University of Delaware Office of Public Relations The Messenger Vol. 5, No. 2/1996 Uncovering history in the garden When one thinks of archeological excavations or "digs," old pottery, long-hidden foundations, shards of rusted metal and an occasional bone may come to mind. Last summer, however, four University students and several community volunteers worked on a project unearthing a different segment of the past-an area's early landscape. The four-week effort occurred on The Strand, a street in Historic Olde New Castle, Del., only one block from the banks of the Delaware River. "Unearthing New Castle's Past: Archaeology in the Gardens at the Read House" was a joint undertaking of the Historical Society of Delaware and the UD Department of Anthropology, and was directed by Lu Ann De Cunzo, assistant professor of anthropology. A specialist in American historical archaeology, De Cunzo explains that landscape projects are an important way to reconstruct the past, particularly by using evidence and remains of prior land settings to help researchers determine how and why a site was created and how it was used. Study sites can be as small as a formal garden, kitchen garden or even a work yard. They also can be as large as a town or cityscape. In the case of New Castle's Read House, De Cunzo says, the historical society thinks that the surrounding yard area has changed little since the formal gardens were established in 1847. De Cunzo's objective was to determine if that assumption is correct, and, if not, to discover to what extent things have changed from the original design. To accomplish this goal, project participants employed traditional excavation techniques, document research and analysis of soil, microscopic mineral deposits, old seeds and organic matter. In addition, she says, the society has a significant number of photographs of the area from the 1880s to the present. This, De Cunzo says, was both unusual and fortunate. The 18th-century house was the home of George and Gertrude Read from 1767 to ca. 1800. George Read was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. The original home burned down during the Great Fire of 1834. It was rebuilt, and the formal garden is believed to date from 1847. Under a hot July sun, in the midst of the summer's first heat wave, De Cunzo and her volunteers raced to complete the last of three, 5-foot square holes, each about 3-feet deep. She knelt down and pointed out older brick walkways-set in distinct patterns and made of different materials-that had been laid and used sometime in the 1800s. This indicated that the level of the present garden was about a foot lower than it is today. De Cunzo said that, while not specifically seeking more traditional pieces that offer clues to the past, she and her students discovered thousands of artifacts-including cow and pig teeth, fish bones and oyster shells. All the uncovered items eventually combine to provide clues that will help present-day scholars, historians and museum caretakers paint a more accurate portrait of the past. A major objective of the landscape archaeology project, De Cunzo says, was to determine if there was public interest in the work being conducted at the site. The positive answer came when more than 200 people visited the excavation project in the gardens during a four-hour, public open house. Some of the visitors even pitched in and helped clean and sift the artifacts. The initial information gained from the Read Gardens project, which De Cunzo says she hopes to continue working on for several years, will improve the understanding of New Castle's history, changing environment, family life, commerce, social life and culture. The project, she says, will produce information that is essential for designing a long-term research program at the site. This historical, anthropological research program would involve a holistic, integrative, multifaceted approach, where many sources of evidence would be combined to explore the way the past existed on both a social and cultural level. The "hands-on" effort, she says, also serves as an important and accessible training ground for students and area volunteers. "It's difficult to get experience in the field of archaeology," says Tim Layton, a junior anthropology major from West Chester, Pa. "For me, this project was an ideal opportunity to get critically needed experience." Ian Janssen, a senior anthropology major from Dover, says he had done research on the George Read property in previous courses and for an independent study project. "I was happy to be here and see how what I learned previously applied," Janssen says, "to see what was here before and what actually is here now." Sophomore Keith Adams of Hockessin is interested in English pottery. "It was exciting for me to see the assemblage of artifacts," he says, "especially the ceramic fragments that came out of the ground, and to associate them with certain time periods." Senior Nedda Moqtaderi of Wilmington is an art conservation major with a minor in anthropology. She says she was thinking of shifting the focus of her study. The excavation was an opportunity to gain experience and help her make a decision. "I loved it," she says. "It wasn't so important finding the stuff, but rather seeing it and realizing that it's been under the ground for 200 years and no one else has seen it." Project director De Cunzo says the "treasure-hunting" aspect of excavation work always plays some part in each participant's interest, whether they be students or experienced scholars. "We try not to emphasize it," she says, "but there is that part of it. When someone finds something, others will gather around to look. I've tried to let the students take major responsibility for much of the work here. When they find something, and they all gather to look at it, sometimes it's hard for me not to tell them, 'Okay, get out of that hole and let me in now.'" De Cunzo says researchers spend about three hours in the laboratory for every hour digging at a site. And that, she explains, is time spent cleaning and logging material. Additional time is spent on research and analysis. Ask De Cunzo what she likes about her work and she doesn't take long to respond. "The diversity of it," she answers, "from getting dirty to working in the archives to examining objects to interpreting them in terms of the culture." But, she admits, as a landscape anthropologist, it's difficult for her to keep her mind from focusing on what may be waiting to be discovered only a few feet below the surface. "I find I'm always looking at the ground while I'm walking, wondering what I might be passing over," she says. "It's an occupational hazard." -Ed Okonowicz, Delaware '69, '84M