26April2008
Posted by Mark Trickett under: Sites; South Yard; Training Programs.
As we mentioned in the previous ‘blog entry, this years excavations will focus in the South Yard, or the area of the domestic slave quarter complex in the nineteenth century. At present, we have two field schools and five 1- and 2-week training programs that will be helping the Montpelier Archaeology Department excavate and interpret the archaeological finds in this area. (Artist’s impression of the South Yard complex seen to the left.)
If you are interested in participating in the excavation programs at James Madison’s Montpelier, please click the appropriate link, below:
- To participate in one of the university field schools, or one of the 1-week programs, please contact Dr. Matthew Reeves, Director of Archaeology, using our contact page. Please indicate the dates or field school that you are interested in participating in. Also, for field schools please indicate whether you wish to take the field school for credit, or whether you would like to participate to broaden your experience base (no credit).
- To participate in one of the two-week programs run by Earthwatch, please click on the following link: Earthwatch Expeditions—Restore America’s Heritage (Montpelier) and follow instructions contained in that webpage.
- If you wish to volunteer or become an intern with the Montpelier Archaeology Department, please contact Dr. Matthew Reeves on the contact page, above.
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17April2008
Posted by Mark Trickett under: The Mansion.
There are a great number of changes occurring at Montpelier in 2008, including the Grand Opening of the Mansion on Constitution Day (Wednesday, September 17th). As a part of these changes, construction is soon to begin upon the public bathrooms that will be located behind and to the north of the mansion, thereby hiding them from direct view from the mansion. Before any construction can take place, however, archaeological excavations are required to ensure that no historic deposits are damaged and that we have as full an understanding of the sub-surface history of Montpelier as is possible.
Previous, more limited, excavations were undertaken in this area before the installation of the trailers for the Architectural Research Department (ARD). These revealed a number of interesting features – a brick layer, what appeared to be some buried topsoils, and some plow scars – that we hoped would have more light shed upon them in the expanded excavations of this field season.
Excavation of a number of units rapidly revealed the presence of several distinct fill layers: one of compacted red clay; one that was full of architectural material such as brick and mortar; and what appeared to be at least two buried topsoils (indicating that they had not removed the topsoil before adding the subsequent landscaping fills). This sequence, seen in the photograph to the right, was repeated across the project area, and, based upon the brick recovered, appears to date to the early 19th century and the filling of the rear lawn during the 1808-1812 renovations. The presence of low-fired brick rubble within these fill layers suggests the filling of the rear lawn occurred at the same time that Hugh Chisolm (the Madison’s mason) underpinned the 1765 portion of the mansion. During this underpinning, the low-fired “salmon” brick that was below grade was replaced with a higher-fired brick. The result was piles of brick rubble needing disposal and the landscape changes for the rear lawn potentially served as an advantageous locale for this rubble. Similar salmon brick was located in the excavations of clay fill at the bunker site (bunker being the underground vault in the rear lawn.
Perhaps more intriguing were the plow scars identified under the layer of architectural material and what appeared to be a buried topsoil. These linear striations appear to be linked to the overlying fill layers and actually may have been formed at the same time. Mark Wenger, architectural historian on the Montpelier restoration project, hypothesized that a plow may have been used to break up the highly compact soil present in the project area, while alternatively they may represent hitherto unknown horticultural activities. Could this area have been a garden used by the James Madison, Sr. household, later covered by James Madison, Jr. and his landscapes? Of perhaps it was exclusively a part of the massive alterations to the landscape that James Madison, Jr. authored in the early 19th century?
What do you think? Registered members of the ‘blog may leave comments by clicking the small army-green “pill-box” underneath this ‘blog entry. Let us know what you think these plow scars might represent.
Excavation will continue in the Bathroom Area for the next two weeks, after which we will be moving into the South Yard project area in preparation for the James Madison University Field School in mid-May.
16April2008
Posted by Matthew Reeves under: In the Laboratory.
We are making significant strides in the construction of the new lab at Montpelier. With spring full upon us, we are busily working on the interior and exterior of the building (a classroom trailer that was donated by James Madison University). We have completely gutted the trailer and have installed several windows to let in more light and replaced all the old rusted metal doors with sleek glass windows. Our favorite spot in the trailer is the picture window that looks out over the farm yard area (Constitutional Village).
In addition to outfitting the trailer with what one would expect in a lab (storage shelves, work tables, wash sink, etc.), we are also going to install display cabinets for mended ceramic vessels from our various excavations and study collection cabinets where students, staff and volunteers can easily peruse a wide variety of ceramics, glasswares, nails, Civil War objects, and other artifacts. These will not only be used for teaching, but also to introduce visitors to the lab to our finds and the diversity of materials recovered from the grounds of Montpelier. We will also feature a display cabinet for our latest finds in the field. We hope to attract more visitors to our friendlier and much more efficient lab once we open in mid-May for the JMU field school. A pleasant feature of the lab will be a covered work deck where all the water screening and power-washing will take place. For those of you who have water screened at the old lab, you will appreciate the improved facilities!
27March2008
Posted by Matthew Reeves under: Civil War Camp Surveys.
Our surveys in the east woods of Montpelier (behind the Constitutional Center) have been very successful in terms of locating a series of small Civil War camps. What has made these discoveries possible is the excellent work by our newest staff member, Lance Crosby. Lance, a long-time resident of Orange, has a passion for and knowledge of Civil War sites and artifacts that makes him invaluable for locating sites in areas slated for timbering. We are using Lance’s discoveries to not only protect the Civil War camps he has found, but also to interpret them through a walking trail. This new trail will feature signs detailing our discoveries from the Civil War era and providing information on good forest management practices.
Most of the sites Lance has located have no visible surface expression (mounds or depressions) so using a metal detector is the only effective means of finding them. What Lance has discovered is a series of artifact clusters containing CSA Gardiner bullets, gun tools, Confederate and Union buttons, an array of knapsack accouterments and other military accouterments. We think these sites represent the remains of bivouac positions for troops or guard posts positioned to overlook what was, during the Civil War, the farm center for Montpelier. Based on the absence of hearth features and small burnt nails (from ration boxes used for kindling), we believe these sites were occupied during the summer of 1862, when troops are known to have been at Montpelier. These smaller camps contrast with Montpelier’s larger regimental camps that we have located in the woods around the Gilmore Farm. An unexpected bonus from the survey work is that Lance has located several sites that may have been slave quarters from the Madison era.
The technique that Lance employs for locating and recording artifacts is as follows: He begins the day by going to an area designated by the archaeology department, and using his metal detector, scans the ground for metallic signatures. These ‘hits’ are then carefully excavated, ensuring that he is not getting into an area of charred wood or the organic-rich soil of a feature. Once excavated, each artifact is tagged and bagged, and a marker is placed at the location with the corresponding hit number. Lance then records the location with a hand-held Global Positioning Station (GPS) unit. At the end of each day, the recovered artifacts are checked in by the archaeological staff and the GPS unit is downloaded. Once plotted in CAD, it can be determined whether there are definable clusters of artifacts that represent potential sites. Any such clusters are revisited with a laser transit by archaeological staff and the location of each hit is recorded to within a tenth of a foot.
The site areas we have located will be protected from disturbance during the timber thinning operations that will be conducted later this summer. This timbering is designed to comply with the Virginia Department of Forestry’s Best Management Practices (BMPs) for improving Montpelier’s forest resources. It will enhance the forests by removing at risk trees and trees that crowd the growth of stronger specimens. It will also allow the development of upland meadow areas within old fields.
27March2008
Posted by Mark Trickett under: Editorials.
When you visit the Latest Dirt you get to read what we’ve been doing and, well, that might appear to be it. There are, however, some advantages to registering. First and foremost, it lets us know that you’re out there and interested in what we’re doing. We know that you’ve taken the time to register with us and, therefore, that you check by every now and again to read the latest news.
Second, if you register you can also leave comments. Leaving comments is yet another way that we can know that you’re out there. More, it’s a way that you can comment on archaeology at Montpelier. Do you want to know more about a specific process that we’re using? More about an artifact that we’ve found? A request for more information about a site, an excavation program, how to become involved with Montpelier through internship or volunteering your time? Well, you can leave a comment and someone will get right back to you with the appropriate answers.
In the next few months we have a lot of activity going on at Montpelier. Whether this is the restoration of the landscape back to its 19th-century form, or the excavation of the south yard to further our understanding of the African-American domestic slaves that James Madison housed so close to the mansion, we’re sure you’ll want to keep in touch!
We look forward to seeing your comments…
Let us know your thoughts, and your questions, whether it is on something that we’ve posted to this ‘blog or just something that you’ve always wanted to know.
28February2008
Posted by Mark Trickett under: In the Laboratory; The Mansion.
As mentioned in one of our previous posts (Winter 2007), the Montpelier archaeology staff have been spending much of the winter season in the laboratory processing the materials and samples excavated during the 2007 field season. While the majority of the staff are currently involved in the camp surveys, Kimberly Trickett has remained in the laboratory and is in the process of conserving, by electrolytic reduction, the unearthed iron artifacts. This process uses a small electric current to chemically reduce the rust, essentially removing it from the artifact and redepositing it on the anode, which in this case happens to be a cast-iron frying pan. It is a process that takes a not inconsiderable amount of time, usually on the order of several days, so it tends to be left alone for the rust to bubble in the electrolytic solution while we continue with other post-excavation processes.
Imagine our surprise when what can best be described as a corroded mass of iron and rust began to slowly reveal what looked like a “shutter dog,” a piece of hardware used to hold shutters in an open position. While initially this may not seem exciting, it becomes much more so when one considers that no shutter dogs have survived on the house. This archaeological specimen now provides the only example from which to model the recreated exterior hardware for the mansion restoration.
The shutter dog is very similar to other 18th-century examples, and its archaeological context provides the major clue as to its origin. The shutter dog was found in a brick rubble deposit just south of the front Portico. This deposit was formed in the late 1840s when the Portico columns were reshaped as part of an exterior remodeling episode. The sequence of events for this work was that the original Madison-era Portico deck was removed from the house and a temporary set of stairs was built for front access. Then between two and three feet of soil was removed from below the Portico. The shutter dog was found on the cut subsoil just south of the Portico, indicating that the exterior surface of the mansion was then prepared for stuccoing, which involved infilling windows and removing all hardware (including our shutter dog) from the house. Following the application of the stucco, the grade in front of the Portico was lowered (and the resulting soil used to cover over the old Madison-era carriage siding and roadbed) and the square bases of the Portico columns were trimmed down, allowing them to appear as circular all the way from the top to the new grade. During the chiseling of the brick columns, the shutter dog was buried underneath about six inches of brick and mortar rubble. Since the old road had been covered, a new one was installed and a layer of clay was placed atop the rubble to bring the grade under the Portico to the level of the new drive. Finally, a sand bed and brick paving were placed atop this fill.
What is important about the discovery of the shutter dog in these deposits is that its presence shows the above sequence of events occurred quite rapidly. Since the excavations under the Portico in 2004, we had never been able to clarify what delay there might have been between the stuccoing and the reconfiguration of the Portico deck. The shutter dog answers this question (the events took place over a short period of time), and also provides another piece of physical evidence that allows our restoration of the mansion to be as authentic as possible.
4February2008
Posted by Matthew Reeves under: Dolley's Midden; In the Laboratory.
This past week the winter work study (aka ceramics workshop) took place and we got a lot of work done! We were able to cross mend the Sevré porcelain plate and get a great start on cross mending many others including the Davenport Peony and Bamboo plates and bowls, the edge-decorated wares, Chinese export porcelains (blue underglaze and polychrome overglaze), and several coarse earthenware bowls. The cross mending process revealed that in our excavations we only 
recovered around 25-40% of each vessel—in other words, with the sherds at hand, only 25-30% of each vessel can be cross mended. While this ratio was a bit disappointing at first, one has to realize that with a downslope midden, the dispersal rate of artifacts is very wide ranging and that a large area needs to be excavated to recover the majority of any particular vessel. Nevertheless, it still begs the question of “where is the rest of this plate?”
One plate that did go together quite nicely is the Sevré plate. All the sherds that we recovered actually fit together, which is unusual as while one might recover 50% of the sherds, only around 20% actually cross mend. As one might imagine, this is a very frustrating result indeed! What is encouraging is that we have a wide array of vessels represented in the assemblage—close to 50 vessels. The information from these vessels will provide us with a large body of data to examine Dolley and James Madison’s consumption patterns for the retirement years.
Over the next several months, we will begin more intensive analysis of these vessels when Melissa Rich, former laboratory director, returns to assist us with this process.
18January2008
Posted by Matthew Reeves under: Civil War Camp Surveys.
We have begun a series of walkover surveys of the wooded portions of Montpelier in an effort to locate additional camps associated with the Confederate occupation of Montpelier. The areas we are focusing on are in the “East Woods” located behind the Constitutional Center and leading over to the Sheep Barn. Discussions with relic hunters relate that there have been Civil War buttons and knapsack accouterments recovered in this area and it is likely the site for summer camps. During walk-over surveys we are examining the area for depressions for huts and latrines and for any stone piles or mounds. Later this month we will return to likely spots to conduct metal detector surveys. All of this work is being conducted in advance of timber operations designed to cull weaker specimens from the wood lots to encourage a more open canopy. Following timbering, an interpretive trail will be constructed in this area that focuses on woodlot management. In the meantime, Megan, Brian, Steve, and Jeff are continuing to walk areas searching for surface features.
20December2007
Posted by Mark Trickett under: In the Laboratory.
After a hectic, yet incredibly successful field season, the Montpelier archaeologists are now squirreled away in the archaeology laboratory, busily processing the artifacts uncovered in the last year. Along with artifacts from the Front Yard, Fence-line South, and Fence-line Grotto, there were literally thousands of artifacts recovered from the Dolley’s Midden site. So there’s a lot to be excited about, and as we make progress we’ll be sure to post the details here.
Dolley’s Midden Ceramics
We’ve recently completed sorting through the ceramics assemblage from Dolley’s Midden, which, given the relatively large number of sherds, took seven people a surprisingly short amount of time. Next up is cataloging them, then it’s labeling and finally some lucky few (see our plans for our “winter work study“) will begin to “vesselize” the ceramic sherds—piece together the individual fragments into plates, bowls, jugs and even chamber pots. It is hoped that many of these reconstructed ceramics – the same that graced James and Dolley’s table during their retirement years – will be interpreted in the mansion and other locations at James Madison’s Montpelier.
Artifacts from other Project Areas
Staff archaeologists are also making headway in processing the artifacts recovered from other excavations from 2006 and 2007, including the important Front Yard excavations. These are also in the process of being written up for publication on the Montpelier website’s Archaeological Technical Reports.
New Archaeology Laboratory
After years in the old laboratory, inconveniently located far more than a stone’s throw from the archaeology office, the Archaeology Department will be moving into new facilities within the next few months. The opportunity for a new lab arose with the combination of a generous donation and James Madison University donating a classroom trailer to the archaeology department. The new laboratory, to be located right next to the archaeology office (also receiving a long-overdue refurbishment), will improve the efficiency of post-excavation analysis, as well offer a venue for newly created teaching collections and those which remain to be created. The new laboratory is also being designed as a lecture room. This will allow the Montpelier Archaeology Department to function more efficiently as a place of learning, providing both field experiences and academic lectures.
The lab renovation has been made possible through a generous donation of Cindy Reusche. Cindy has been helping out the archaeology department since the 1990s when she first joined the work study program. She recently has been elected to the Montpelier Foundation Board and had been coming down on her own time to help with everything from digitizing profiles, to advice on computer equipment, and helping in the lab.
What’s Next
The post-excavation analysis of the past field season’s artifacts is only one of the activities that the staff archaeologists will be engaged in this winter. As part of the continuing effort to preserve and recover the history of Montpelier and interpret its place in early American history, the archaeology department will be leading further walkover surveys of the Montpelier woods. Previous walkover surveys concentrated on the area of the Gilmore Cabin: A Freedman’s Farm and the Confederate winter encampments, and recovered evidence for the largest known encampments of their size and condition on protected land. (The Confederate winter encampments are now a part of the Montpelier Walking Trails.)
With the Winter 2007/2008 walkover surveys, we hope to expand our knowledge of structures and features on and around Montpelier.
5November2007
Posted by Matthew Reeves under: Mansion Front Yard.
The 2007 field season was a resounding success in terms of locating and identifying the appearance of the Madison’s front lawn during the retirement years. This season we traced the Madison-era fence line and carriage road from the front of the house all the way to the boxwood grotto. Our archaeology has revealed that, during the retirement years, the front fence was picket and ran in a straight line for over 560 feet from the temple over to the boxwood grotto. Our excavations also revealed that in this area, the Madison-era carriage road remains remarkably well preserved under a foot of clay, deposited in 1848. At that time, the Thornton family – owners of Montpelier from 1848-1854 – stuccoed the house, lowered the grade in front of the house for a new driveway, and then buried the old Madison carriage road in an effort to create a seamless, level lawn. By removing this fill, we have been able to locate not just the carriage road, but the last set of wagon wheel ruts that were pressed into the muddy surface of the road!
With these finds in hand, we are currently planning the restoration of the front yard landscape, which will include restoring the picket fence (to be built by our restoration carpentry team) from the boxwood grotto, around the curve for the gate, and over to the red cedar. We will also rebuild the carriage siding, which was revealed during excavations with the James Madison University field school during the summer of 2006. We will carry out the restoration in such a way that none of the extant archaeological deposits are disturbed, thereby keeping the 1848 fill in place, placing additional fill in the front yard, and shifting the fence 2 feet towards the mansion. We will begin the landscape work for the front yard this November and then proceed with restoration of the fence and road in the Spring. We have just finished a restoration report on the front lawn that describes the archaeology and more detailed plans for restoration.
