Digging into Hampton's history Downtown museum focuses on archaeology BY MARK ST. JOHN ERICKSON 247-4783 October 29, 2005 When the archaeologists who toiled on the downtown Hampton dig finally packed up their trowels and shovels this past spring, the second phase of the project was just beginning. More than 10,000 artifacts emerged from the soil at the corner of King Street and Settlers Landing Road during the laborious, seven-month-long excavation. And it could take curators at the James River Institute for Archaeology nearly twice that long to finish washing, sorting, cataloging and studying all of the objects that were found. Unlike most archaeological projects, however, this essential if typically unseen part of the investigative process won't be conducted entirely in the shadows. Curators Sherrie Beavers and Madison Washburn have translated many of their tasks - as well as those of their colleagues in the field - into a small yet revealing exhibit at the Hampton History Museum. Inside "Fun with Archaeology: A New Look at an Old City of Hampton," some of the scientists' trowels, whisk brooms and dust pans lie alongside a re-created version of an archaeological feature, while fragments of 18th-century wine bottles and ceramic vessels jut provocatively from the sandy clay soil. A pile of zip-lock artifact bags languishes next to a computer screen - almost as if waiting to enclose more items from the excavation's voluminous object catalog. Bits of pottery and broken pipe stems fill a nearby display case, combining to produce an instructive introduction to the mysteries of dating cultural material. Then there's the adjacent assemblage of colorful fragments from drinking, eating and serving dishes, each contributing to the theory that the dig uncovered the long-lost site of a famous Colonial-era tavern. "We wanted to show people the entire process of archaeology - from the exploration of an archaeological feature to the making of an exhibit," Beavers says. "We especially wanted to show them that's not just about digging. There's a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes." With more than 100 large boxes of artifacts to process, Beavers and Washburn still have many objects to wash, sort and catalog - much less consider for study and inclusion in the project's final report. Principal archaeologist Nick Luccketti, who heads the institute, estimates that their work will take months before completion. "The biggest and most time-consuming task we have is simply wading through the mountain of artifacts we found," he says. "They have all kinds of sorting and cataloging to do - while at the same time picking out various categories of things and major single objects for closer attention." Most objects - or sometimes groups of objects - begin the process with a catalog number that includes the specific archaeological feature and soil layer in which they were found. After that number has been inscribed on the artifact's surface, it must be entered into the computer database along with a brief description and the date of the find. In some cases, Beavers and Washburn also will assess promising fragments of glass and ceramics for a reconstructive process known as cross mending. When the curators are successful, this puzzle-like practice not only enables them to rediscover the shape and function of a broken object but also link the different contexts in which its pieces were found. Because of the way that pipes, wine bottles and ceramic vessels evolved over time, they can be particularly useful in dating the features uncovered in the excavation. And when they're found in quantity - as they were at the Hampton dig - they also can help pinpoint the function and identity of the buildings that once stood on the site. "If you look at all these pipe stems and wine bottle and ceramic fragments - and let your mind drift a bit - it's not hard to see them all on a tavern table being used," says museum curator and historian Michael Cobb. "And once you can do that, it's just not that far-fetched to start hearing the people of the 18th century sitting there, engaging in arguments about taxes and the coming revolution." Indeed, the evidence presented in the exhibit strongly suggests that the dig may have uncovered part of the property once owned by famed 18th-century Hampton tavern owners John and Mary Bordland. A photocopy of their tavern license helps cement the imaginative connection between their hospitable legacy and this evocative horde of eating, drinking and smoking artifacts. "We're either right there or in the immediate vicinity. It could be somewhere out there underneath Settlers Landing Road," Luccketti says. "But one thing's for sure - with all the pipe stems and wine bottles we found - we're probably looking at a very busy tavern rather than a simple domestic site."