A Subfloor Pit from Stone Slave Quarters at Belvoir, Maryland: A panoply of objects within a succession of functions

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Archaeology and Analysis of the Belvoir Quarter" , at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Excavation of stone quarters for enslaved African Americans by the Maryland Department of Transportation revealed a subfloor pit adjacent to a hearth in its front room. Such features are found in the homes of enslaved African Americans throughout North America. Patricia Samford’s (2007) systematic comparative analysis of subfloor pits in Virginia takes into consideration not only their contents, but also use-history, dimensions, shape, and position. She concludes that these features reflect a variety of uses including personal or communal storage, as spaces for concealment, and for spiritual practices. The subfloor pit at Belvoir is examined both through this comparative data, and situated within the context of this unusual architectural feature. This analysis suggests a succession of uses encompassing all three of these functions. Of the individual and communal lives whose various needs were met by this feature, while we can ascertain some facts, we struggle with some mysteries.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Archaeology and Analysis of the Belvoir Quarter   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2020

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 689