(also archeology)
noun
the study of human history and prehistory through the excavation of sites and the analysis of artifacts and other physical remains.
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The primary goal of the 2007 archeological investigation at the Woodrow Wilson Family Home was to re-locate the piers of a detached kitchen that was constructed in 1871-1872, at the same time the house was constructed. The kitchen was demolished in the late 1920s or early 1930s, and no photographic evidence has been found to document its location and appearance.
Prior to commencement of the site work, archeologists from John Milner Associates, Inc, (JMA) reviewed historical sources, and the documentation of a previous 1983 archeological investigation by Dr. Kenneth E. Lewis.
Sanborn Map 1904
The work plan called for the excavation of a series of 5-by-1-ft., hand-dug trenches in the backyard placed in areas predicted to yield evidence of the kitchen footprint. A total of up to 100 linear feet of excavation was specified. The initial test trenches did not reveal any piers or footings. After consultation with the Historic Columbia Foundation and the project architect, the archeological approach was modified from trenches to test pits and larger 5’x5’ areas were excavated at the northeast and southeast corners of the presumed building location. This approach did uncover piers, but in a slightly different configuration than what was scaled from the Sanborn maps. The southern edge of the kitchen appears to have been almost 3 ft. closer to the house than is indicated on the Sanborns.
The recent archeological fieldwork demonstrated that considerable ground disturbance has occurred since the 1983 investigations were completed, including construction and demolition of outbuildings, the installation of utility lines (at least gas and electric) and wide-scale landscaping, each involving soil removal and reworking, fill placement, and grading. Mr. Larry Grubbs, facilities manager for the group of historic homes maintained by the Historic Columbia Foundation (HCF), including the Woodrow Wilson Family Home, told the JMA field team that bulldozers were used across the backyard area in 1984 for landscaping, and it is likely that numerous holes were excavated for bush and shrub plantings. A docent who has worked for the HCF since 1994 related that a garden was present across at least a portion of the backyard during the 1990s, and she also remembered that a backhoe was brought in during the late 1990s to remove a fuel-oil tank in the vicinity of the northwest pier; the installation of this tank as well as its removal obviously would have caused massive disturbance. These various disturbances are reflected in the mixing of recent and historical artifacts across the areas of archeological testing. The fact that only the basal course of brick now remains, compared to the two intact courses described for at least some of the brick piers in 1983, is an indication of the degree and depth of disturbance that has occurred since then.
During the investigation, soils were screened for artifacts and the field team recorded their work in narrative field notes and plan and profile scale drawings. scale drawings. The fieldwork was photo-documented with both black-and-white prints and color slides. At the completion of excavation, all test units were backfilled.
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