Now that most of the roots have been conquered, a tree removed and the concrete broken us, our stellar crew has made some significant strides this past week – most of the stone church north wall has been located, and the building’s northwest corner has been exposed. The coquina foundations of the church building are extremely robust – some 70 centimeters wide! But they seem to be fairly shallow – only about 50 centimeters thick, sometimes resting on a bed of shell.
The northwest corner is especially interesting, because there is a very large postmold cut into the coquina. It may have supported the corner of the building, but we are – at the moment – inclined to think that it has something to do with the post-1702 rebuilding, after James Moore’s attack. That was when the stone church was repaired, and tabby friary was added. We suspect this because there is a piece of a tabby wall connected to the stone building’s north side, extending toward the west. It is apparently surrounding the space between the stone church and the tabby friary. And it helps confirm our suspicions that the entire area – church and friary – were enclosed by a wall. But what was in between the buildings?
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| Don and Carl uncovering the north part of the stone
building. Notice the tree stump to the
right of the green knee pad. It used to
be a fairly large crepe myrtle. |
We have opened units in the “between buildings” area to try and answer that question.
One unit has located a very flat but rich layer of shelly midden, with artifacts dating to the early 18th century. It is at the right elevation to be the ground surface, but doesn’t say much for the 18th century outdoors housekeeping skills.
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| Alex and Pat revealing the surface of the “patio/cloister” area and trying to avoid the irrigation pipes. |
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| The
“patio/cloister ” surface |
Meanwhile, Janet is ruling the sifting screens, which are in constant use, and deposit endless amounts of sifted soil. She is also using a unique artifact drying method, that will be familiar to all of us who did laundry in the old days.
Who knew you could still find clothes pins?
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| Don and Phil moving screened dirt |
Final thought: You may have noticed all the yellow buckets we use to move dirt – so thank you, Tidy Cat! Their buckets are the best!
You can read last week's update here, or learn about last's year field season here.
Words and images by Dr. Kathleen Deagan.
