavated in this area. Several of the squares were grouped together to explore
particularly interesting or complicated features.
This aerial view of Springfield shows the main house (center) and
the outbuildings.
This view of the "slave quarter" from the northeast shows
a backfilled excavation unit in the foreground.
Volunteers begin excavating next to the "buttery."
All of the soil was screened and we have notes, drawings and photographs in addition to
the artifacts we recovered. The artifacts found reflect normal household activity—no
strong evidence of crafts, manufacturing, etc. There were artifacts identifiably as recent
as the 1970s and 1980s, as well as artifacts with could date back as far as the seventeenth century.
Over 80 large bags of artifacts were recovered from the test units in the house yard.
The area directly behind the "slave quarter" has been recently disturbed. This is
probably the result of the renovation of that structure in the 1950s. As a result,
all of the layers down to bedrock contain modern artifacts, probably reflecting the last
days of occupation by the Misses Gilbert, and the activities of the building crew.
Therefore, even though the deposits contain nineteenth century materials, they will not be
as good a comparison as we had hoped with the midden located in front of the "quarter"
during the last season of excavation.
Within approximately 15 meters of the back of the "quarter," are test units that contain
artifacts dating exclusively to the mid nineteenth century or earlier. A number of these layers
were quite rich and will be suitable for detailed analysis. At the outer reaches of the yard,
nearest the fences separating Springfield from its northern neighbors the test pits again
contain modern artifacts (mid-twentieth century) in every layer. The one unit we opened that
was not in the east/northeast yard was adjacent to the "buttery." We found evidence of
construction features and the many artifacts recovered will help to date the retaining wall
between the "buttery" and the "quarter," which may give greater insight into the date of
the terracing and other landscaping around the house.
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