"The Old Powder Horn": The Many Forgotten Forms and Functions of One of Williamsburg’s Oldest Public Buildings

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Paper / Report Submission (General Sessions)", at the 2023 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Williamsburg’s octagonal powder magazine building has been one of the town’s most recognizable landmarks since the early 18th century, outlasting most of Williamsburg’s other public architecture. One common refrain by visitors to town in the 19th and 20th centuries, after the building ceased to function as a public magazine, is that the structure had not changed since it was constructed in 1716. Recent archaeological excavations around the base of the structure have confirmed that the building has, in fact, been heavily modified over the course of the last three centuries. In this presentation, we will discuss the nature of these changes to both the form and function of the structure as the town’s occupants struggled to modify the unusual building to fit the new needs of the community.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SHA 2023 General Sessions   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2023

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow