Method of Excavation
Digging was initially confined to the immediate vicinity of the chimney foundation (Area B on fig. 3) and to the previously described test trench (A). An east/west trench (D) was next dug to link the two and to isolate the disturbed areas of the tree hole and 19th-century pit in Areas C and G.
Owing to a shortage of labor and the rigors of the weather, it was necessary to confine the digging to small areas which could be completed in a single day's work. Consequently, it was not possible to clear the whole area, as one part would be back-filled during the digging of the next. Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins, the owners of the property, were extremely tolerant of the damage that was done to their gardens, but after the clearance of the large area E, they indicated that the project had gone far enough. Nevertheless, they were persuaded to permit the cutting of another smaller test area to the west (F), but when this, too, failed to find the westerly extremity of the cellar, the project was abandoned. Subsequently, relatives of the owners cut into the exposed north face of area E and extracted a number of potsherds and other fragmentary objects from the sand filling.[18] The undercutting of the bank extended to a distance of 1 foot 6 inches without encountering the north edge of the cellar, thus showing that the total width was in excess of 14 feet.
Extensive probing all around the total area of excavation failed to produce any further traces of the building, though the 1 foot 8 inches of topsoil and sandy loam was found to be bedded on numerous small deposits of oystershells and scattered brickbats. Test holes found that all the located deposits north and west of the existing house had been laid down or disturbed in the 19th century. Five test traverses with a soil resistivity meter west and south of the excavation area produced numerous anomalies which, when checked out, all failed to be associated with the 17th-century cellar. It seemed that the misleading readings were caused by variations in the density and moisture-retaining qualities of the natural sandy clay subsoil.
Early in 1963, while planting a small tree to the south of the existing house, Mr. Jenkins encountered a stratum of oystershells at approximately 8 inches below the present grade. (Fig. 2, Area K.) A series of small test holes was subsequently dug to the south and southeast of the house, and showed that the layer of shells (average thickness 4 inches) overlay the subsoil and was spread over an area at least 15 by 10 feet. A small number of 19th-century pottery fragments were found mixed into the stratum, but the vast majority of the artifacts comprised bottle glass and earthenwares of similar types to those encountered in the cellar hole excavation.[19] The most important item was a pewter spoon handle of late 17th-century character (fig. 15, no. 27) stamped with the initial "M." The presence of this obvious domestic refuse was not satisfactorily explained, but it is concluded that it was originally deposited on the land surface and later disturbed by cultivation.
Figure 7.—Remains of decayed board on floor in front of underhearth. (Photo courtesy of E. DeHardit.)
Landscaping work towards the York River west of the house had yielded a few widely scattered fragments of colonial and Indian pottery as well as numerous 19th-century sherds. The colonial material was predominantly of late 17th-or early 18th-century date, but two sherds of Staffordshire combed dishes were of a type unlikely to date before about 1720. No archeological digging was undertaken in these areas.