Today, on the way to a walk through the
historic area, Billy and I passed an archaeology site being excavated at the
end of our block. Although this is not uncommon in Williamsburg, it is not
that often that it is right here where we work, and where our guests will have
a front row seat!
It was our good fortune that Marley Brown,
an old friend and the head of the Archaeology Program at Colonial
Williamsburg, was at the site and gave us the V.I.P. treatment.
The area being dug is an extension of the
Wray site, an early trades site first excavated in the 1960’s and more
recently about 5 years ago when the city built the fantastic parking facility
in the center of the Prince George Street block, filling the huge need for
parking for Merchant’s Square.
Until the 2003 dig, there was not really a
comprehension for the extent of the site or the nature of it. Apparently,
this was quite a large area which, along with its proximity to what has been
designated as the “Historic Area”, enlightens us to a complex building trades
area – almost an 18th century Home Depot! On this site were a saw
pit for cutting boards from logs, a finishing room for creating siding, a
glass house for producing windows, a blacksmith for forging hardware, and
other assorted trades all of which together would afford “one stop shopping”
for construction.
We are brought back to the realization
that there is so much about historic Williamsburg, which we still do not know!
Shari
