‘Here lieth interr’d’ An examination of 17th-century British burial landscapes in eastern North America by Robyn S. Lacy A thesis submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Department of Archaeology Memorial University of Newfoundland September 2017 Abstract An archaeological, historical, and geographical survey-based examination, this research focuses on the first organized 17th-century British colonial burial grounds in 43 sites in New England and a further 20 in eastern Newfoundland, and how religious, socio- political, and cultural backgrounds may have influenced the placement of these spaces in relation to their associated settlements. In an attempt to locate the earliest 17th-century burial ground at Ferryland, Newfoundland, this research focuses on statistical analysis, and identifying potential patterns in burial ground placement. The statistical results will serve as a frequency model to suggest common placement and patterns in spatial organization of 17th-century British burial grounds along the eastern seaboard of North America. In addition, text-based and geochemical analyses were conducted on the Ferryland gravestones to aid in determining age and origin. ii Acknowledgments I would like to thank everyone who has provided their support and guidance throughout the course of this project. First, I’d like to thank Dr. Barry Gaulton for his endless assistance and support of my ever-growing thesis. I could not have asked for a better supervisor throughout this project, and I hope his future students know how lucky they are. Secondly, I’d like to thank my reviewers, Dr. Meghan Burchell and Dr. Sherene Baugher for reviewing my thesis and helping to guide the final result. I must also acknowledge the financial support of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), the J.R. Smallwood Foundation, the Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER), the Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial Archaeology Office, the Colony of Avalon Foundation, and the Department of Archaeology and School of Graduate Studies at Memorial University. Additionally, I’d like to extend my thanks to all of the archaeologists, archivists, and historians who have aided in my research when the trail ran cold: Gordon Harris of the Ipswich Historical Society, Carol Miles of the Scituate Historical Society, John Tramandozzi of the Malden Historical Society, Henry Miller of Historic St. Mary’s City, Cynthia A. Young-Gomes of Museums of Old York, Emerson W. Baker of Salem State University, Bethany Austin of the Hampton History Museum, Francis P. O’Neill of the Maryland Historical Society, Lynn Calvarses of Old St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Baltimore, Maryland, Nicholas M. Luccketti of the James River Institute for Archaeology Inc., Rina Sandler of the Cambridge Historical Society, Meg L. Winslow of Mount iii Aubon Cemetery, Anne Payne of the Petty Harbour / Maddox Cove Heritage Museum, Doug McCann at chafetree.com, and Eric Jerrett of the Bay Roberts Heritage Society Inc. I’d also like to thank Maria Lear, curator of archaeological collections in the Department of Archaeology for the countless hours she spent tromping around Ferryland with a GPR, Bryn Tapper for aiding in the production of fieldwork maps in GIS, Drs. Mike Deal, Meghan Burchell, Peter Whitridge, and Mario Blaser for their parts in guiding my research over the course of my degree. Special acknowledgment to Dr. Stephen Piercey for teaching me to conduct pXRF analysis of the gravestones and slate tiles and for processing the data and providing me with the final report, table, and figures which are presented in this thesis as part of Chapter 6. Thank you to my wonderful cohort, Kayley Sherret, Meghan Walley, and Natasha Leclerc for helping me brainstorm, and clapping at all my talks! My thanks also extends to my wonderful fieldwork volunteers (in no particular order: Kevin Rickard, Michael Westcott, Curtis Robinson, Kate Pitcher, Tiffany Brazil, Meghann Livingston, Karen Northover, Nicole Baldwin, Dave Roberts, Holly Rafuse, Maggie Way, Kayley Sherret, Ian Petty, Meghan Walley, Megan Webb, Johanna Cole, Adrienne Watts, Rebecca Jones, JD Archer, Elsa Simms, and Natsuho Kaneko) without whom I would not have been able to investigate so many areas at Ferryland. Thank you for the time you have dedicated to my research, and for your endless enthusiasm even when I made you all work in the rain. Finally I must acknowledge the endless support of my friends and family throughout this entire project, especially my mother, Barbara Lacy, for teaching me how to use SPSS from scratch. And above all, thank you Ian Petty. iv Table of Contents Abstract ii Acknowledgements iii Table of Contents v List of Tables viii List of Figures ix List of Appendices x Chapter 1 1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 Terminology 8 Chapter 2 2.1 Religious and Political Background 13 2.1.1 Pressures of change - Burial rites in Britain prior to the Protestant Reformation 13 2.1.2 Effects of the Protestant Reformation on British burial tradition 17 2.1.3 British North America in the early 17th century 21 2.1.4 The British & Irish in 17th-century Newfoundland 26 2.1.5 Ferryland as a town and site 30 2.2 Theoretical Approaches 32 2.2.1 Taskscape Theory 32 2.2.2 Landscape Theory 33 2.2.3 Taskscape & Landscape analysis at Ferryland 36 2.2.4 Burial Landscapes 39 v 2.3 Methodology 42 Chapter 3 3.1 Selection of Sites 44 3.1.1 Site Choice 44 3.1.2 Mainland North American Settlements 45 3.1.3 Eastern Newfoundland Settlements - 17th and 18th Century 69 3.2 Discussion of Sites 78 Chapter 4 4.1 Statistical Analysis 81 4.1.1 Site Selection and Analysis 81 4.1.2 Frequency of Burial Ground Traits Model 86 4.1.3 Results of Statistical Analysis 87 Chapter 5 5.1 Excavation at Ferryland 98 5.1.1 Excavation preparation 98 5.2 Non-invasive survey 103 5.2.1 Ground Penetrating Radar at Ferryland 103 5.2.2 Results of GPR Survey 108 5.3 Excavations at Ferryland 109 5.3.1 Ferryland Excavation – 2016 & 2017 110 5.3.2 Results and Discussion of Archaeological Fieldwork 112 Chapter 6 6.1 Gravestone Analysis 118 vi 6.1.1 17th-century Gravestones 118 6.1.2 Informing through inscribed text 120 6.1.3 Gravestone carving in Newfoundland 127 6.2 Geological analysis 131 6.2.1 Geological analysis of the Ferryland Gravestones 131 6.2.2 Analytical Methods for pXRF for Gravestones and Samples 132 6.2.3 pXRF test results and discussion 133 Chapter 7: Discussion and Conclusion 7.1 Discussion 135 7.1.1 Discussion & Summary of Results 140 7.1.2 Further Questions & Directions 145 7.2 Conclusion 149 Bibliography Primary Sources 152 Secondary Sources 153 vii List of Tables Table 4.1: Frequency Analysis of 17th-century settlements (43 sites) 96 Table 4.2: Frequency Analysis for Comparison of three regions (31 sites) 97 Table 4.3: Frequency Analysis of settlements in Newfoundland, 17th & 18th century 97 viii List of Figures Figure 2.1: Tynemouth Priory 18 Figure 2.2: Old Boston, 1645 24 Figure 2.3: Colonial gravestones 26 Figure 3.1: Map showing Hampton, VA. 47 Figure 3.2: Herrman Map of VA and MD 51 Figure 3.3: Historic Cambridge, re-drawn 1906 62 Figure 5.1: Ferryland 2016/2017 Excavation Map 102 Figure 5.2: GPR Survey at Ferryland 106 Figure 5.3 Slice-view of GPR survey data 109 Figure 6.1: The Ferryland Gravestones 120 Figure 6.2: Ferryland gravestone showing carved guidelines 121 Figure 6.3: Ferryland gravestone showing roman lettering and ligatures 124 Figure 6.4: Four 18th-century Newfoundland gravestones 130 Figure 6.5: pXRF data graphs 134 Figure B.1: 17th-century kaolin pipes 181 Figure B.2: Layer of slate in east profile, Area D (2) 185 Figure B.3: Profile of bastion construction, trench 6 202 Figure B.4: Layers of stacked sods in profile, bastion trench 7 203 ix List of Appendices Appendix A: 17th and 18th-century burial ground spatial data 175 Appendix B: Ferryland fieldwork description 2016 – 2017 180 Appendix C: pXRF analysis report 205 x Chapter 1 Introduction & Terminology 1.1 Introduction “Do not forget when this you view, That death ere long will call for you, And take your fleeting breath. Then you like me, must have your bed, Among the cold and silent dead, And sleep the sleep of death.”1 The burial landscape of British North America is characterized in most peoples’ minds by gravestones carved with grinning skulls, morbid epitaphs, haunting churchyards, and a plethora of other imagery reminding the viewer of what is to come. What appears as a fixation with death in the 17th century can be better understood as an awareness and connectedness throughout a community, of the final stage in every individual’s life, regardless of politics, religion, or ethnicity. Political and religious turmoil in England, Scotland, and Wales between the Protestant Reformation and the English Civil War helped shape the burial landscape in colonial North America. The colonial dead were a mouthpiece to express a community’s outlook on policies of the time, and through the investigation of the landscape in which they were interred 300 – 400 years ago we are able to explore the decision-making processes involved in burial ground placement in the 17th century. 1 Sarah Lymen stone, 1801, Manchester, Connecticut. 1 Gravestone art and design is a thoroughly investigated area of research first propelled into popularity in North America by Harriette Forbes’ 1927 book, which looked at New England gravestones as both art and document (reprinted 1967).