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US Route 301 Archaeology Update

Written on: October 31st, 2012 in Archaeology Updates, US301

Wow, the beginning of the Elkins B cellar hole has not been a disappointment for the crew from Hunter Research, Inc.!  We started with the darker soils across the north end of the cellar hole removing between four and six inches.  We have recovered close to two thousand historic artifacts from the top of the cellar hole.  There are many fish scales, fish bones, mammal and fish bones, egg shell fragments, freshwater mussel, oyster shell, burnt peach pit, daub, a brass clasp (with a “P” inscribed on it), a small lead shot, French and English type gunflint fragments, vessel glass (dark olive spirits and pale olive vial), wrought nails, white pipe stems and bowls (one with both a Robert Tippet cartouche and impressed “RT”  This combination is very rare!), tin enameled earthenware (pink and buff bodied) Nottingham brown stoneware, Westerwald tankard fragments (one with a partial royal cartouche…the upper part without initials), Hillegas Philadelphia redwares, buff Staffordshire ware, Midlands mottled, dipped white salt glazed white stoneware, some kind of slag?, thin brass wire (thread?) wound around something that has deteriorated and over 70 straight pins!  The fill is rather sticky.  We are processing the soil through the 1/8″ mesh until it is down to small balls which we are saving to float.  The prehistoric features are proving to be interesting as well.  As we had observed at the Holton-Cann site, we have a connected multiple pit feature which appears to have been located within a structure.  On Friday with the approaching storm Sandy, we decided to finish off the smaller features, cover the cellar hole with plastic and our tent (lowered) and anchor down our site trailer.  Now all we can do is sit back and wait for the storm to clear …and when it does we will be there!