The Current Project

2006 Excavation

The 2006 excavation was the first intensive archaeological examination of a section of the Ravenscroft site. Unlike the 1954 project, which was motivated by architectural restoration, or the 1998 project done in advance of site development, the 2006 project was designed around a series of specific research questions: When was Structure A built? What did it look like? How was it used? And how did it relate to Structure B, located just to the east? In order to answer these questions, a 9 by 15 meter (approximately 30 by 50 foot) unit was laid out over the cellar area, with significant margins to explore any structural additions.

Opening the 2006 site for excavation.

Removing plowzone from the Ravenscroft site.

Much of the 2006 summer season was devoted to stripping plowzone (layers churned by repeated plowing) in order to reveal the cellar of Structure A. Although the artifacts from this churned layer are no longer attributable to specific owners or households, they present a picture of unusual affluence for many residence of the Ravenscroft site.

Only a small section of the cellar’s east wall was exposed during the course of the 2006 excavation, yet archaeologists now have a clearer understanding of Structure A’s construction date. Despite hopes that the cellar was constructed in the 17th century (based on the large number of 17th-century artifacts recovered from the midden in 1998), further excavation and analysis proved this wrong. Fragments of a ceramic first made in 1725 were found in the “builder’s trench” along the cellar’s east side, indicating that the building was constructed sometime after that date.

A portion of the east wall of Structure A found in 2006.

So if Structure A dates from sometime after 1725, why are there so many 17th-century artifacts on the site? Archaeologists have found that most of these early materials (including clay roofing tiles manufactured nearby kiln operating around 1660) were recovered from the midden on the east side of the cellar. This large trash deposit was dumped very quickly, soon after the cellar was built. It appears, then, that while Structure A was under construction, someone was tearing down a 17th-century building close by, and tossing the building materials in the trash pit. As archaeologists look toward the future of the Ravenscroft project, one objective will be to identify where this 17th-century house stood.

Thimble recovered from the Ravenscroft site.

Questions to be addressed in 2007 focus on understanding the layout and function of Structure A when the cellar is completely exposed and intact soil layers are thoroughly examined for evidence of additions. But undoubtedly new questions will be raised as we fully expose the 18th-century surfaces in this area.

Students map one wall of the Ravenscroft excavation.