Archaeology Provides a Key to the History of Rich Hill

Archaeology Provides a Key to the History of Rich Hill. . , Rich Hill was the home of wealthy landowners, enslaved African Americans and tenant farmers. From the early 18th century through the 20th century, the land was used to produce tobacco, corn and dairy products and to raise sheep, pigs, chickens, cattle and horses., The landscape of Rich Hill changed over time as the families living there added and subtracted buildings, gardens, fences, and driveways and created a multi-layered landscape, some of which is currently buried beneath the surface. Only the house is still standing., Since the acquisition of Rich Hill, archaeologists, historical researchers, and volunteers have worked to uncover the forgotten landscape of this historic property., Excavations , In April 2015, outbuildings along one side of the house were uncovered to map them and provide protection for them during the restoration of the house. Archeologists and volunteers excavated 11 test units, recovered over 4,000 artifacts and exposed the foundations of the dining room wing added by the Cox family., Shovel Test Pits , Shovel Test Pits were placed at regular intervals of 15 meters and were excavated to verify anomolies found during the geophysical survey and to locate lands features. Thirty-one STPs produced historic period artifacts. A total of 990 artifacts were recovered, most of which were 18th and 19th century domestic and architectural artifacts. Many early-18th century ceramics were found. Oyster shells and animal bone were found near the possible smoke house foundation and nails related to an 18th or 19th century barn were found in the area located by the survey., Geophysical Survey: Magnetometry and Ground-Penetrating Radar , A combination of geophysical survey and shovel test pits (STPs) were used in 2017 to locate buried features associated with former landscapes., The geophyiscal survey included magnetometry and ground-penetrating radar (GPR). Magnetometry measures magnetism in the soil, which changes when the ground is disturbed by human activity such as digging a foundation. GPR works like other radar systems, which use sound waves to detect objects., The geophysical survey located several buried anomalies including a possible barn in a field near the house and a circular formal driveway in front of the house., LiDAR , In 2016, LiDAR was used to guide a pedestrian survey of the property. LiDAR, or Light Detection and Ranging, uses light from a laser system mounted on an aircraft to measure changes in the topography of the earth.