One of the first and most important questions we asked when beginning our analysis of the South Grove Midden was whose trash is it, anyway? Our first impression of the assemblage was that the majority of the artifacts were from the 18th century, but when exactly were the many layers of trash and soil deposited? Questions of site formation and chronology can be answered using two basic archaeological methods: TPQ (or terminus post quem) analysis and seriation. When the results of these analyses are taken into account with the historical documentary evidence, we begin to form an interpretation of how and when the trash layers built up -- which of the Washington households discarded this trash.

TPQ Analysis

Making sense of the stratum (or soil layer) relationships and chronology from the South Grove Midden required a detailed look at the excavation records and artifacts. A large brick drain running right through the center of the midden provided an important chronological marker within the stratigraphy of the midden. Documentary sources suggested that the brick drain was built in ca. 1775 to direct water run-off from the southern wing of the Mansion. Therefore, layers of soil that were intruded by this feature were deposited before that date and layers of soil that were overlying this feature were deposited after 1775.

Figure 1.

The most artifact-rich layers of soil were those intruded by the brick drain, or deposited prior to 1775, and these have received the most study to date. Based upon historical and architectural evidence, the earliest possible TPQ (or earliest beginning date of deposition) of the midden is ca. 1735, when George Washington’s father, Augustine Washington, built the Mansion (see Figure 1). Analyzing TPQs for each layer in the pre-1775 deposit suggested the feature formed between ca. 1735 to 1765. Three layers up from the bottom, the midden contained a molded white salt glazed sherd, manufactured after 1740. This layer, and the one overlying it, also contained molded pipe bowls displaying the royal arms motif dating from the early 1740s. A layer in the center of the midden contained pieces of a tin glazed ointment pot manufactured about 1750. The 1750 TPQ of this layer is supported by the presence of a molded pipe bowl with the maker’s mark “TD,” dated to 1748.

The plaster layer, near the top, is actually visible in the photo of the midden's stratigraphy.

Above this, a layer the archaeologists referred to as the ‘plaster layer’ contained an extremely high concentration of plaster. We think this plaster was discarded during one of the renovations to the Mansion. The associated artifacts suggest it was a renovation that occurred between 1750 and 1765, and the only one known is the “Phase I” expansion of the Mount Vernon Mansion completed by George Washington in 1759.

This remodeling campaign entailed raising the building from one and a half to two full stories and removing the old plaster from some rooms. The plaster is overlain by a layer containing debased scratch-blue stoneware, manufactured ca. 1765. These layers were all intruded by the ca. 1775 brick drain.

The layers of soil deposited above the brick drain had fewer artifacts implying that after 1775 less trash was deposited in the South Grove. These layers contained creamware (TPQ: 1769) and pearlware (TPQ: 1775) ceramics, supporting the chronology. The types, quantities, and sizes of artifacts differed between the pre- and post-1775 deposits. The post-1775 assemblage is comprised of fewer artifacts and the ceramic vessels are made up of only a few sherds, suggestive of a sheet midden or secondary deposition, in contrast to the artifact-rich and more extant vessel assemblage of the lower layers that appear to be primary deposits. This also coincides with George Washington’s transformation of the plantation landscape and specifically the creation of this area into the formal South Grove where flowering trees were planted.

This difference in the nature of the assemblage and mode of deposition highlights a change in waste disposal and landscape use at Mount Vernon that is corroborated by the documentary record. By planting trees and erecting a fence, Washington transformed the South Grove from a utilitarian space to a “pleasure ground.”

Seriation

The TPQ analysis of the midden’s layers and historical documentation suggested that the feature was deposited between 1735 and 1765, but we were unable to date the many layers of trash more exactly using artifact manufacturing dates. Our goal was to align the strata with changes in the Washington households during this time period. We chose to seriate ceramic sherds, rather than nails as seen in the previous example, because they are the most abundant artifact type from the midden and are time sensitive.

Seriation shows that there are two distinct peaks in deposition that, based on the dates obtained from the TPQ analysis, correspond to changes occurring within the Washington households (see Figure 2). Layer N represents the lowest layer in the midden and could relate to everyday activities of the earliest (c. 1735) Washington household. As the seriation curve shows, 17% of the sherds were deposited in layer J while 18% of the sherds were deposited in layer D.

Figure 2.

The TPQ dates suggest that the lower peak, layer J, probably occurred upon Lawrence Washington’s death in 1752 as the house was cleaned out for Anne Fairfax Washington’s departure and George Washington’s arrival. The second peak, Layer D, relates to the household changes that took place in the late 1750s when George Washington, after returning from the French and Indian War, began his first campaign to remodel Mount Vernon (removing plaster from certain rooms) and married Martha Custis.

Through seriation of specific ceramic vessels and ceramic types, differences in the Lawrence Washington and George Washington’s trash, and the meaning of these differences, become evident. Chinese export porcelain plates with the grape, bamboo, and squirrel motif, Colonoware bowls and pans, red-bodied coarse earthenware milkpans, and Rhenish jugs were all discarded in the lowest layers. Lawrence Washington inherited his father’s home and built upon it to an unknown extent, symbolizing his fortuitous marriage to Anne Fairfax, from one of the wealthiest families in Virginia at the time, and their upward movement in the colonial social hierarchy. Because it seems that the Lawrence Washington household owned and used the majority of the ceramics discarded in the midden, his ceramic tastes certainly reflect that of aspiring gentry. When Lawrence Washington died, most of the vessels discarded were Chinese export porcelain plates and outmoded Rhenish jugs, as represented in this lower ceramic sherd peak. When George Washington rented Mount Vernon, it seems likely that he and his relatives used the goods contained in the house.

Mended Staffordshire slipware mug.

George Washington rented the property from Lawrence’s widow from 1754 through 1758, though he only lived there sporadically in between his assignments during the French and Indian War. The later peak in frequency of ceramic deposition is comprised of a second set of Chinese export porcelain plates – this one with a flower basket motif – Chinese export porcelain teawares, Staffordshire slipware handled bowls, tin glazed punch bowls, and Rhenish chamber pots. At this time, Washington may have been making room for his purchases of fashionable stoneware and porcelain, among other items, to furnish his remodeled house and display himself among Virginia’s rising well-to-do planter class.

Before George Washington even owned the property, he was making changes that reflected his social aspirations, which are directly reflected in the archaeological record. These include large amounts of plaster resulting from the impressive expansion of the house, and a wide variety of ceramic ware types and vessel forms thrown away to allow for the introduction of newly imported, fashionable stonewares received in 1757. The South Grove Midden site, and the artifacts it contained, gives us a rare glimpse into the early households of Mount Vernon, the changes between them, and how they viewed themselves within the greater 18th-century Chesapeake society.