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Seventeenth- and Eighteenth-Century Virginia
- Kendall-Gardner Site
- During the summer of 2003 the Department of Archaeological
Research, with assistance from students from the College of William and
Mary, excavated an eighteenth-century sawpit just west of the George Wythe
property, north of the Bruton Parish Churchyard. Though vacant today,
Colonial Lot 241 was occupied successively, during the late 1760s and
early 1770s, by two carpenters, Joshua Kendall and James Gardner. Advertisements
printed in the Virginia Gazette provide accounts of the types of work
that Kendall and Gardner performed-everything from painting and gilding
to sash-making and plumbing. Yet, the appearance of this carpenter’s
yard remains sketchy. The purpose of the 2003 excavation was to gather
physical evidence for the Kendall-Gardner trade site, enabling Colonial
Williamsburg to reconstruct an historically-accurate carpenter’s yard
sometime in the future.
- Rich Neck Plantation
- In summer 2000, for the seventh year, Colonial Williamsburg
archaeologists examined a fascinating seventeenth-century plantation complex
about a mile west of the Historic Area. Rich Neck Plantation, home of
Philip and Thomas Ludwell in the 1660s and 1670s, was among the
great plantations that have become a hallmark of early Tidewater
Virginia and Maryland. One of the founding plantations of the
area known as Middle Plantation (the community that preceded Williamsburg),
Rich Neck’s architectural sophistication and elaborate layout set it apart from
nearly all of its colonial neighbors.
- John Page Site
- In 1989, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation acquired the Bruton
Heights School property on the outskirts of the Historic
Area and began an ambitious construction program culminating in the opening
of the Bruton Heights School Education Center (BHSEC) in
1997. Archaeological excavations on the property revealed one of the most exciting
archaeological sites yet discovered in Williamsburg—the seventeenth-century
home and property of wealthy planter and councilor John Page. The story below
was taken from the site’s archaeological report, "‘Upon the Palisado’ and Other
Stories of Place from Bruton Heights," by John Metz, Jennifer Jones, Dwayne Pickett,
and David Muraca (Colonial Williamsburg Research Publications, 1998).
- James Wray Site
- In October 2002, Colonial Williamsburg archaeologists completed a
nine-month excavation at the James Wray Site prior to the construction
of a parking facility for the City of Williamsburg. The archaeological
evidence spans the centuries from seventeenth-century Middle Plantation
to the modern era. The archaeological research, in conjunction with
historical documents such as maps, deeds, accounts, and inventories,
are beginning to elucidate the rich and varied history of the artisan
activities undertaken at the Wray Site during the eighteenth century.
- Douglass-Hallam Theater Site
- Colonial Williamsburg’s ambition to reconstruct an eighteenth-century
theater is now six decades old. Archaeologists from the foundation are
currently excavating the remains of Williamsburg’s last colonial
theater, which stood from 1760 until approximately 1780. Located
on the eastern side of the Capitol, the Douglass/Hallam Theater,
the name by which it is referred to today, was a large two or
three story wood and brick structure. The ongoing archaeological
work on the playhouse is seeking to provide ideas about what this
complex structure looked like. In addition, the research will
also shed light on how the theater functioned within Williamsburg’s
colonial landscape.
- James Anderson Site
- Excavations on the site of James Anderson’s blacksmith shop
were held between June 2000 and February 2001. The excavations were
intended to help us understand the activities taking place in
and around two small outbuildings on the southern half of the
property.
- Peyton Randolph Site
- In July 1982, Colonial Williamsburg’s newly-formed
Office of Excavation and Conservation started
its first undertaking: the archaeological investigation
of the Peyton Randolph back lot. It was this
project that built the foundations upon which
the Department of Archaeological Research has
based its long-range research program and where
it developed the methods and techniques needed
to carry that program out. It wasn’t the first
time archaeology had visited the Peyton Randolph
property, however. That was over 60 years ago.
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