Every research excavation has that moment when you must decide whether to keep digging, or focus your energies on the inside work- whether it’s the artifact washing, cataloging, and report writing that accompanies any archaeology project, or potentially pulling together exhibits, lectures, and other outreach to the public. We say “research excavation” because often archaeologists are salvaging […]
Scouting and Archaeology at Fairfield
Florida. Massachusetts. New Jersey. Yorktown. Throughout the summer season, Boy Scout troops from near and far converge at Fairfield Plantation to try their hand at archaeological excavation under the hot Virginia sun. Many of these Scouts are brought together through the Bayport Scout Reservation in Jamaica, Virginia, where they spend a week working on a variety […]
Fairfield’s History Mysteries: the elusive early cellar
Fairfield Plantation has no ghost stories (that we know of…), but we have plenty of mysteries. How was the west wing lost in 1839? Why was there a chicken tied to the front porch in 1897? Who relic hunted the top of the well adjacent the house in the mid-1980s? The most intriguing mystery? Where […]
Another Fairfield Adventure In Preservation!
When people first think about the Fairfield Foundation, they typically think about our archaeology programs, our public outreach, or perhaps our future home: the Center for Archaeology, Preservation and Education (CAPE). But there is something else you should know about us. We love architectural history, too! We love old gas stations (obviously), old houses, and […]
Buried Stories of St. Paul’s Church
St. Paul’s Church stands amidst a serene, tree-shrouded cemetery in downtown Norfolk. It’s tall brick walls, erected in 1739, are monuments to Norfolk’s colonial importance, and its tumultuous history. But even this ancient edifice hides a deeper history: an earlier church, built in 1699, is somewhere beneath the ground surface, and its story has not […]
Archaeology Nerds Unite for Research Consortium at Monticello
For the past 10 days, archaeologists from the Fairfield Foundation joined representatives from several regional archaeological institutions for a consortium promoting a collaborative project unlike any other. Based on the principals established by the Digital Archaeological Archive of Comparative Slavery (DAACS) which foster comparative archaeological research (spanning sites from Boston to the Caribbean), the DAACS […]
Come Help us Rebuild Fairfield, One Brick at a Time
One of the most frequent questions we hear about our research at Fairfield Plantation is “Are you going to rebuild the house?” This is an excellent question, and one that has us dreaming of the day that this magnificent brick manor house might stand yet again as a testament to both the Burwell family and […]
The Coolest Artifacts (Part 1): Wine Bottle Seals
We are frequently asked “what is the coolest artifact you’ve ever found?” One of our favorites, and easily in our Top 10, are wine bottle seals. Resting on the shoulders of the dark green wine bottles of the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, they range from simple two-letter stamped impressions to intricate heraldic symbols. The […]
The Year of Discovering Mathews County History
Do you live in an old house? Is there one down your street? Do you remember where you found that tobacco pipe stem, that arrow head, or that old piece of pottery along the beach or in the backyard garden? Well – we’d love to talk with you. Especially if you live in Mathews. […]
Public Archaeology at Burwell’s Quarter in New Quarter Park
Archaeologists from the Fairfield Foundation will venture across the York River to New Quarter Park in York County, to conduct a public archaeology project on an 18th-century site related to the Burwell family. The Burwells, who owned Fairfield in Gloucester, as well as Carter’s Grove and Kingsmill near Williamsburg, were a powerful and important colonial […]
