Hidden Along the Waterfront: Overview of Site 44AX0229

Author(s): John Mullen

Year: 2017

Summary

Improvements to the Alexandria waterfront began soon after the town was established in 1749.  By 1798, the tidal flats along the Potomac River had been infilled and the new shoreline was dominated by wharves and warehouses.  Archeological excavations at the Hotel Indigo site along the orginal shoreline, revealed evidence of this engineered infilling: the remnants of a bulkhead wharf and a late-18th century ship that were used as a framework to create new land. The foundations of one of the earliest buildings found in Alexandria to date- the 1755 public warehouse - was uncovered only a few feet away. House foundations, a brick-lined well and four privies dating to the late 18th /early 19th century and factory and warehouse foundations from the late 19th and 20th century were also discovered and documented.  

Cite this Record

Hidden Along the Waterfront: Overview of Site 44AX0229. John Mullen. Presented at Society for Historical Archaeology, Fort Worth, TX. 2017 ( tDAR id: 435176)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

min long: -129.199; min lat: 24.495 ; max long: -66.973; max lat: 49.359 ;

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 495