 |
|||||||||||
| |||||||||||
|
|
|||||||
|
Seeking out clues in the ground to what George Mason's plantation landscape once looked like is the task of the Gunston Hall archaeology program. Uncovering colonial garden features, roads, fences, outbuildings, and slave quarters are some of the ongoing projects. Archaeology Symposium January 28th at Gunston Hall Mason Neck Underground: From Pre-History to the Early Republic Date/Time: January 28, 2012 9am – 4pm Description: Mason Neck Underground: From Pre-History to the Early Republic is an archaeological symposium open to the public surveying recent investigations at multiple sites in Mason Neck, Virginia. The program features presentations by Michael Johnson, Christopher Sperling, David Shonyo, Wendy Miervaldis, Paul Inashima, and Douglas Comer; morning refreshments, coffee, lunch and a house tour are included. Registration
or call 703-550-9220 Gunston Hall’s Archaeology Program
The mansion at Gunston Hall has survived remarkably well over the years. Architectural and room use studies have permitted the house to be presented nearly the way it appeared when George Mason and his family lived here in the 18th century. Several lines of evidence suggest that Mason designed the house and the formal landscape as extensions of each other, a single entity that functioned as one continuous living space. Unfortunately, little information has come down to us concerning what George Mason’s landscape may have looked like. Seeking out clues in the ground allow for the replication of what Mason saw when he stepped outside of his house. This vision is the task of the Gunston Hall archaeology program. While much has been learned over the past decade about the landscape created by George Mason, many mysteries remain in the ground. Virtually self-sustaining, the colonial plantation made or grew almost everything needed to support its operations and its inhabitants. Yet we do not know where on the plantation these things were done. John Mason mentioned something like 30 outbuildings in the area of the mansion. The locations of almost all of them remain unknown. Then there are the fences and gates, roadways, walkways and planting that helped define the landscape inhabited by George Mason and his family. No less important are the clues that the earth may still hold concerning the lives of the enslaved people that lived at Gunston Hall. George Mason owned approximately 90 slaves, yet almost nothing is known about them. The places where they lived, where they worked and where, finally, they were buried have never been located. Clearly, much remains to be done in the years to come by archaeologists at Gunston Hall. Archaeology at Gunston Hall is about more than digging. It is also about sharing. It is important to us that archaeology be part of our overall public presentation. We want to share with our visitors not only the findings of archaeology, but also the process of archaeology. The archaeology program participates in most of the public events at Gunston Hall. Special programs and archaeology tours are arranged for groups of both adults and children. Families can spend an afternoon doing hands-on archaeology with archaeologists at Gunston Hall’s annual Archaeology Day. Groups of school children touring Gunston usually stop by the excavations to have a look at what is coming out of the ground and to have a chat with the excavators. The next time you visit Gunston Hall, please do stop by our “digs.” The archaeologists will enjoy talking to you about what they are doing and listening to any insights that you may have about what they are finding. Archaeology Annual Report 2010 [part 1 & 2] [part 3] Archaeology Annual Report 2009 Archaeology Annual Report 2008 Archaeology Annual Report 2007 The Civil War in Mason Neck and Vicinity by Paul Inishima [2011] The Lexington Site by Paul Inishima [2011]
|
|||||||
