ARCHAEOLOGICAL MONITORING AT EPPINGTON PLANTATION CHESTERFIELD, VIRGINIA Prepared for: Brian A. Gregaitis Project Coordinator Planning and Construction Services Division Parks and Recreation Chesterfield County, Virginia Principal Investigator: Nicholas M. Luccketti, M.A., RPA Authors: Sean Romo, B.S. Garrett Fesler, Ph.D., RPA James River Institute for Archaeology, Inc. 223 McLaws Circle, Suite 1 Williamsburg, Virginia 23185 (757) 229-9485 ii Figure 1. 2013 USGS topo map of the Winterpock Quadrangle showing the location of Eppington Plantation. iii iv ABSTRACT Repairs and renovations to the ca. 1770 Eppington mansion by the Chesterfield County Parks and Recreation Department (CCPRD) included the excavation of nine trenches to hold new drainpipes, intended to improve the flow of water away from the mansion. Due to the presence of subsurface archaeological features at Eppington plantation and in the immediate vicinity of the mansion, the CCPRD contracted the James River Institute for Archaeology (JRIA) to monitor the excavation of the trenches, and to document any artifacts and/or subsurface features identified within. JRIA also recorded and collected artifacts from recent excavations in the basement of the Eppington mansion, also undertaken as part of the restoration project at the house. Excavation of the trenches took place on 16, 17 and 21 July 2014, and revealed eight features. One of these features was a ca. 1770 foundation for the original porch of the Eppington mansion, destroyed when the east and west wings of that structure were installed ca. 1790. Another feature was a large-scale deposit of gravel-filled soil which may be evidence for wide-area landscaping activities at Eppington. Few other features were positively identified, but they nevertheless act as evidence of the rich and varied nature of the archaeological record at Eppington Plantation. The basement excavations contained no evidence of any features, but did yield a large amount of artifacts dating to the mid- to late-19th century. Overall, the excavations at Eppington indicate the presence of features and artifacts in and around the mansion which date to several occupation periods at the site. v vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................................... V TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................. VII LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................ IX I. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................... 1 II. PROJECT LOCATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTEXT ......................... 3 III. HISTORIC BACKGROUND.................................................................................... 7 IV. RESEARCH DESIGN.............................................................................................. 13 A. OBJECTIVES ............................................................................................................ 13 B. PREVIOUS ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH ............................................................. 13 C. METHODS ................................................................................................................ 16 V. ARCHAEOLOGICAL TESTING RESULTS ........................................................ 17 44CF0507/100 (Trench 100) ..................................................................................... 19 44CF0507/101 (Trench 101) ..................................................................................... 19 44CF0507/102 (Trench 102) ..................................................................................... 21 44CF0507/103 (Trench 103) ..................................................................................... 21 44CF0507/104 (Trench 104) ..................................................................................... 22 44CF0507/105 (Trench 105) ..................................................................................... 23 44CF0507/106 (Trench 106) ..................................................................................... 24 44CF0507/107 (Trench 107) ..................................................................................... 25 44CF0507/108 (Trench 108) ..................................................................................... 25 44CF0507/109 (Basement Excavation 109) ............................................................. 25 44CF0507/110 (Basement Excavation 110) ............................................................. 26 44CF0507/111 (Basement Excavation 111) ............................................................. 26 44CF0507/112 (Feature 112) .................................................................................... 27 44CF0507/113 (Feature 113) .................................................................................... 28 44CF0507/114 (Feature 114) .................................................................................... 29 44CF0507/115 (Feature 115) .................................................................................... 31 44CF0507/116 (Feature 116) .................................................................................... 32 44CF0507/117 (Feature 117) .................................................................................... 33 44CF0507/118 (Feature 118) .................................................................................... 34 44CF0507/119 (Feature 119) .................................................................................... 37 VI. SUMMARY ............................................................................................................... 39 VII. REFERENCES ........................................................................................................ 41 APPENDIX A: ARTIFACT CATALOG...................................................................... 43 APPENDIX B: ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE INVENTORY FORMS...................... 51 vii viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. 2013 USGS topo map of the Winterpock Quadrangle showing the location of Eppington Plantation. ............................................................................................. iii Figure 2. The neo-Palladian style Eppington mansion, as it looks today. View from the north. Copyright Chesterfield County, 2014............................................................1 Figure 3. Map showing the planned locations of the drainpipe trenches excavated during this project. North is toward the bottom of the image. Copyright Chesterfield County Parks and Recreation, 2013. ........................................................................2 Figure 4. Aerial photo of Eppington Plantation. The mansion, identifiable by its copper- colored roof, is visible in the lower right corner of the cleared area. North is toward the top of the image. Copyright Google Earth, 2014. ..................................4 Figure 5. The early evolution of the Eppington mansion, as detailed in Wenger, Chappell and Graham (1995). The Roman numerals represent different time periods: I (ca. 1770), II (ca. 1783), III (ca. 1790), IV (ca. 1798-1802) and V (ca. 1815). Note that the ca. 1770 porch is not shown. ..............................................................9 Figure 6. Benjamin Latrobe’s 1796 sketch of the Eppington mansion, showing the added wings and an adjacent outbuilding. View facing south. ........................................10 Figure 7. A plan map of the 1991 JRIA excavations around the mansion, showing several of the archaeologically significant areas identified during the project. .................14 Figure 8. A photo (facing east) showing the narrow trench dug in the fall of 2013 for the installation of a gas line. ........................................................................................15 Figure 9. The final locations and extents of the drainpipe trenches (44CF0507/100-108) excavated around the Eppington mansion. ............................................................18 Figure 10. The three basement excavation areas (BE 109-111) and nearby interior walls. Excavation areas are shown in light grey. .............................................................18 Figure 11. Drawing of the south profile of a segment of Trench 101, showing Feature 117 and Feature 118. Feature 118 may be a roadbed or landscaping deposit. .............20 Figure 12. Photo of a section of the north profile of Trench 103, showing a layer of clay fill sealing a buried A-horizon. The buried A-horizon contained a large amount of brick fragments, probably deposited during repairs or repointing done to the adjacent foundation. ...............................................................................................22 Figure 13. Photo showing a selection of artifacts from Trench 104, including the Halifax type projectile point. ..............................................................................................23 Figure 14. A glass bottle found in the basement of the Eppington mansion. The bottle is embossed with a date of November 30th, 1858. Although it appears gold in this photo, the bottle is actually an aqua color: the gold color was caused by the bright light used to highlight the lettering..............................................................26 ix Figure 15. Two bottles (left and right) recovered from the basement of