Phase I Archaeological Inventory and Evaluation of 115 Acres and Phase II Archaeological Evaluation of Site 44HT0117

Summary

This project presents the results of Phase I archaeological survey of 115 acres and Phase II NRHP eligibility testing of archaeological site 44HT0117 by Versar, Inc. at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Langley Component, City of Hampton, Virginia. Fieldwork was conducted between December 12, 2022 and January 27, 2023. In total, 341 shovel tests were excavated during the Phase I investigation. One previously unrecorded prehistoric site, 44HT0127, was documented. The site is of undetermined prehistoric period and is represented by a low frequency scatter of lithic artifacts. The small surface area of the site and small number of artifacts in undisturbed contexts—seven fragments of non-chronologically distinct flaking debris—comprised sufficient data to support an NRHP recommendation of not eligible. Versar conducted additional evaluation of 44HT0117 following a NRHP evaluation of 44HT0117 by Geo-Marine, Inc. in 2012. GMI recommended 44HT0117 not eligible for inclusion in the NRHP. VDHR reviewers did not concur with GMI’s recommendation due to the lack of a sufficient sample size and the need for a more comprehensive historical context. Versar conducted additional archival research and developed a testing approach to achieve a 2% sample of the previously documented site area. The current evaluation study suggests that the site is likely to provide important information about prehistory and history. Further investigations of the prehistoric component could recover more diagnostic artifacts, including additional Croaker Landing sherds that could provide information on vessel morphology for this uncommon ceramic ware. Intact hearths could contain carbon for dating and ethnobotanical remains for data on subsistence and diet for the periods represented at the site. Given the combination of archival evidence and the sealed late-eighteenth to early-nineteenth-century context of the midden deposit, further investigation of the historical component could reveal architectural features (e.g., brick piers or subfloor pits) and additional artifacts that could give insight into the site’s occupants and provide information on ethnicity, subsistence, and the plantation layout. Site 44HT0117 is thus recommended eligible for inclusion in the NRHP under Criterion D.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Joint Base Langley-Eustis Cultural Resources Archive

Keywords

Temporal Coverage

Calendar Date: 1765 to 1816 (Historic Component)

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Versar Inc

Record Identifiers

Air Force-Air Force Civil Engineer Center Series Reports of Investigation(s): 26