Dig Diary #14 October 2, 2006

Red, pebbly 18th-century path pre-excavation.

This past week we have been busy working on units 667 and 669 that contain the eastern pathways in Area 2. Eleanor and Kristi have been working on the central path, from the bowling green garden gate to the Greenhouse. The Vaughan Plan suggests there was a path in this location in the late 18th century. After taking off the top path layers in 669, they uncovered a utility pipe, the first in Area 2, but not the first for Eleanor and Kristi. Luckily, the modern intrusion did not completely disturb the path layers. In fact, it appears that right below these 20th-century layers and intrusions is evidence for Washington’s main path. The single layer underneath the intrusion is half a foot deep, reddish, pebble-filled, and approximately 10-feet wide. Below the path layer there is a relatively sterile yellowish brown clay loam. We believe it is masking the gray planting features seen to the west. We’ll see!

Profile of multiple path layers in 667.

Amy and I worked on a secondary path just west of the main one. We removed 17 distinct path layers in unit 667! The third to last path layer we removed was thin, red, and had large pebbles. Although these are characteristics of 18th-century paths identified in other areas of the garden, we found artifacts within the layer that date to more recent time periods (specifically, a machine-made screw). Layers below the red pebbly path also contained artifacts dating to the 19th century; therefore, we have not found evidence for Washington-era paths anywhere west of the central path. Of course, keep in mind that if there were 18th-century paths in a different location, they could have been disturbed by planting activities during the 19th and 20th centuries.

Prince Andrew dedicates the Distillery.

Also this week, the Preservation Department was buzzing with excitement over the dedication of George Washington’s Distillery. This dedication is the culmination of a multi-year project to research, excavate, and reconstruct the Distillery. And we were all star struck by special guest Prince Andrew, Duke of York who traveled all the way from the UK to speak about Washington’s pioneering role as a businessman, cut the ribbon around the Distillery, and splash some whiskey on the building. It was a gorgeous day and the building looks fantastic. Just wait until it opens to the public next April!

Kristi’s and my time with Mount Vernon has come to a close; we had a wonderful summer excavating in the garden and want to thank everyone who contributed and followed along!

Emily Bank

Dig Diary #13 September 27, 2006

Me happily digging in the main pathway.

Hey folks, hope you’ve been having a good week. The weather is turning cooler and the archaeologists digging in the Upper Garden are enjoying the break from the summer heat. It seems as if the visitors are taking advantage of this cool and slightly breezy weather too, we’ve had lots of visitors to our site.

Outline of a pair of planting features.

This week we’re back in Area 2 and attempting to learn even more about that section of the garden. We have made some exciting discoveries this week. While removing a layer of soil from the bottom of our long trench, we noticed areas with darker soils. As we excavated the darker soil formed into very clearly defined areas of organic soil which we think are garden beds. The “beds” are in pairs, and so far we have uncovered five pairs within the western 40’ the trench. This may indicate (and I stress the word “may” as theories are still being formulated and tested) that they may have once been a series of small rectangular beds with some sort of walkway/divider separating them. Pretty neat!!

We are also working on the new squares started last week. This unit allowed us a great peek into the stratigraphy (layers) below the pathway, and helped give us some hints as to what to expect during the upcoming weeks of excavations. Have good one, Kristi 

Dig Diary #12 September 11, 2006

Kristi exposes a possible garden bed.

Hello again! Thanks to the Labor Day holiday and some rain we’ve not been in the field full time, but we did spend a week at both Areas 1 and 2. Our crew is much smaller, Kristi and Emily are still here, but most of the volunteers are gone and we really miss Emma and Ben.

Under the shade of the large magnolia, we continued excavation in Area 1. Now that we are below the path layers, much of what we are digging seems to be shaping up into linear features running east – west. Because of their shape we’re guessing these might be planting beds, and given their stratigraphic position, below the garden’s paths, we’re hypothesizing they might relate to the earliest (c. 1762 – 1785) garden! The artifacts from these features support this hypothesis, although we’re not finding much.

Back in Area 2, we opened up a new unit, 668, extending our trench to the east.

Emily cleaning 668, the new unit.

With a new unit, once again, we find all the usual modern suspects: plastics, candy wrappers, flash bulbs, etc. Soon, we will open unit 669, placing us directly on top of the current path which runs from the Bowling Green gate to the Greenhouse. We think that this path is probably original because a path in this location is on the Vaughan Plan; digging here should provide details on its width, placement, and age.

On our lab days, we’ve been sorting through the smaller artifacts recovered through water screening the soil from the square feature in Area 2.

Tiny artifacts found through waterscreening.

Water screening through 1/16 inch wire mesh allows us to capture tiny artifacts that we don’t retain in the ¼ mesh – things like fish bones, seeds, pins, and fish scales. It is a rich assemblage of domestic material and certainly the most artifacts we’ve found anywhere in the garden – this feature is very intriguing and theories about its function abound!

Adieu!

Amy Newman

Dig Diary #11 August 28, 2006

This is our walk to work every morning!

Take time to smell the flowers.

I thought I’d start out my Dig Diary with a few photos of my walk to work. Digging at Mount Vernon over the past four plus years has been idyllic, but digging in Washington’s Flower Garden is just plain gorgeous!

Triangle bricks (aka Trivial Pursuit pieces) excavated from the rubble layer.

Area 1 Update

We have reached the horizon below what we think is the 18th-century path layer. Just below the red pebbly path layer were two soil strata characterized by a high density of rubble inclusions. Interestingly, as Ben and Dan sorted through the brick, mortar, and sandstone from these layers, they found bricks that they describe as looking like Trivial Pursuit pieces. These triangle bricks are (and apparently were) actually used as finishing pieces at top of the garden walls. The discovery of the triangle bricks suggests that there was some localized work (the layer was primarily concentrated in unit 780 and 770) on the wall in this area before the formal paths were laid. We have yet to determine if the work entailed construction, destruction, or maintenance of the wall. A preliminary look at the artifacts suggests that this layer was deposited sometime after 1775.

Prehistoric tool excavated from Area 1.

After excavating the soil layers containing varying amounts of rubble, we have reached what look like broader soil layers, none with the typical path-like pebble inclusions. Presumably, this dirt built up before the formal east/west and perimeter pathways were established. Our first evidence of gravel walkways is recorded in 1775, but it is possible that the paths were covered with stone before then and this fact was simply not recorded. However, as initial artifact research suggests, our red pebbly garden paths date after 1775.

The broader soil layers contain fairly high amounts of artifacts, especially considering we are digging in a garden where people typically did not dispose of their trash. It is possible that some of this soil may relate to the nearby House for Families slave quarter and built up in the years before the garden was reorganized in the mid-1780s. We look forward to exploring this hypothesis and exposing features previewed in the walls of the pipe trenches in the coming week.

Square feature dug in unit 666.

Area 2 Update

After removing several dense clay layers, the team in Area 2 exposed some intriguing features that they then recorded by mapping and photographing. One compelling feature, square, unstratified, and charcoal-rich, was jointly excavated by Emma and Emily. It was 2.8 by 3 feet and yielded lots of artifacts including nails, window glass, animal teeth, tobacco pipes, half a bone button, and ceramic sherds. The fill actually contained a surprising amount of artifacts and charcoal for this area of the garden, which suggests that the fill of the feature may date to later in the 18th century. The hypothesis as to the date of when this feature was filled in is confirmed by the artifacts in the layer, (based on the appearance of whiteware and cut nails) which date to the early 19th century. Was this hole dug to plant or remove a bush or tree? Was it a posthole for an earlier fenceline? We hope further analysis will illuminate the function of Emma and Emily’s feature.

Finally, over the past two weeks we have said goodbye to our college interns, Ben and Emma, and volunteers. We wish them the best in the coming semester and thank them for all their hard work this summer!

Eleanor