DATING 



Where available, published parallels are quoted as 

 dating evidence. In addition, unpublished evidence 

 derived from Colonial Williamsburg excavations is 

 used. Unfortunately, however, the majority of the 

 finds are without support in either of these directions; 

 in such cases the stated dates are only the writer's 

 opinion based on his own experience. However, the 

 accepted sealing date for the filling of the Rosewell 

 pit provides a terrninus ante quern of 1772 for all 

 strata other than the top (no. 1 in fig. 4), which was 

 considered slightly disturbed and may have included 

 items dating as late as about 1800. 



Some of the more common items are described as 

 "18th century" or "second half of 18th century," 

 indicating that they represent types of relics that cannot 

 be closely dated on stylistic grounds. However, pro- 

 viding the items were found below the pit's top level, 

 these particular examples must date before 1772. 

 It should be remembered that all other quoted dates 

 are those of manufacture and do not indicate the 

 length of time during which the objects would or 

 could have been in use. 



SCALE 



Unless otherwise stated, all photographed items are 

 depicted against a 1 -inch-square grid and can be 

 scaled accordingly. Scales for the drawn items are 

 indicated on the drawing or in the legend. Where 

 the illustrations do not indicate the object's thickness, 

 internal diameter, or any other pertinent feature, this 

 data is included in the description. 



UNSTRATIFIED ITEMS 



Included in this report are a number of objects 

 considered to be of interest but which were not found 

 in the vicinity of the pit. These come predominantly 

 from the large trash-strewn area revealed by deep 

 ploughing south of the Page gra\eyard and east of 

 the mansion. Most of the material from this area 

 belongs to the first half of the 18th century, but this 

 time span is made worthless by the presence of a 

 small number of items of the late-18th and 19th 

 centuries that, as a result of the ploughing, 

 became mixed with the earlier material. Two iron 

 items from other ploughed areas are also included — 

 an iron ice skate found to the northwest of the Page 

 gravevard (an area that \icldcd more 19th-century 



than 18th-century refuse) and an 18th-century hoe 

 found in the \icinity of the foundations of the colonial 

 barn (?) clo.se to the path northwest of the mansion 

 (see p. 162). These items appear as nos. 7 and 4, 

 respectively, in figure 37. 



Figure 10 



1. Plate, Chinese porcelain. Base slightly raised: 

 underglaze floral decoration in cobalt; no footring. 

 Second half of 18th century. C2. Reconstructed 

 drawing, fig. 25, no. 3. 



2. Plate, Chinese porcelain. Rim sherd only; decora- 

 tion in roughly painted underglaze blue. Style is 

 reminiscent of the Canton willow-patterns of the 

 early 19th century, and for this reason is thought 

 to date no earlier than the 1760's. E2. 



3. Plate, Chinese porcelain. Base slightly raised; 

 floral decoration in underglaze blue, good quality; 

 no footring. Fragments much scattered over the 

 northeast area of the pit. 18th century. A2. Jl. 

 J2, E2. Reconstructed drawing, fig. 25, no. 1. 



4. Plate, Chinese porcelain. Wide, somewhat sloping 

 rim; small incurving footring; elaborate floral orna- 

 ment in underglaze blue. Second half of 18th 

 century. L2. Reconstructed drawing, fig. 25, 

 no. 2. 



5. Soup plate, Chinese porcelain. Narrow rim; heavy 

 footring; celadon edge to rim; decoration in under- 

 glaze blue; ornament of rim is somewhat Imari in 

 style, that of the center is floral with ju-i border. 

 Second half of 18th century. D2, F2, Gl. G2, 

 N2, 02. Reconstructed drawing, fig. 25, no. 5. 



6. Plate, Chinese porcelain. Rim sherd only; decora- 

 tion in underglaze blue. Probably third quarter 

 of 18th century. E2. 



7. Plate, Chinese porcelain. Rim sherd only; decora- 

 tion in underglaze blue, in tcchni(]uc similar to 

 no. 2. Third quarter of 18th century. D2. 



8. Plate, Chinese porcelain. Rim sherd only; willow 

 tree decoration in underglaze i)lue. 18ih century. 

 Surface. 



9. Small soup plate, Chinese porcelain. Rim and 

 wall sherd only; decoration in underglaze blue, the 

 lattice pattern rather similar to that of no. 5. 

 Third quarter of 18th century. C2. 



10. Plate, Chinese porcelain. Rim sherd only; edge 

 with iron oxide wash: carefully painted floral 

 decoration in imderglaze lilue. 18th ccnturv. E3. 



PAPER 18: EXCAVATIONS AT ROSEWELL 



179 



