HomeGuardDan
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- Williamsburg, VA
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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
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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