A Student’s Perspective

Written by Rachel A. McKinnis-Mettler

Student Rachel A. McKinnis-Mettler is participating in an upper level section of the Archaeological Field Methods class at the Ravenscroft site. In partial fulfillment, Rachel will provide a weekly update on her experience.

Metal objects (nails and a hook) as they look when first excavated

Week 1: Artifact Types

The Ravenscroft and Davenport site, located near the heart of Colonial Williamsburg, is visited by numerous guests of the museum each day. During my participation in the excavation, I have been asked one question in particular over and over again.

“Have you found anything?”

The answer is a resounding “Yes.”

The site, despite its being disturbed numerous times over the last two hundred years, has been surprisingly productive in terms of colonial period artifacts. One can hardly touch trowel to dirt without hitting some material witness to the lives lived in the Ravenscroft and Davenport households.

Ceramic sherds from the site

The most numerous of the artifacts that I have unearthed are undoubtedly ceramic pottery sherds. Pottery can be particularly useful to archaeologists and researchers for dating sites. As pottery styles go in and out of production, the time of site occupation can be estimated. Sherds that I have collected from this site have included primarily creamware, which has a shiny cream-colored appearance. Just today, from one excavation unit alone, I have seen sherds ranging from a deep rust color, to blue and white etched patterns, to a simple white. It takes little imagination to envision these vibrant pieces resting in a late 18th century parlor cabinet.

Glass fragments

Also prevalent in the site has been pieces of glass. This can range from a clear window pane glass to the deep green glass of wine bottles. Pipe stems from the white clay tobacco smoking pipes are a slightly more rare find, as well as rusted metal objects like window hooks and nails. Aside from these manufactured objects, the bone remains of animals that have been butchered and eaten are found throughout the site.

So, if you’re in the neighborhood, please drop by our site. We’d love to show you what we’ve found!

Animal bones and teeth from the site

Tobacco pipe stems

Week 2: Public Archaeology

Archaeobotanical Remains to be sorted.

The Ravenscroft/Davenport site offers a unique look into the goings on of an archaeological dig to the guests of Colonial Williamsburg. Having never worked on a “public archaeology” project before, this was a new experience for me. After getting over the initial self-consciousness of troweling for an audience, my interactions with the public have been a continual encouragement. While not as nail-biting as Indiana Jones, the visitors to the site have been genuinely interested in our efforts, and their insightful questions have kept us on our toes.

Our most captivated visitors have been the children that have visited the site. Full of questions and eager to get their hands dirty, many have enjoyed the hands-on activities that are offered. Giving our younger guests the opportunity to do some of the things archaeologists do on the job–sorting botanical remains, recreating 18th century wine bottle seals, and cleaning artifacts fresh from the dirt–opens their eyes (and their parents’) to the many facets of archaeological analysis. It makes digging in the hot sun worth it to hear the kiddos tell me that they want to be an archaeologist like me when they grow up.

Recreate 18th Century wine bottle seals to take home.

Public archaeology has numerous benefits, one of which is engaging the public in the wellbeing of the site and the artifacts it produces. When visitors are able to witness the artifacts being unearthed, and gain an understanding of the detailed analysis that goes on in the lab, they hold a stake in the artifacts’ future. The child who cleans a pottery sherd with a toothbrush and gardening gloves will inevitably feel the powerful connection and sense of stewardship that those in the heritage industry feel about the artifacts with which they work. Without this, artifacts become nothing more than antiques, and archaeological sites nothing more than fields.

Analyze faunal (animal) remains found in archaeological sites.

Week 3: Feature Excavation

As is common in urban archaeological sites, there are numerous “modern” disturbances in our site—utility lines, a 1924 school foundation, fence post holes, and scars of years of plowing. We also have trenches from a 1954 architectural excavation throughout the site. This is in addition to the 18th century activity, which is our primary research focus. You might be wondering just how we keep it all straight. Here’s how:

Many of you may be familiar with the method of excavation that opens one meter by one meter excavation units at various locations on a site. Ravenscroft, however, is an open-area site. This means we have instead opened up one large area (which is still mapped out in distinct excavation units for note taking and mapping purposes). This allows us to view soil changes and patterns that would indicate events of disturbance, such as a utility trench being dug, a hearth being constructed, or the previous location of a fence post. We then start with the most recent event or disturbance, what we call a feature, and excavate according to its boundaries. This allows us to keep the dirt used to backfill a utility trench separate from otherwise intact soil. This excavation method has resulted in the many trenches and plateaus that so many of our guests have pointed out. By excavating in this manner, we can form a clearer picture of the activity in our site at a given point in history. In the mid-18th century, one would have seen a kitchen outbuilding, and in 1935 one would have seen an early African American school. While some of these events may seem more important to the narrative history of the site, it is all part of the history of the corner of Nicholson and Botetourt Street...even the water pipes.

Numerous features in a portion of the excavation - the bricks form the 18th century hearth, an unexcavated trench is just above the hearth brick (the darker soil - see pictures below), there is a post hole visible in the upper right corner, an excavated trench to the right of the hearth, and a utility line in the upper left corner. Photo taken July 13th, 2009.

An architectural excavation trench (named a “Jimmy trench” after the C.W. drafter James Knight) pre-excavation. The trench is the darker soil running horizontally (narrow on the left and widening out on the right) below the bricks.

The same Jimmy trench after excavation

Rachel received her Bachelor’s Degree in anthropology from the University of Hawaii and is currently doing archaeobotanical research through the Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History in Texas. Come see her and her field school classmates at the Ravenscroft site in Colonial Williamsburg Monday through Friday from 9am to noon, and 1pm to 4pm.