Adventures in the Field: Archaeology at Historic Bath, NC is a series of posts about Lauren’s experiences as a TA at East Carolina University’s summer 2009 archaeology field school in Bath, NC. This is post # 6.
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By Lauren McMillan
Week 6: 6/22/09 – 6/26/09
The last week of field school is always bittersweet; you’re excited about what has been accomplished and about the experiences you have had, but also sad it’s over. You’re sad you didn’t loose all that weight you thought you would digging and you’re not very happy with the strange tan lines that have appeared over the last six weeks, but happy about the friends you’ve made, the stories you’ll have to tell and the fact that you are now qualified to be a shovel bum. Or, at least that’s how I felt as a student, but as a TA (and I’m sure Dawn feels this way a billion times more than I do) you’re a little nervous about what’s next: analysis, interpretations and general deep thought. However, I’ll leave those particular deep thoughts to Dawn and her thesis and tell you about our last week in Bath.
All of Monday and half of Tuesday were devoted to finishing the last bit of the cellar and the builder’s trench. We finally came down onto the sandy occupation layer in the cellar and were expecting all sorts of neat, possibly whole, artifacts from when the building was in use. We were sorely disappointed; the artifact density almost completely dropped off under the fill layer. We did find a few nicely dated pieces of ceramics, such as Staffordshire slip-wares, and thank the archaeology gods, no whiteware or even pearlware! One of the biggest surprises was a half a cask, or barrel, hoop. We weren’t exactly excited to find this on Tuesday, as we were trying to finish because Wednesday was our last day, and it was a half day at that. But, Ash pulled through for us, and got the whole thing out pretty quickly. The cask hoop was a nice way to finish up the season though, because it helps support the interpretation of a merchant’s storehouse. It would be in this type of container that merchandise, such as lead shot or naval stores, would be shipped to and from England.
Half of a cask hoop on the cellar floor. Courtesy of Lauren McMillan.
At the end of Tuesday Robert brought out the laser scanner again (I mentioned in week 4 he scanned in the Palmer-Marsh cemetery to create a 3D image of it). This time, he scanned in the excavated cellar. It was quite funny at the time, because two students and I were making a section map of the stairs, the old fashion way, when the technology-mobile pulled up and somewhat one upped my line level and pencil. Again, I’ll defer to Robert in explaining how this works.
Laser scanner. Courtesy of Lauren McMillan.
You saw how long it took you to make just a profile of the stairs, well in roughly the same time I made a 3D map of the entire cellar with an error budget (average error) of 1mm. So I essentially collected all the data on the size of the cellar, bricks, mortar, etc. and it can all be verified, measured, manipulated, rastered, and rendered into a hard surface easily within a computer, and that data is much easier to store and preserve than even acid free paper (a damaged hard drive can still store data). So if Dawn or anyone at a later time wanted to import the cellar data into GIS they can and view any aspect of it they wish, and they can get measurements in any unit they want. Heck if you were bored you could change the unit to parsecs and see how infinitesimally small our site is.
Measuring and drawing the stairs the old fashioned way. Courtesy of Lauren McMillan.
I have not seen the results of the scanner, but I’ll believe it when I see it. I’m not sure how well it would have been able to pick up the depth differences of the slots for the wooden steps; when I asked the professor out there helping Robert, he told me that he didn’t think the scanner would get it. So, we still would have had to hand draw it. It was a John Henry story, minus me dying in the end.
Cellar with laser scanner prisms and measuring the old way in the background. I almost became a Luddite. Courtesy of Lauren McMillan.
Cellar from the roof of the Intern House. Courtesy of Lauren McMillan.
On Wednesday we did our final cleaning, drawing and took the site photos. I must say, from the roof of the Intern House, the cellar looked pretty awesome. Promptly after lunch, it was filled in by a backhoe, which, in itself, was cool to watch. We backfill the site for a variety of reasons; people always ask why we don’t leave it open for the public to see. To me, the most important is for the preservation and integrity of the cellar itself. Secondly, it’s kind of dangerous to have a big hole in the ground on public property. Lastly, for future research; we did not dig the whole cellar, because some of it is under the Intern House. Also, what’s left there can be excavated and a restudy can be conducted when there are new techniques, technologies or simply fresh research questions to ask.
Cellar being filled in with a backhoe. Courtesy of Lauren McMillan.
ECU Bath Field School 2009. Courtesy of Lauren McMillan.
This finished up the 2009 Bath field school. It was a fun six weeks in which we all learned, not just about the past and dirt archaeology, but about what’s next in the field, the technologies, and of course, a little bit about ourselves.
Since this was a somewhat short post, I’ll go ahead and tell you all about what Dawn and I did the rest of the week. We skipped out during the filling of the cellar and headed back to campus to put all the equipment away and as soon as this was done, we hit the road. We went to Town Creek Indian Mound, near Charlotte, NC, to dig and camp for a few days. Town Creek is a Mississippian influenced Pee Dee site, dating from around 1100-1500AD and is the eastern most Mississippian mound in the country. Basically, it was an awesome experience, and my first prehistoric excavation. We were part of a volunteer group under professors from UNC Chapel Hill, and one of our ECU professor’s, whose work has revolved around the village at Town Creek. The purpose of this investigation was to find the outer palisade, and we did. As far as artifacts, we found a Clovis point, the oldest artifact ever found there, and more lithics than I thought possible.
Town Creek archaeological site with the mound in the background. Courtesy of Lauren McMillan.
Dawn and me working?! I guess we’ll dig if we’re not being paid. Courtesy of Lauren McMillan.
The only part that bothered me a bit was how we busted through the plowzone and paid little to no attention to the historic component of the site. Not only was there a 19th century farm there, but Flora MacDonald supposedly owned part of the property during the 18th century. Flora MacDonald was the woman who helped Bonnie Prince Charlie (Charles Stewart) escape Scotland during the Jacobite Uprising of 1745. But, I guess, that wasn’t their research interest, and couldn’t waste the time worrying about things that were only 300 years old.
Palisade postholes. Courtesy of Lauren McMillan.
Well, this is my last Adventures in the Field post. I hope you’ve enjoyed it, and possibly even learned something. I know I’ve had fun writing these, and thinking critically about what I do and what I’ve learned. Thanks for reading!
Today,* Thursday July 9, 2009, begins “Great Lakes Road Trip 2009!”
Vinny and I have mapped a route from Long Island, New York through the Midwest, the Great Lakes region, and back (with some undetermined points along the way). In the spirit of historic preservation, Independent America, scenic routes, blue highways, byways, good road trip stories, visiting new places, and a budget we have come up with a few standard rules we’ll abide by along our travels.
As you can probably guess, the standards we have set for ourselves are: 1) no chain hotels or restaurants; 2) as little interstate mileage as possible; and the biggest one 3) do our best to stick to a budget of $100 per day for everything – food, gas, lodging, activities, etc.
Stipulations: Gas is not included in the no chains rule. Any other things like grocery stores will have to be decided as we go. If you have suggestions, write them below.
The purpose is to show that it is possible have a great time without taking the interstate, staying in chain motels, eating at chain restaurants, and visiting typical modern tourist destinations. The American road trip, independent style, is still possible as just two travelers. We don’t have a film crew or sponsors or anything else. It’s just an experiment. So, whether you are soon-to-be graduate student, a preservationist, an adventure seeker, or you are just on a budget, hopefully Preservation in Pink can offer a bit of inspiration and possible guidance.
Can we do it? I’ll let you know. For the next 2 – 2.5 weeks or approximately 4,000 miles, I’ll be posting all road trip related blogs. They might be about our struggles to find only mom & pop establishments (or maybe the ease of it!), our stops along the way, lodging, historic sites, interesting photographs, or anything else road trip & preservation related. Posts will not necessarily be five days per week, but at least three days. And at the end, I’ll be sure to have a summary and results of the travel experiment.
First stop: Pennsylvania!
*We left Long Island at 5:30am.
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Quotes to travel by:
“For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.” – Robert Louis Stevenson
“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” – Henry Miller
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Side note: Be sure to read Lauren McMillan’s final Adventures in the Field post tomorrow, Friday July 10.
A message to contributors who have not yet received a magnet, I apologize. I think they have somehow been mixed up in the move and stored in Vermont. When I find them, you will receive one. I promise! Everyone needs a Preservation in Pink magnet. =)
By Maria Gissendanner
Stewart’s Folly is an interesting forgotten roadside attraction from the 1970s also known as the Round House of Logan, Ohio It is located on the outskirts of town as you are entering into Logan from the west along County Road 33A. I came across the mysterious structure this winter while doing a HAER documentation on a bridge in the area. I was driving along and almost found myself in the ditch as I craned my neck to double check what I just saw. On the side of the road in an overgrown lot was a round concrete building that appeared to have once been some sort of house that had been abandoned years ago.
I decided to turn around and go back and investigate this strange structure and sacrificed my body and car on the icy Ohio ground to get a closer look. Up close, it was clear that the structure was a poured concrete sphere sitting up on a rectangular pedestal and that it had been left to the elements years ago as all the windows and doors were missing and interior floors were collapsed rendering it impossible to enter along with the hazards of the ice. The concrete itself was still in good condition and I couldn’t help wondering what that forgotten structure was and why such a weird little building didn’t have anyone showing it any love. A quick Google search for “concrete round house in Logan, Ohio” got my answer; apparently I was not the first one to be stricken by this roadside oddity. I found out that locals refer to the building as “Stewart’s Folly” after the name of the man who designed and built the structure.
Logan Round House. Courtesy of Maria Gissendanner.
“Stewart’s Folly” was constructed as a prototype in the 1970s as a new durable type of housing to be constructed in hurricane and tornado-prone areas of the country. Its round design was supposed to make the structure wind resistant and its concrete construction and special windows also made the exterior of the building fire resistant. The concrete for the building was poured by using a special elevator system; the concrete was poured into the wooden shell mold from the top. It had 8-inch thick walls at the base and the rest of the building had 5-inch thick walls. The building had two floors with a basement, a porch and a garage. The building was never lived in. It was used for storage for several years and although meant as a prototype, no others were ever constructed although other companies have come out with similar designs.
For more information on “Stewart’s Folly” and to see pictures of the building while it was slightly more intact go to The Logan Roundhouse on Forgotten OH.
Preservacation is a series of essays by Brad Hatch about the preservation related adventures, issues, and sites that he and Lauren have encountered on their travels. This is #6 in the series.
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By Brad Hatch
What more can I say about gravestones that hasn’t already been said? If you’ve read In Small Things Forgotten (as most of us Mary Wash alumni have) you already know about the seriation of headstones going from death’s heads to cherubs to urns and willows and how that reflects a society’s feelings about death. Rather than trying to understand what long-dead people thought about the headstones in their graveyards I’ll talk about what I know, what I think about them. I don’t want to make this post long, as several of my previous ones have been, so I’ll quickly give you my thoughts then let you come up with your own by showing you some images of the gravestones I’ve encountered in my travels in North Carolina.
I should start by saying that I have a strange fascination with graveyards. I think it must stem from an obsession with things that are not knowable. After all, what is less knowable to us, the living, than death? I know, it’s weird, but if you think about it, as an archaeologist it’s no surprise that I’m taken by these ideas. I deal with the unknowable on a daily basis. I can never know what happened in the past or what things meant to people then, how they felt, what they thought. I only see little glimpses of them in what they’ve left behind and I have to use their little trinkets to come up with interpretations about humanity. While many may think that archaeologists speak about the past in their interpretation it is truly the present that we address. Everything we do is driven by what is happening at this moment in our lives, in society, and in the world. Archaeology, like so many other creative pursuits, is partially a quest to find one’s self, and in my case I use the medium of material culture.
Gravestones are like archaeological artifacts on historic sites. Often they are mass produced, or at least made for mass consumption, which is why they can be seriated. Like artifacts, they carry heavy symbolic meaning, which can be seen in the artwork on them, their shape, or epitaphs. More easily recognized among headstones though is the fact that they are for the living, not the deceased. While some may have chosen their markers, most were likely commissioned after they died. This means that tombstones are often devoid of meaning to the person they commemorate. In actuality, they reflect what others thought of them or what others thought that the deceased held dear or believed. However, there is always the possibility that the stones represented what the living believed, which is likely the case. This means that the people who placed the stones acted as archaeologists for the deceased. They attempted to know the unknowable, the thoughts of somebody who could no longer tell them. Burying grounds fascinate me because of this.
When I make my way through a cemetery I am effectively doing the archaeology of archaeology. I am interpreting interpretations. It seems quite ridiculous, but I know that one day somebody will be doing the same with my work. In a way I find my “connection with the universe” when I do this. It helps me to realize that even what I do, while it may seem insignificant in the grander scheme, will make an impact on somebody in some way. If I am able to make just one person think about who they are then my job is accomplished. Now, it’s your turn to think. As you look at the selection of headstones below think about what they mean or what they might have meant. Before you turn away, though, think about why you made the interpretations that you made, what does it say about you? What does it say about the world you live in? It makes no sense to try to understand the past or other societies until we have an idea of the present and our places in it. Enjoy your moments of reflexivity.
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- Early Cherub Head Motif in Edenton, NC. Courtesy of Brad Hatch.
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- Later Cherub Head Design in Edenton, NC. Courtesy of Brad Hatch.
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- Urn, Monument, and Vine Motif in Washington, NC. Courtesy of Brad Hatch.
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- Angel Design Beaufort, NC. Courtesy of Brad Hatch.
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- Shaking Hands Motif Beaufort, NC. Courtesy of Brad Hatch.
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- Vaulted Burials Beaufort, NC. Courtesy of Brad Hatch.
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- Masonic Design Beaufort, NC. Courtesy of Brad Hatch.
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- Gothic-Inspired Designs Beaufort, NC. Courtesy of Brad Hatch.
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- Unique Female Portrait (Possibly One of a Kind) in Bath, NC. Courtesy of Brad Hatch.
Independent America: The Two Lane Search for Mom & Pop is a documentary film about a couple who travels 13,000 miles across America to find “independent America,” that is, no big boxes, no chain hotels, no fast food chains – just the mom & pop version of America. And on their journey they have two rules: 1) no interstates and 2) no chain anything. Watch the trailer on the website. The film was also featured on the Sundance Channel.
I haven’t seen this movie, but I want to. In the meantime, it’s inspired me to plan my summer road trip in a similar manner (albeit abridged and slightly different since I’m not making a film). Check out the Independent America blog for details on their trips, movie screenings. To follow the route of the film makers, click the “our route” category on the blog. (Or see this post for just the map version. It looks like fun!)
Has anyone seen this film?
After The Two Lane Search for Mom & Pop, Independent America has moved on to other films, including one about New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. It is called Independent America: Rising From Ruins. It, too, looks fabulous. I’ll have to look for these at the library.
Point Lookout, NY
Happy 4th of July! Whether you’re at a barbecue, watching fireworks, spending the day at the beach, enjoying a parade, or enjoying a nice day, remember that July 4th celebrates July 4, 1776 for the signing of the Declaration of Independence – when the colonies adopted independence (declared July 2) and freedom from Great Britain.
Point Lookout, NY
Port Jefferson Station, NY
The beginning of the Declaration of Independence:
When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
Read the rest here and read about the 56 signers. You can view the Declaration of Independence in person at the National Archives in Washington D.C. (It’s free to visit!) Did you know that the printing you see most often is a copy of the engraving made by William J. Stone in 1823? According the National Archives, the original document is in poor condition due to previous conservation (or lack thereof) techniques.
Charlottesville, VA
Port Jefferson, NY
Whatever you are doing for the long weekend, be sure to be grateful for your freedom and the opportunities afforded to us in the United States of America. Wear your red, white, and blue and be proud! Consider all of the characteristics that define America – from our melting pot culture, our architecture, our traditions, our cities, our celebrations, our people, our government, our freedom. Enjoy the fourth!
Adventures in the Field: Archaeology at Historic Bath, NC is a series of posts about Lauren’s experiences as a TA at East Carolina University’s summer 2009 archaeology field school in Bath, NC. This is post # 5.
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By Lauren McMillan
Week 5: 6/15/09 – 6/19/09
This was our last full week in the field, and while we did run into a few hurdles, we did eventually jump them and got a lot accomplished. We continued with the same old stuff in the cellar, and are almost there! One more day, and it should be finished. Some of our most interesting finds this week were two different porcelain tea cup bases. These delicate pieces of ceramic would have been imported from China at quite some cost. These artifacts will be important in the analysis and interpretation of the site, because they appear to be the only “high status” items that we have found, and represent costly signaling. The fact that someone in Bath was able to engage in such conspicuous consumerism should be an interesting talking point in Dawn’s thesis.
Partially excavated builder's trench. Note the uneven shovel marks on the left. Courtesy of Lauren McMillan.
We started and nearly completed my second favorite part of the site, behind the entrance stairs; the builder’s trench. This feature should give us a good construction date of the building. The reason I like it so much is that I can feel a personal connection to the people who once stood in it. As it is being excavated, you can see that a straight line was not dug out nearly three hundred years ago, instead, you can see shovel divots. I find it so fascinating that you can literally see where the men put their shovels into the dirt to dig that trench that they later stood in to lay the bricks. What is even more exciting is that we have found a large concentration of pipe stems in the trench. I can just imagine the bricklayers standing there, smoking their pipes, and as they break or get clogged, discarding the stems into the trench. The stems are basically the 18th century cigarette butt.
Ohm Mapper in action. Courtesy of Lauren McMillan.
Robert continued to work on his geospatial thesis work down at the Palmer-Marsh cemetery. He ran the ground penetrating radar over the whole site early in the week, and then on Thursday, brought out a new piece of equipment, the Ohm Mapper. This thing looks like whoever is using it has a long tail dragging behind them. Again, I don’t completely understand this technology, so I will defer to a short paragraph Robert wrote explaining it.
Resistivity is not new to archaeology, but the system employed by the Ohm Mapper is. Instead of the usual method of systematically probing the surface to send a current through it, the Ohm Mapper uses what is essentially an electric induction method which means that all you need to do is walk along survey transects dragging it, no need to take few steps probe and repeat. This makes the process much more efficient and less destructive than a larger array (usually mounted on a truck) is. The only problem with this is that it is really designed for detecting inconsistencies in soil at a minimum the size of a grave shaft, and at depths far greater than we would ever conceive of looking. So we have to adjust the array and see how it works, we follow a set of guidelines that Geometrics makes (the manufacturer) but it’s still an effort of trial and error.
Well, it sounds cool, and I hope he finds something there. But I think I’ll stick with my shovel and trowel for now.
High heel shoe marks on the site! Courtesy of Lauren McMillan.
Now, as for the few hurdles we had to jump; we were flooded in more ways than one. It was a media circus all week. We were visited by the Washington Daily News and the Greenville Daily Reflector. The most “exciting” of the reporters was from the local ABC station. She walked up our three hundred year old cellar stairs, and left high heel shoe holes in the site! (For those of you who don’t know, these are both very big no no’s.) I can’t believe how right Noel Hume was. The other fun thing happened on Thursday; we got poured on during lunch. By the time that we got back, the cellar was a swimming pool and the builder’s trench was a moat. It was not fun cleaning that out. But, that’s part of being an archaeologist; being a jack-of-all trades (and master of some?) and rolling with the punches.
Dawn sucking up the water with shop vac. Courtesy of Lauren McMillan.
The site moat. Courtesy of Lauren McMillan.
We will be finishing up next week. The rest of the cellar needs to be excavated (about half a foot in two units) and then we will be cleaning up and photographing. Thanks for reading!
If we had tried to find them, we wouldn’t have. On a trip out to Calverton, NY my family and I stopped to eat lunch at J&R’s Steakhouse (a Long Island restaurant). Previously there had been a little village of shops behind the restaurant, mostly antique shops and boutiques. Now, the small dollhouse looking buildings remain empty and overgrown with weeds. However, one antique shop & art gallery is still open, so we went to wander in there. When I walked in my dad showed me that he found a set of six bowls from The Lido Club Hotel in Long Beach, NY.
The Lido Hotel in 1942.
The Lido Club Hotel opened in 1929, attracting stars of the day and their guests. Its history includes serving as Naval Receiving Station, closing during WWII, and suffering under poor management. According to “Toasting an Icon of Lido Beach’s Golden Era” by Marcelle S. Fischler (October 3, 2004, The New York Times), the hotel officially closed in 1981 (after many struggles and ups and downs) and was converted to condominiums. The Lido Club Hotel is now the Lido Beach Towers. The grand days of Lido-Long Beach had faded and its former pink stucco is now gray, though the building retains its Moorish style.
The Lido Club Hotel
To most people these restaurant ware bowls wouldn’t mean much, but to my family they are significant. The Lido-Long Beach-Point Lookout area is where my grandmother lives and where my father and my uncle grew up during the summers. My father worked at the Lido Hotel one summer as a valet parker and driving a shuttle bus between the resort and the golf course. He remembers driving some fancy cars. Plus, we love all things related to Point Lookout and the history of that small piece of Long Island. The price tag on the plates read that they were from the Lido Hotel in Long Beach, NY and were $9.95 each. Now, if just the price tag said Lido Hotel, I might not have believed it, but the bottom of the bowls read “Lido” and one said “Lido Club Hotel.” We loved them. As we were mulling over a purchase, the owner came down from the gallery to tell us that he was closing in about one month and would make anything a very desirable price for us. Bingo! He sold us the bowls for 50% off the asking price.
A bowl from the Lido Club Hotel.
Close up view of the pattern.
Another close up view of the pattern.
We are thrilled to have these pieces, but the next step and the hard part is trying to find information about the pattern and looking for additions to our new collections. There are five bowls with the red writing on the back and one with the green writing.
The back of the bowls. Lamberton China - Lido - Nathan Straus & Sons - New York.
The back of one of the bowls. "Royal Schwarzburg - Germany - Made expressly for Club Lido Hotel - Long Beach, L.I. - By Nathan Straus & Sons - New York."
An internet search isn’t much help and Nathan Straus & Sons only appears on Replacements, Ltd. but not with the Lido pattern. I would like to find out more about the pattern and if any pieces exist anywhere else. I would assume that everything was auctioned off when the hotel was closed, so the restaurant ware could be anywhere. Can anyone help with finding more information, determining the age, learning about the company, or any other relative information?
“Each one of us everywhere defines ourself through the place where we were born and raised. The sense of place shapes each of us in deep and lasting ways. Each of us carries within ourselves a “little postage stamp of native soil” (William Faulkner), and it is to this place that each of us goes to find our clearest, deepest sense of identity.”
Bill Ferris, Chair, NEH, 1998
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Yesterday my grandmother hosted a family reunion, with family and friends, some of whom I hadn’t seen since the last party, already one decade ago. My grandmother remains a classic figure and she has always known how to throw a smashing party, but my favorite part of the evening was long after the party had ended. A few relatives and I sat around the house with my dad’s cousin and my dad as they told many stories about the family. They described the people I had never met, the houses I had never been in, who had what kind of temperament, who did what for a living, and so much more. Hearing these stories are priceless memories and knowledge. And having heard the characteristics of certain family members, generations above mine, I can identify with them because of a certain characteristic or hobby, and so much about myself and my immediate family falls into place. And while they shared these stories, we sat in my grandmother’s house, which has always been home to me. Between the house, the place, the company, and newly known (to me) connections to my ancetors, I had never felt more at home.
