“The Lands Whereon I Now Live:” A Summary of the Findings from the Archaeological Data Recovery at Barnesfield Plantation

Archaeologists Lauren Gryctko and Kaitlin LaGrasta will virtually present on the complex archaeological investigations which were conducted as part of the Johnson, Mirmiran, and Thompson/Parsons Brinkerhoff Joint Venture (JMT/PB JV) project in advance of the construction of the Governor Harry W. Nice Memorial/Senator Thomas “Mac” Middleton Bridge Replacement Project. The presentation will focus on the archaeological data recovery at Barnesfield Plantation (Archaeological Site 44KG0171) in Dahlgren, King George County, Virginia. Site 44KG0171 is comprised of a Woodland shell midden and an eighteenth to nineteenth century plantation house and associated outbuildings. The archaeological data recovery explored the following themes: Architecture, Socio-Political Status, Subsistence, Civil War, and Woodland Shell Midden. As over 60,000 artifacts were recovered and analyzed for this project, this presentation will highlight objects that yield important information about 44KG0171, including pre-contact pottery, lithics, historic ceramics, personal items, military objects, archaeobotanical remains, and faunal remains. Overall, this presentation will analyze pre-contact and eighteenth- and nineteenth-century lifeways apparent at archaeological site 44KG0171 to interpret the site within the general pre-contact and historic context of the region.