The August 2000 dig at Rocky Nook was a “big success.”

Rocky Nook, home of John and Elizabeth Howland from 1636 until John’s death in 1672, had been excavated several times in the last 100 years. The past two years the excavation was done as a field school conducted by the University of Virginia. This year, the dig was supervised by Derek Wheeler who supervised the dig last year and was the guest speaker at the 1999 Howland Society meeting.

For this dig he was joined by colleagues Jesse Sawyer, Jason Boroughs and Tracy Adams. Eight Howland descendants, one friend and one family member made up the digging crew. Participating were Sandee Clark from New York, John Howland and Teddy Howland from Maine, Gail Adams and Rebecca Adams from Virginia, with friend Mary Ann Feeney, and Christopher, Ingrid, Ashley and Bonnie Smith from New York.

The day before the dig began Derek and crew cleared the brush and prepared the dig site for the Howlands. Scientific protocol was followed by charting the exact location of the excavation site. The previous digs were grids I-69; we started with grid 70. Our grids were five-foot squares in a row divided by rope.

Measurements were kept for elevation and location as well.

Derek gave a brief introductory talk on prior digs and oriented us on the location of the house and other structures. The area we were going to be excavating was thought to be a dew pond by Sidney Strickland who had conducted digs in the 1930s. A dew pond is a basin made of clay to collect water for livestock.

Before digging we were divided into teams of two per grid. Each grid had a log sheet to record location, elevation, soil color and content, etc. The soil color was determined by using a book with many pages of samples to close from. The information was recorded and we were ready to begin.

Each “digger” was given a trowel and a dustpan. The trowel is held parallel to the ground and you loosen a thin layer of soil. The soil is scooped into the dustpan and put into a large bucket. When the bucket is full the team takes it to the sifter. One person holds the sifter while the other pours the soil in. The sifter is about three feet high and the sifting tray is about two feet square with wire mesh on the bottom. The one holding the sifter handles shakes it back and forth. The team discards the rocks and other debris.

Now begins a very careful search through what is left in the tray.

“I think I found something,” we heard many times throughout the day. Our experts were on hand to examine the possible treasures and to encourage us when “it was only a rock.”

After several buckets and trips to the sifter the soil color began to get lighter. Once a new color is consistent throughout the grid it is time to stop and begin a new log sheet. Measurements were taken for elevation, and soil color/type were noted. Any relevant data is listed on the log.

Then the digging begins again.

Items found in most grids include old nails, old window glass, wine bottle pieces, bricks from the 18th and 19th centuries, several varieties of pottery, some made in England and some locally made redware.

It was educational as each piece was found, for our experts taught us some of the history of the artifacts, when and where they probably were made. There were at least 10 types of pottery covering the 17th-19th centuries. Some were crude redware while some were glazed and had a variety of color.

One of the earliest types of pottery found is called sgraffito. This particular type comes from the Devon area of England and was not made after the year 1680. Sgraffito means incised and refers to the process of making a cut of incision in the pottery to reveal another color.

While most everyone found pottery, nails and glass, there were a few items found only in one area. Ashley and Bonnie Smith were excited to find arrowheads and a pewter button. Rebecca Adams was pleased to discover a gun flint chip and lead window casing which sometimes are dated inside.

John and Teddy Howland found the most nails, a piece of pipe stem and dark green window glass.

Gail was awed by a piece of a pipe bowl. “Who smoked with it? Did it go with the pipe stem Teddy found?

Sandee found a four-inch fish hook, glazed Delft and part of the bottom of a wine bottle most likely made in England. After about three of four days of digging the consensus was that this area was not a dew pond. Many domestic were found, in addition to that may be rocks at a right angle where two walls may have been. Also, when a foundation is dug, the hole is bigger than the actual foundation. Because of the soil color there does appear to be a foundation hole.

We would like to continue the dig next year and follow the foundation path. The area we did not get to could very well hold even more exciting artifacts.

These little pieces of history gave a glimpse into our past, showing the way people lived, what they wore and everyday life.

The dig was indeed successful. Artifacts were found. History was learned, history was made. Friendships were born.

This article appeared in the September 2000 issue of The Howland Quarterly.