UVa, JMU students dig for history

By Stephanie Kassab | 978-7274
Published: June 8, 2008

For weeks now, a group of James Madison University and University of Virginia students have been digging up history in the backyard of America’s fourth president, James Madison.

Seventeen students, participating in an archaeological field study until June 12, are hoping to discover part of Montpelier’s past by digging in old slave quarters that they believe were taken down after 1840. Using an 1837 insurance map that shows Madison’s property, the archaeological team has already dug up some of the brick rubble, helping them identify the location of the quarters.

“What seems to be mundane can become very exciting,” Montpelier Director of Archaeology Matthew Reeves said. “A bunch of brick scatter is the most important thing we’ve found because it gives us the idea of where the structure is.”

So far, students have also discovered buttons, pieces of ceramics, glass, belt and shoe buckles, hardware such as nails, and animal bones — clues that could help them reconstruct the past and understand the lives of Madison’s slaves.

Although the artifacts are buried only six to eight inches below the surface, it takes more than a shovel to dig up history from dirt. Each layer of earth has to be removed separately. Working in units that are 25 square feet, students begin by shoveling off the grass and then screening all the soil they have removed. A layer of sod is then removed, revealing a two-inch layer of topsoil. The team then digs through the soil using trowels, looking for any changes in the soil color as they attempt to find clues to help them reconstruct the slave quarters.

“Each artifact we find helps us understand what the big picture at the site is,” Reeves said. “It’s always a thrill. … It’s a little present coming up out of the ground.”

The search for the big picture does not end once the “little presents” have been removed from the earth. The artifacts are taken to a lab to be cleaned and examined. A different cleaning technique is used for each type of artifact. A bone or shell will be gently scrubbed with a toothbrush dipped in water. Artifacts such as ceramic and glass are placed directly in a pan of water. Iron artifacts are cleaned with a dry toothbrush.

“Actually seeing what we find in the field going into the lab and cleaning it, analyzing it [and] cataloguing it … has been really interesting,” JMU sophomore Kim Musick said.

Once the artifacts are cleaned, they are catalogued and researched to determine their age and exactly how they fit into the past.

“It’s almost like a game,” Reeves said.

These students, however, are playing more than a game — the dig provides them an opportunity to use archaeological techniques many of them have learned at lectures. Reeves added that the field study allows students to learn important field and laboratory techniques as well as how to excavate and identify different soils and artifacts

“It gives them … hands-on training to understand excavation and research techniques to go on later and apply those in their careers,” Reeves said.

For JMU Senior Kate Voelkner, an anthropology major with a focus in archaeology, the field study is an opportunity for her to use in the real world what she has learned in the classroom.

“This is my major,” Voelkner said. “It’s really neat getting deep down in history … trying to find artifacts and understand who these slaves were [and] how they lived.”

Students participating in the field study are usually out in the field by about 7:30 or 8:30 a.m. After removing the tarps from the units, students dig until about 5:30 p.m., taking a couple of breaks throughout the day. While the hours may be long, the team’s efforts never go to waste.

“Digging and excavating is never a mindless activity,” Reeves said. “The sites have these secrets that you’re trying to decode and every clue helps you decipher the larger picture. Once you dig up a site and remove the artifacts … you can’t put it together, it’s gone forever.”