Clay roofing tile (ridge tile), ca. 1618-1650    

Clay roofing tiles and tile fragments, ca. 1618-1650    

English felling axe, iron, ca. 1618-1650    

Joiner's hammer, iron, ca. 1618-1650    

Clay roofing tiles and tile fragments, ca. 1618-1650    

While most research at Flowerdew Hundred has focused on qualitative analyses--such as studies of style and typology, of singular artifacts, of the interaction among the cultures inhabiting the site--several investigations have taken a quantitative, or numbers-driven, approach. No single set of methodologies or theories defines archaeology; it embraces multiple modes of analysis, reaching across many disciplines and incorporating new ways of thinking in its interpretation of the past.

The 3D reconstruction of Flowerdew Hundred’s manor house relied on data from one such quantitative study. Archaeologists had discovered that the structure’s entire roof was covered with clay roofing tiles--a rare and expensive feature not typically seen on Virginia houses of this time. The study investigated the load-bearing weight of the roof as imposed by the clay tiles in order to learn more about the framing requirements. Researchers systematically measured and weighed both complete and broken roofing tiles to determine a standard size and overlap, which was then quantified to the approximate surface area of the roof. The recovery of a single ridge tile (upper left), which provided an estimate of the pitch of the roof, enabled archaeologists to make this type of calculation. Through this quantitative study, archaeologists and architectural historians determined the approximate weight-load from the roofing tile alone, and concluded that the width of the house would have required a complex internal truss-system--a feature incorporated into the manor’s 3D reconstruction.