Volunteers Dig Into History
June 14, 2000
From The Fauquier Times-Democrat, Wednesday, June 14, 2000 (with permission)
Led by volunteer archaeologist, Dr. John Eddins, an enthusiastic team of citizens and Boy Scouts from Troop 1177 has been working on a dig at the site of the old Elk Run Anglican Church since late April.
The volunteers are searching for the remains of the old Church, which was built in the 1750s.
Abandoned sometime after 1806, the brick, wood and other materials that made up the church building were carried off over the years. What remained fell into the earth and became buried beneath pasture and cedar trees. The church foundation and other artifacts have been hidden from view for about 170 years. It is suspected that the original building was of traditional cruciform design.
“The goal at this point in the project is to find the outline of the foundation, including the main walls, the transepts extending out on two sides, any entrances, stairways, and other features,” said Eddins. “Also sought are any artifacts that would illustrate activity inside and outside the church.”
In many parts of the site, this has proven more difficult due to the amount of rubble from fallen walls, tree roots and other disturbances.
READING BETWEEN THE GRID LINES
The first volunteer archaeologist, Dr. Pat Curry set up a site grid system last November. The research team uses the grid to help track the spatial relationships of everything found at the site.
Excavation units are positioned in relation to the grid, and the architectural features and other evidence of human activity are mapped in relation to it.
The research team began their work this year by probing the soil with tile probes. “Starting from a section of stonework exposed in a test trench dug last December, members of the crew assisted in trying to locate the inner and outer edges of the foundation,” noted Eddins.
Orange pin flags marked locations where team members thought they had isolated edges and corners. The brick and stone rubble across the site made this a difficult task.
“Part of the fun of the work has included group discussions about the significance of the resulting patterns of flags, and the best place to put in excavation units to test hypotheses about the shape of the church,” said Eddins.
The volunteer members of the research team have assisted in laying out excavation “units” and have oriented to the site grid, using measuring tapes, corner spikes, and string. They have also set up a datum near each unit to record elevations of the different soil layers and architectural features.
The units are dug with shovel, trowel, and whiskbroom. As each successive layer of soil is removed in a unit, a crew member helps to take notes recording descriptions of the layers and other observations.
All the soil removed is screened through 1/4 hardware cloth so that large and small artifacts are recovered. Artifacts are then placed in bags labeled with the number of the excavation unit and soil level.
The artifacts so far uncovered — including pieces of window glass, an assortment of hand-made nails, broken ceramic dish fragments — will eventually be cleaned and labeled and made available for display throughout the community.
The research crew has opened 9 excavation units so far this summer, exposing a number of interior and exterior corners and sections of wall foundation.
However, the exact layout of the church is still uncertain since there are no historic records of the design of the church.
EXCITEMENT OF DISCOVERY
“The volunteers look forward to their Saturdays at the site with great anticipation, trying to solve an historical mystery right in their own community,” said Eddins.
“Often, when a new piece of the puzzle is being uncovered, many want to keep working past quitting time so they won’t have to wait a whole week to find out what it was they had encountered.”
Local citizens and youth groups wishing to assist at the Church site dig may call St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church Office at (540) 788-4252 to leave their name and phone numbers.
They will be notified when the next Saturday dig will be scheduled. Summer “dig hours” are from 8 AM until 2 PM.
Donations to assist in this effort can be mailed to Treasurer, Elk Run Church Site Preservation Fund, 8538 Greenwich Road, Catlett, Virginia 20119.