South Grove Midden (44FX762)
Site History
The South Grove Midden site (44FX762) is a large midden deposit from the kitchen and the Mount Vernon mansion house of George Washington. Mount Vernon is located along the Potomac River in Fairfax County, Virginia. The original house on the property was constructed by Augustine Washington around 1735. Lawrence Washington, Augustine's inherited the property and lived there until his death. His younger half-brother George Washington rented the estate from Lawrence Washington's widow. Washington implemented a series of changes to the 1735 house that doubled its size. In 1759, Washington established his household at Mount Vernon with his wife Martha Custis.
Archaeological Investigations
The midden was first discovered inadvertently in 1948, when Mount Vernon staff dug a hole to plant a holly tree in the area known historically as the South Grove. The crew found many artifacts dating to the 18th century. The installation of an irrigation system in 1990 again cut through the midden deposit and sparked archaeological investigations by Mount Vernon archaeologists during the summers of 1990-1994. Nine 10 × 10 ft. units were excavated over the course of those summers and the archaeological evidence, combined with documentary evidence date the midden from ca. 1735 through the end of the 18th century.
The midden can be separated into three phases that correspond with different periods of Washington family ownership of the property. Phase 1 contains deposits related to Lawrence Washington's ownership of the property, with possibly some evidence of Augustine Washington's earlier occupation. It has been hypothesized that both Phases 1 and 2 represent episodes of household clearing at the time of Lawrence Washington's death, as George and Martha Washington assumed control of the home. Phase 2 represents the early years of George Washington’s household and shows evidence of some of the renovation work he undertook during this period. Phase 3 dates to the later periods of George Washington's tenure on the property, with decreased artifact quantities suggesting that the primary locus of refuse disposal had been moved from the South Grove during this time.
References
2004 Whose Trash is it, Anyway: A Stratigraphic and Ceramic Analysis of the South Grove Midden (44FX762/17), Mount Vernon, Virginia. Northeast Historical Archaeology 33:111-130.
2006 Home is Where the Trash is: Excavating the Early Households of Mount Vernon. Quarterly Bulletin: Archeological Society of Virginia 61(4):186-196.
Edited from DAACSAssociated Artifacts
North Midlands (Staffordshire Type)
North Midlands (Staffordshire Type)
North Midlands (Staffordshire Type)
North Midlands (Staffordshire Type)
Nottingham Type
Nottingham Type
Nottingham Type
Rhenish Stoneware
White Salt-Glazed Stoneware
White Salt-Glazed Stoneware
White Salt-Glazed Stoneware
White Salt-Glazed Stoneware
