Setting Boundaries: Identifying the Homes of Enslaved Field Workers at James Madison's Montpelier

Summary

During the 2012-2013 field season, the Montpelier Archaeology Department excavated the remains of houses occupied by field workers on the Madison plantation . These structures were not built using sub-surface methods that would leave direct architectural evidence.  In the absence of post- in- hole construction or foundations, the determination of building boundaries can be quite challenging for archaeologists. Drawing on the evidence from  Montpelier and other  examples lacking features directly related to building construction, this paper will show how the careful examination of subfloor pits, borrow pits, artifact distributions, and digital  plotting of architectural material can help determine the orientation, use, and spatial arrangement of buildings on unplowed historical sites

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Bringing back the Community: Archaeology of an Early 19th Century Enslaved Community at James Madison’s Montpelier in Orange County Virginia   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2015

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 262