Photo of additional finds from “The Animal Enclosure,” ca.1981

Finds from “The Animal Enclosure”: brass fasteners, brass eye for clothes hook, brass straight pins, with narrow tacks from brass wash, ca. 1618-1650

 

Copper spatter and bead residue, ca. 1618-1650

An early 17th-century ditch enclosure measuring 40 x 60 feet, located southwest of the “Stone House Foundation,” is thought to represent a small activity area that was surrounded by a double-paled wall. Many intriguing finds were recovered, including a trot-line fishing kit consisting of four iron hooks and nine lead sinkers. Investigations were focused on a 6-foot square storage hold and a central line of three postholes that may have supported a canvas roof. The artifacts recovered suggest that flintknapping, lead shot molding, and copper and lead ore smelting were performed at the site. Brass decorative tacks, copper alloy straight pins, and a dress hook were also recovered along with an iron ball pad lock. Although the feature has often been referred to as “The Animal Enclosure,” it would not have served this function since animals at this time were fenced out rather than fenced from within.

What was the specific function of this feature? There are few construction clues but archaeologists observed in the bottom of the ditch traces of small triangular poles that appear to have been made by splitting logs into quadrants and possibly bundling them. A similar feature was found at Clifts Plantation in Westmoreland County, Virginia, where the same impressions were seen in the defense ditches and bastions encompassing the defensive enclosure. Archaeologists also hypothesize that since crucibles were recovered at the fort site there is a stronger case for metallurgy or glass production at selective work areas. With this in mind, perhaps “The Animal Enclosure” was a more commercially-oriented space.