In the field cast of tl'x cliiinp ol ikcs .md noitli oi 

 tlu" highway, opposite tin* stct-p-ljiinkcd side io;:d 

 It-adini; down to Potomac Creek, could be seen in a 

 row the tops of two or three laiije pieces of i^ray stone. 

 These stones were of the characteristic liine-sandstonc 

 once obtained froni the Aqiiia quarries some four 

 miles north, as well as from a lonR-abandoned quarry 

 above the head of Potomac C^eek. It was decided 

 lo start work at this point by investigating these 

 stones, in preference to expjorint; the more obvious 

 evidence of a house foundation at the clump of trees. 

 This was done in the hope of finding clues to lot 

 boundaries and the possible orientation of the survey 

 plats. Excavation around these xcrtically placed 

 stones disclosed that they rested on a foundation 

 la\er of thick slabs laid horizontally at the undisturbed 

 soil le\el. Enough of this wall remained in silii to 

 permit sighting along it toward Potomac Oreek. 

 The sight line, jumping the highway, picked up the 

 partiv overgrown stone wall that extends along the 

 western edge of the old roadway to the creek, indi- 

 cating that a continuous wall had existed prior to 

 the present layout of the fields and before the con- 

 struction of the modern highway. 



The excavation along the stone wall was extended 

 northward. At a distance of 18.5 feet from the high- 

 way the stone wall ended at a junction of two brick 

 wall foundations, one running north in line with the 

 stone wall and the other west at a W angle. These 

 walls, each a brick and a half thick, were lx)nded in 

 ovstershell lime mortar. Test trenches were dug to the 



Mill til .111(1 \M vl I'l ' wlu'lllil 



enclosure walls or hi> ' itionv. - 



soon evident that they w Jurmer, i 



question was whether tins \\<rc lot lio 

 matching those on the plat. If so, it ^^■a* >■ 

 then a strert must have run along the emi side of the 

 north-south couising wall. Accord' ' 

 made, but no supp«>rlinu r\idener 

 was found. 



Ne\'<*rthel<'ss, tlw iium .itions ni .m «i.iih>[.ii<' w.ui 

 system, a probable houv foundation, and a wcdth of 

 artifacts in the soil were enough lo 5iip|><>: 

 archeological project, the n*SMlls of wliicl 

 considerable historical and architectural 

 Determining the meaning of the walls and whether 

 they were related to the town layout or to Mercer's 

 plantation, learning the relationship of the plantation 

 to the town, discovering the .sites of the U>9I court- 

 house and Mei-cer's mansion, and finding other hoii!>c 

 foundations and significant artifacts all these >%'rrc 

 to be the objectives of the project. The problem, 

 broadiv consideral, was to investigate in depth a 

 specific localitv where a 17th-century town .uu! an 

 18th-century plantation had succcssiv« 1 ind 



fallen and to evaluate the evidence in the lii:hl of 

 colonial Nirginia's evolving culture and economy. 

 .\ccoixlingly, plans were made, a grant was obtained 

 from the .\merican Philosophical So< counted 



in the introduction, and intensive wuik un the site 

 was 1 "■'' "" ' " 1 '' t)» 



69 



