Among the discoveries is a blue-and-white bowl with the motto “Success to all English privateers” painted in the center. 图Chuck Thomas/ODU
作者:安布尔·肯尼迪
One man's trash pit is an archaeologist's treasure. Stumbling onto long-buried discards can be a thrill for those working in the field; what we throw away says as much about how we live as what we keep.
2017年就是这种情况, when a team of archaeologists unearthed nearly 20,000 items during a dig preceding construction at the interchange of 1-64 and I-264 near Newtown Road in Virginia Beach. On land belonging to the 弗吉尼亚海岸 Church, the team from the College of William & Mary Center for Archaeological 研究 found objects from prehistoric times to the 18th century. They found layers and layers of china and pottery wedged in the dirt, some fully intact.
当挖掘结束时, 文物被归还给了教堂, whose congregation weighed the best future home for their preservation and study. They approached bet8体育娱乐入口 Libraries' Special Collections and University 档案, and the Libraries agreed to accession 20 of the objects in October. Now, the items are available to students, faculty and the outside community to study and view.
"The church really wanted it to stay close to where the history took place,杰西卡·里奇说, head of Special Collections and University 档案. "We hope students and faculty will get excited and contribute to the scholarship of what's known about who these people were."
The objects show the now-bustling area was once home to prehistoric 本地的 people who used smooth stones to sharpen rock into what's called a "biface" - a stone implement similar to an arrowhead or spear point.
Eventually, the area became an English colonial settlement called Newtown, a once-thriving port. The onset of the Revolutionary War led to a shift, with much of the population moving toward Kempsville. The trash pit makes it seem like some colonists made a hasty, or careless retreat; fully intact china and stoneware was discovered, 作为无用物抛弃.
The surviving artifacts tell the stories not only of the colonists, but of those they 奴役. Alongside fine yellow 工作人员ordshire slipware china are examples of stoneware pottery called "colonoware" made by the highly skilled 奴役 people who typically built ceramics by hand, 而不是扔在轮子上. In many cases, they clearly modified their techniques to suit the tastes of the colonists. 通常是没有上釉的, 沙色的碎片是为日常使用而制作的, 但也在当地市场出售.
"Even though they didn't have ownership of themselves, 他们对自己的艺术拥有所有权,里奇说.
The collection includes a stoneware tankard, jug and broken pieces. 人们对陶器知之甚少, but Ritchie hopes students and faculty will be inspired to research what the artifacts can tell us about the 奴役 population of colonial Virginia Beach based on the techniques and materials.
Among the fine china pieces is a blue-and-white bowl with the motto "Success to all English privateers" painted in the center. It raises questions about who settled on the south side of Hampton Roads - questions Ritchie would like to see answered.
"Once the church realized they had important items on their property, they didn't want them to end up in a storage room,她说. "The thing that stuck out about the collections' academic potential is that you see a nexus of communities - prehistoric, 本地的, 殖民, 奴役. 尽管这是一个小社区的垃圾, you can really learn so much about what life was like back then."
Studying what they left behind is "a great way to honor people who have not been at the forefront of history,里奇说.
The Special Collections and University 档案 staff offer virtual research services and limited research appointments. 电子邮件 libspecialcollections@extracteurdejuscarbel.com 了解更多.
