30 Results for tag "Archaeology"

• Research Spotlight: Delftware Teabowls

  Take a look at an array of 18th-century tea bowls discovered from the 1960s excavation at Custis Square. Read to learn about the history behind these artifacts.

• What is Juneteenth?

  Juneteenth Freedom Day, also known as Juneteenth, celebrates the end of slavery and the emancipation of the former slave people. Read on to learn more.

• Bringing the Past to Life: From Archaeologists to Actors

  Discover how an archeologist and artist in Colonial Williamsburg work together to bring the past to life. Read more to learn about this collaborative effort

• On to the Next Phase of the First Baptist Church Archaeology Project

  Learn about our exploratory excavations at the site of the First Baptist Church. Explore our archeological findings, including the 1850s church and more.

• Custis Update: An Unexpected Find Across the Street

  Take a look at the archeological findings discovered from the excavations of Curtis Square. Learn how these artifacts offer a clue to what happened on Lot M.

• Celebrating Archaeology Month at Colonial Williamsburg

  Did you know that October is Archaeology Month in Virginia? All month long, our Archaeology team will be holding events and offering online content that highlights our archaeological projects. Of course, we celebrate archaeology every day at Colonial Williamsburg, but we may be a little biased!We know that, for many …

• Connecting with the Past

  Archaeological investigation has been ongoing at Colonial Williamsburg since 1928. Each decade since has offered new ways to examine old artifacts as scientific advances and sociological perspectives provide fresh insight. Active digs in the Historic Area give guests an opportunity to watch the process, ask questions, and participate in the …

• News from the Powder Magazine

  Since July 2021, the archaeological crew has been diligently making new discoveries at the Powder Magazine (Fig. 1). This is the first time we’ve excavated around the base of the Magazine since the foundation of the brick wall around the building was uncovered in the 1930s, making this a very …

• News from Custis Square

  A former Colonial Williamsburg archaeologist told us at the beginning of our excavations at Custis Square, “There’s nothing left to find.” He couldn’t have been more wrong. After three years of excavation, we have discovered the outline of the central portion of John Custis’ famous garden. We have also recovered …

• Furber's Flowers

  John Custis IV (1678-1749)(1) not only had one of Williamsburg’s most important gardens, but he also had one of the largest art collections in the city. His interests came together in 1730 when a Kensington nurseryman named Robert Furber (c. 1674 – 1756) published twelve engravings of flowers that served …

• The 52 Letter Word

  AequeosalinocalcalinoceraceoaluminosocupreovitriolicThis obscure word is attributed to Edward Strother, a person who greatly influenced John Custis IV’s medical knowledge. As the Archaeology department’s excavation of Custis’s Williamsburg property continues, we’re exploring the Custis commonplace book (CPB), where we see a manifestation of his medical knowledge in 182 remedies that he recorded …

• Military Buttons At Custis Square and Beyond

  Learn about these military buttons excavated throughout the town of Williamsburg. Uncover where the military action took place and other interesting facts.

• Who is James McClurg?

  Despite his lack of recognition, Dr. James McClurg was a well-known physician in Virginia during the late 18th century and early 19th century.

• Research Spotlight: Understanding the Robert Carter House

  The excavation of Robert Carter House led to the discovery of animal remains to identify the diet of the 18th-century elites. Learn more about the findings.

• Researching Spotlight: Finding Dr. PawPaw

  Colonial American South suffered from Yaws, a bacterial disease that transmitted from skin-to-skin contact. Learn about Dr. Pawpaw's remedy to cure Yaws.

• Research Spotlight: Finding Colonial Williamsburg's Black Archaeologists

  Twenty-twenty was an excellent year to be an archaeologist. Direction from the CDC that we gather only outdoors, and that we maintain social distance required only minor tweaks to excavation protocols. Over the last 15 months, Colonial Williamsburg’s archaeologists have charged ahead, spreading out across four acres to excavate Custis …

• Researching Spotlight: Finding Dr. PawPaw Part 2

  Discover the remedy by Dr. Pawpaw that successfully cured Yaws in the colonial American South. Read on to learn more about Dr. PawPaw and his treatments.

• Finding Edmond Parsons

  Have you ever felt that you were being followed?Born into slavery around 1815, Edmond Parsons would have been 200 years old the summer we met — he as the former resident of a 19th-century house on Duke of Gloucester Street, and I as an archaeologist uncovering its chimney. For the …

• Finding Dr. Pawpaw: The Remedy

  Continuing my deep dive into the enslaved man referred to in John Custis IV’s Commonplace Book (CPB) as Dr. Pawpaw, which you may remember from parts one and two of my blog series Finding Dr. Pawpaw, I found that John Custis IV was not the only person to record Dr. …

• Thomas Crease and the Custis Square Garden Layout

  This winter, while battling the ice and snow at the Custis Square archaeological site, we made some incredible discoveries that have helped us reconstruct the layout of John Custis IV’s early 18th-century garden. When Custis first began laying out his garden in the 1710s or early 1720s, large geometric pleasure …

• Archaeological Research

  Archaeologists uncover our shared American history through research excavations—combined with laboratory work, documentary research, and oral histories.

• Custis Square Archaeology Project

  This interdisciplinary archaeological project seeks to uncover the remains of long-hidden landscapes at Custis Square.

• Archaeology Opportunities

  Colonial Williamsburg archaeology opportunities. Learn field methods and historic site interpretation at Colonial Williamsburg field school.

• First Baptist Church Excavation Project

  Join us as we excavate the First Baptist Church of Williamsburg—the country's first church for free and enslaved worshippers. Learn more about our findings.

• Ongoing Archaeology Projects

  Many of you have been keeping up with the archaeological projects at Custis Square and at the site of the Historic First Baptist Church of Williamsburg on Nassau Street—but did you know that excavations are happening behind the scenes too? Each time Colonial Williamsburg’s historic landscape is modified, whether it’s …

• Colin G. and Nancy N. Campbell Archaeology Center

  On April 21, 2023 The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation broke ground on the Colin G. and Nancy N. Campbell Archaeology Center.The center will be a one of a kind facility that ensures Colonial Williamsburg’s incomparable archaeology collection will be accessible to future generations of guests, scholars, and community members. This new …

• Williamsburg Bray School Initiative

  Make a gift today to support the research, relocation, restoration and interpretation of the Bray-Digges House. Your donation will allow Colonial Williamsburg and William & Mary to more fully understand and disseminate this critical part of Americans’ shared history.