Northampton Historic Preservation Society

DHR/ASV/PIT 2013 FIELD SCHOOL

APRIL 17 – 24, 2013

EASTERN SHORE

The field school program for 2013 will focus on 3 research goals:

Northampton County Survey – In cooperation with DHR Threatened Sites Program and Dr. Darrin Lowery of University of Delaware, archaeological sites in cultivated fields in Northampton County will be surveyed.  Professional standards will be brought to bear with both historic and prehistoric sites recorded.

Testing of Pitts Neck Plantation – Located in Accomack County, Pitts Plantation is an 18th Century Plantation House was built on a Native American site. Both historic and prehistoric features have been recorded and current testing will focus on an area to be impacted by road construction.  Subsurface excavation will initially take the form of a regime of Shovel Test Pits. The area is also in proximity to the Contact Period town of Wighcocomoco, a village recorded by John Smith in 1608 in a search for freshwater.  Travel will be necessary for this project with ca. 1 hour each way from Eastville.

Testing of the Courthouse Green, Eastville – TheCourthouse Green in Eastville has a number of historic structures and features within its confines.  The 1731 Courthouse has been moved and numerous artifacts have been recovered in modern improvements.  Testing of various areaswill add to our knowledge of the town and aid the county in its management ofthe historic resources. 

The Eastern Shore Field School held an Open House on Sunday, April 21, 2013,  on the Eastville Courthouse Green.  In cooperation with Northampton County, Town of Eastville, and Northampton Branch – Preservation Virginia, the archaeologists discussed their findings on the Green, the preliminary results of the Northampton County survey, the archaeology of Pitts Neck Plantation, and the findings from 2012 excavations at Savage Neck Shell Midden.       

The Northampton Branch, PVA Annual Meeting was held on Tuesday, December 4, 2012 at the Coach House Tavern at Bay Creek in Cape Charles, VA. 

Janea Whitacre, who portrays an 18th Century storeowner, Margaret Hunter, in Colonial Williamsburg discussed and displayed some of the styles and wares sold in a Milliner’s shop and shared some of the preservation techniques used to provide many years of service to colonial clothing.

Our first lecture was May 20th, at Old Castle, the home of Rick & Catie Hubbard.

The second lecture was June 10th, at Eyreville, the home of Roger Buyrn.

The third lecture was September 16th, Salt Grove, owned by Eyre Baldwin.

Lecture at the Palace Theatre - Savage Neck Site Archeological Dig - May 2012

What were they doing? What did they find? On  November 4, 2012 the Northampton Branch, PVA sponsored presentations by Dr. Michael Barber, State Archaeologist of Virginia, Department of Historic Resources, on the Savage Neck archaeological dig conducted in May of 2012 and Mike Madden, Forest Archaeologist, U.S. Forest Service, on the volunteer archaeological program Passport in Time (PIT). Savage Neck was identified by the Smithsonian Institute as a site of early Native American artifacts (including pottery & projectile points) during 2009 and the 2012 project was a joint effort of volunteers from the Archeology Society of Virginia, and staff from both the Virginia Department of Historic Resources and archaeologists from the U.S. Forest Service.