The Blog of Colonial Williamsburg
Last Friday, Ivor Noël Hume, who profoundly influenced the field of historical archaeology and inspired generations of students both casual and professional, passed away at 89. Over the course of his three-decade career at Colonial Williamsburg, he was a prolific and talented writer and speaker, and revered for modernizing archaeological methodology and for landmark discoveries, in particular the 17th-century Wolstenholme Towne site at Carter’s Grove….
For the next several months your ticket to the Art Museums at Colonial Williamsburg will come with a side of archaeology! Undeterred by the winter cold, archaeologists are excavating the site of the Galt Cottage, located in what is, today, the Museums parking lot. Had you visited the Galt cottage in the 18th century, however, you would have found it tucked conveniently behind the Public Hospital, at the edge of a ravine….
Archaeologist Brittany Higgs records a preserved patch of 18th-century brick paving along Duke of Gloucester Street at the Raleigh Tavern.
Archaeological research has a long history at Colonial Williamsburg, and this summer, visitors to the Historic Area had the unique opportunity to see it in action. For five months between Memorial Day and Halloween, Colonial Williamsburg’s archaeologists were busy systematically probing the ground in front of the Raleigh Tavern for evidence of a late 18th-century front porch that linked the iconic tavern to Duke of Gloucester Street….
Photograph by NG Studios/Griffin Kenemer
Before there were historic trades there were prehistoric technologies. Here comes a rare opportunity to see them side-by-side. For one day only, Saturday, November 19, RE-Arc, a meeting of reconstructive and experimental archaeologists, will bring some of the foremost experts in the world to demonstrate ancient technologies in conjunction with the group’s annual conference in Williamsburg. …
A couple of weeks ago we announced the launch of an exciting new project to research and reconstruct a porch on the front of Williamsburg’s iconic Raleigh Tavern. The project builds on previous documentary research that determined the presence of a porch on the Raleigh in the late 18th century. What the porch looked like, however, remains largely an open question….
What’s wrong with this 1955 postcard? Well, a few things, if we’re talking about how 18th-century Williamsburg would have really looked. Colonial Williamsburg’s “hostesses” used to wear formal hoop skirts. Duke of Gloucester Street used to have a lot more trees. But ongoing research has revised and enlarged our understanding of how the town looked, and how we interpret it. Today our interpreters wear more everyday clothing, and there are fewer trees.
Another revision is now imminent. The Raleigh Tavern is getting a front porch….
My first archaeological experience with Colonial Williamsburg put me at the bottom of the James Shields’ tavern well. Armpit deep in muddy water, groping for artifacts 43 feet below the ground surface, it dawned on me that archaeology was going to present some unusual opportunities. And indeed, it has. …
Mark Kostro seems awfully patient. He scrapes steadily at the soil, removing thin layers of the soil with each motion. But what lies beneath might once again revise our understanding of Williamsburg’s colonial cityscape.
Mark is a Colonial Williamsburg archaeologist, and he’s working in a hole on Duke of Gloucester St. that grows deeper by the day….
What happens when you mix 100 kids, a 300-year-old (backfilled) cellar, some Tidewater heat, and a whole lot of curiosity? The answer might surprise you!…
Trash feature at Washington Birthplace, Virginia. Photo: Andrew Edwards.
One of the most enjoyable aspects of my job as an archaeologist for Colonial Williamsburg is the opportunity to work in a public venue. Aside from talking about what I enjoy doing, I get to field questions from our visitors. Just about every day someone will ask “What is the most interesting artifact you’ve ever found?” You’d think that would be a pretty easy question, but after 40-plus years of excavation, I’ve found A LOT of stuff, so the answer requires some thought and is not always the same. It can depend on the age and demeanor of the person asking and my own state of reflection at the time. One such artifact does come to mind…
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