Colonial Goodies and the reconstruction of a long lost site!!! I am an arteest!!!!!!!

[HomeGuardDan]

Bill and I got out today for a nice little foray into a new site for me (return visit for Bill). This was a nice little colonial site that Bill got in last season and the peanuts had been plucked so off we went.

It has been dug hard and while there were finds still to be made, the true find was the site itself.

Not to bore you with an overwhelming amount of text, my finds for the day were 15 buttons (and pieces). A few nice buckle parts, and a silver colonial thimble (my favorite metal artifact/find of the day) and an odd 1907 IH penny (not sure how it got there).

On to the true story. About three hours in, I had spent considerable time looking to locate a pit or two when finally I went back to surface hunting. Bill calls over "I think I found a foundation" and a foundation feature it was. We had left the probe in the truck, a considerable distance away so decided to surface hunt some more before fetching it. Once retrieved, we got to work, first probing one wall, and then another, until we found the first corner. We methodically dug test holes every few feet and marked others where we knew we had hit the foundation with the probe. The site began to line up. My intent was to try and locate the fire box and to dig out a corner or two as I have had luck in the past doing that.

In total it took over 2 hours, but we managed to mark off a near perfect 16'x30' foundation. This site dates likely to the late 1700's and the size and design of the feature also spoke to the same. About 20' to the N of the site I eyeballed several large pieces of burnt brick on the surface so I figured the fire box/chimney would likely be on that side as the brick I found were likely from the fallen chimney, scorned from years of use. We did manage to dig out the corners on the N side (Bill took some great pictures) and in the NW corner we found considerable ash and burnt wood. First thinking the house might have been burned (brick was burned as well) that changed when we dug the NE corner and saw very little ash and brick and no burnt wood. I suspect the chimney was closer to the NW corner if not directly at it.

Not knowing if the farmer and/or owner would allow such a project, we marked it off and filled it in. Hopefully we will get back one day and really move some dirt as I believe the site warrants such an exploration. Still, very cool and while the thimble was as I said "my favorite metal/artifact" this site certainly was my favorite find (Bill technically found it ha ha).

The coin contest is still 1-0 as no colonial silver coins were dug...I was sure my silver thimble was going to be one.

HH

Dan

 

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[Scrappy]

Whoa, cool graphics Dan! I enjoyed the in depth investigation and it seems like you guys found a good project for the future. Great assortment of buttons and relics. You fellas have some beautiful country down there in Virginia and I hope to get back there someday. Cheers

 

[joeyfresh]

Look at you two playing archaeologists, how cute haha. Just kidding, I love that stuff and the renderings are really cool. Surface hunting is good but the good stuff is down deep.

 

[Bill D. (VA)]

Great post and summary of our little adventure. We need to do more of this as we've certainly found our fair share of early foundations over the last few years. Even though we didn't make any additional finds in or around the foundation, it was still a really cool and worthwhile effort to solve the mystery of the home's exact location. And I'm sure the owner whose descendants lived here will be excited to see what we uncovered. By the way, I think you had a typo in your post as I think we measured the foundation at 30 x 16, which is certainly typical for a home from this period.

 

[HomeGuardDan]

Great post and summary of our little adventure. We need to do more of this as we've certainly found our fair share of early foundations over the last few years. Even though we didn't make any additional finds in or around the foundation, it was still a really cool and worthwhile effort to solve the mystery of the home's exact location. And I'm sure the owner whose descendants lived here will be excited to see what we uncovered. By the way, I think you had a typo in your post as I think we measured the foundation at 30 x 16, which is certainly typical for a home from this period.

Yea, I know of two sites already that would be interesting to do this at...and thanks for the typo catch...made the fix.

Had fun as always man, and I do think if we dug that out more we would find some items...that use layer looked too good.

 

[pepperj]

Really cool post up Dan, looks like a great project if the permission to dig comes up.

 

[Bill D. (VA)]

Yea, I know of two sites already that would be interesting to do this at...and thanks for the typo catch...made the fix.

Had fun as always man, and I do think if we dug that out more we would find some items...that use layer looked too good.

Yeah, and maybe one day it'll lead to the discovery of a cellar. I've always wanted to dig one of those out, and even though it would be a mammoth job, you know what might be hiding in one of its corners .....

 

[49r Relics]

Nice post, finds and investigation. Enjoyed seeing the line drawings, we'll done. ;-)

 

[The Patriot]

Very nice post…I am impressed with the detail and time put in your post…thank you so much for sharing! keep us posted

 

[Silver Tree Chaser]

Dan - Good to see you and Bill out in the fields. I've read that the builder's trench around an old foundation can yield a rich assortment of finds. I experienced that myself at one site, but I've since searched a few other cellar holes (digging and sifting). I haven't been able to duplicate my initial success. Good luck on your next outing.

 

[Valley Ranger]

Very cool Dan. I recognized the pattern of that buckle piece in your 4th image. I found mine at a colonial site here in the Shenandoah Valley earlier this year. See:

 

[HomeGuardDan]

Very cool Dan. I recognized the pattern of that buckle piece in your 4th image. I found mine at a colonial site here in the Shenandoah Valley earlier this year. See:


View attachment 1228157

thanks man. If you are finding those you are in the right spot. That style if fairly typical of late 1700's shoe buckles

 

[Patriot Relics]

Love the graphic Dan- nice collection of relics!

 

[screwynewy]

Very interesting and exciting read. You two may have missed your calling - perhaps archaeology is in your futures. Uncovering early American history has always fascinated me. Hope to see more from this adventure again.

 

[creskol]

That's neat, Dan! Great post! Thanks for sharing that!

 

[parsonwalker]

Very cool work, and nice buttons man.

 

[Brian W]

I must say that you and Bill put alot of effort into your hunts....It's a lot of research just finding the older sites....And you guys take it a step further by learning the layout of the land...but it pays off in a big way...awesome buttons and love the silver thimble...congrats

 

[joeyfresh]

Yeah, and maybe one day it'll lead to the discovery of a cellar. I've always wanted to dig one of those out, and even though it would be a mammoth job, you know what might be hiding in one of its corners .....

Bottles!!

 

[Bill D. (VA)]

Bottles!!

You mean like this??

 

[HomeGuardDan]

You mean like this??

View attachment 1228246

Mmmmmm bottles.....mmmmm ha ha. Or coins and broken bottles work too. Honestly I recovered some of my nicest colonial glass and ceramics from the corner of a foundation and my best pipe bowl and artifact pit was in and around a firebox of a site (bill that one still could be probed as I never dug anymore of it than what we did ... Return visit) let's do it this year for sure.