Come join FOFA at our Annual Membership Meeting with

Sean Devlin: Mount Vernon through Archaeology Saturday,February1,2020at9:30AM

JamesLeeCommunityCenter2855AnnandaleRoad,

FallsChurch,VA

Annual Membership Meeting Scheduled for February 1, 2020 

The AnnualMembersMeeting of the Friends ofFairfax County Archaeology and CulturalResourceswill be held on Saturday, February 1,2020 in theUrbanitesRoom of the James LeeCenter. Coffee and light refreshments will beprovidedduringthemeeting.FOFA will hold a brief meeting prior to thepresentation in order to elect the 2020 FOFAofficersandboardmembers. Ifyouwould like toserve on the Nominations Committee (we arelooking for 2‐3 replacements) please emailFOFArch@gmail.com. Nominations also will betakenfromtheflooratthemeeting.Following the brief businessmeeting, our guestspeaker will be Sean Devlin, Curator ofArchaeologicalCollectionsatGeorge Washington’sMountVernon.SeanwilldiscussthearchaeologicalandhistoriclandscapeandcollectionsatMountVernon,includingtherecentdiscoveryofthefoundationofa“necessary”orprivythatmayhavebeenconstructedforthe“QuarterPeople”andthe“numeroustrashpits,drainageditches,planting

holes,andevenanundocumentedbuilding"wroteDevlin(https://www.mountvernon.org/blog‐Sept.30andJan.9,2019posts). Sean has over a decade and a half of experience in historical archaeology. He earned his Master’s degree in Anthropology from the College of William and Mary and is currently finishing his Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Minnesota. His experience and research interests are centered on the origins, evolution and legacies of the plantation system within Anglo-colonial societies. As such, his work has included research at numerous sites in Virginia, as well as, the Caribbean islands of Barbados and Jamaica. He has served as in his current position since 2016.

January 2020 MEETING OPEN 

TO THE PUBLIC

Inside:

1. Board Member Stephen Potter to Keynote MAAC 50th anniversary meeting @ March 21, 2020

2. Gunston Hall Symposium: Material Culture of Transportation @ March 14, 2020

3. Museum & Archaeological Collections Facility Update

4. Cemetery Symposium Is a BigSuccess!

5. County Archaeology Research Team Busy as Year Ends

6. Congratulations to VolunteerRichard Eilers!

Stephen Potter to Keynote the 50th Anniversary Meeting of the Middle Atlantic Archaeological Conference 

FOFA boardmember StephenPotterwill deliverthekeynoteaddressatabanquetcelebrating the50th anniversary of the Middle AtlanticArchaeologyConference,March21,2020,inOceanCity, Maryland. The banquet will be held inconjunctionwiththeMarch19‐22meeting.WrotePotterinanintroduction,"Startingin1995and continuing to the present day, the NationalPark Service has been conducting Overviews,Assessments,IdentificationandEvaluationstudiesof 11major parks in the Potomac River basin."Banquet‐goers will hear about "13,000 years ofchanging human lifeways and different culturesrepresented by campsites, villages, workshops,stonequarries,domesticsites,taverns,kilns,mills,armories,forges,fortifications,andbattlefields."For more information about MAAC, visithttp://www.maacmidatlanticarchaeology.org/conferences.htm.

StephenPotter,Ph.D.,RegionalArchaeologist

Emeritus,NationalParkServiceandFOFADirector

Museum & Archaeological Collections Facility Update 

Earlierthisyear,theFairfaxCountyParkAuthority(FCPA)selectedaconsultingfirmtodesignthenewMuseumandCollectionsFacility,whichwillbehousedinanexistingindustrialbuildingneartheLortonWorkhouseArtsCenter.A2016ParksBondprovidedfundingfortheselectionofthedesignfirm;anewbondreferendumwillfundtheconstructionofthebuilding.BuildingW‐35wasoriginallyusedasaboilerplantfortheI‐95landfillbutthenewgoalistoexpandandconvertthebuildinginto“asecure,environmentallystable,archaeologicalandmuseumcollectionsstoragefacility,withmuseumexhibition,storage,laboratoryandofficecomponents”.FairfaxCountyisthestewardofover10,000historicobjects,suchasfurnitureandpaintings,andofover3millionarchaeologicalartifactsdatingbackto10,000B.C.TheseirreplaceableobjectsareinadequatelystoredatvariousfacilitiesacrosstheCounty,includingthebasementoftheJamesLeeCommunityCenterinFallsChurch.Dr.Crowell,whohasbeenwiththecountyforalmost17years,isexcitedaboutthenewfacility.Crowelloverseesarchaeologyonparklandaswellascounty‐widehistoricpreservationandmuseumcollections.TheArchaeologyandCollectionsBranchreceivedsought‐afteraccreditationinSeptemberfromtheAmericanMuseumAlliance.

SavetheDate!

March14,2020

GunstonHallArchaeologySymposium

SUPPER TIME at the James Lee Center 

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b3/Frederick_George_Cotman_‐_One_of_the_Family_‐_Google_Art_Project.jpg)Justintimeforfamilyholidaydinnersandcelebrations,theArchaeologyandCollectionsBranchdisplayedseveralartifactsoutsideoftheirofficesattheJamesLeeCenterthataresimilartoobjectsdepictedintheOneoftheFamilypaintedbyFrederickCotmanin1880.Theartifactsondisplayincludedishes,flatware,glassware,flowerpots,horsebucklesandmyfavorite(!)Lusterware(depictedbelowandintheupperrighthandcornerofthepainting)

Cemetery Symposium Is a Big Success! About 35 people attended FOFA’ s October 5thcemeterysymposiumat the JamesLeeCenter:AtRest? Cemeteries and Cemetery Protection inFairfaxCountyandBeyond.FOFAPresidentJohnP.Mullenopenedthesymposiumwithanoverviewof local protections. Fairfax County, home to atleast400 known cemeteries, currentlymandatesthatduringdevelopment,knowncemeteriesmustbe shown on plats. Neighboring counties suchPrinceWilliamandLoudounhavemorestringentordinances, some recently enacted. Mullenpresented research on a recent controversialproject involving the data recovery of humanremainsinhispaper,TheArcheologicalRecoveryofHumanRemainsfromaForlornCemetery.Joanna Wilson Green, archeologists with theVirginiaDepartmentofHistoricResources,gaveacomprehensiveoverviewofcemeteryprotectionatthe state level:Cemeteries and the Law:How theCode of Virginia Protects (or Affects) Our BurialGrounds. Green saidmost cemeteries in Virginiaare moved because of development pressure.Becauseitisafelonytodisplaceorremoveadead,buriedhumanbody,theremainsmustbeproperlyremoved, such as by a qualified professionalarchaeologist and anthropologist. She said theVirginia General Assembly has recognized theimportanceofAfricangravesites."Theseresourcesare unique, they are local, and they belong toeveryone.Ihopewhatthesenortherncountiesaredoingwillspreadsouth."Twounknownfamilycemeterieswerediscoveredby county archeologists working in advance ofimprovementstoPatriotParkNorthaccordingtoChrisSperlinginhispresentation,AvoidanceistheBestMitigation: Treatment of Two Cemeteries inFairfax County. The park is located about threemiles east of Centreville near the intersection ofBraddockRoad and theFairfaxCountyParkway.Sperling found during his archaeologicaldelineationthattheRiggFamilyCemetery,whichconsistedofdepressionswithheadandfootstonesof local quartz, contained 12 grave shafts. Hesurmisedthattheinnershaftswerefamilyandthatthree outer shafts may be those of enslaved

persons.Also found nearby and left undisturbedwere nine small burial features, possibly ofenslaved children. "It is important to see howenslavedpersonsweretreatedinlifeandindeath,"hesaid."Peoplewillbewalkingbyhereonapath"inthepark,whichwillhaveseveralbaseballfields.Both cemeteries were avoided by the newconstructionThefinalpresentation,RecoveryandReburialattheMelvin Family Cemetery, Fairfax County, Virginiawas delivered by FCPA Archaeology CollectionsManager, Aimee Wells. Following the 2012derecho, a homeowner's association called thecounty to report a red oak had fallen over andexposed a gravestone in the8‐foot‐tall root ball.Wells said the soapstone headstone was ofmetamorphic talcprobablyquarriednearCliftonandcarvedinthevernacularstyle.ItwasthatofW.W.Melvin,1833‐1893, anAfricanAmericanwhowas born free. She recovered his remains alongwith mismatched coffin hardware and reburiedhiminanicely joinedpinebox,discoveringalongthe way he was "a Virginian, a farmer, a twin,husband,father,son,“mulatto,”farm laborer,andwitness to history. Wells also located a livingdescendant inWoodbridge across the river fromwherehewasburied.County Archaeology Research Team Stays Busy as Year Ends 

Excerpted from the December 17, 2019, edition of C.A.R.T.Archaeology,theblogoftheCountyArchaeologicalResearchTeam,partoftheArchaeologyandCollectionsBranchoftheFairfax County Park Authority, conducting ongoingarchaeological investigations on parkland across FairfaxCounty.byBrittanyBlanchard–ArchaeologicalTechnicianSleevebuttons,commonlyreferredtoascufflinks,typically consist of two small button‐like objectsattachedtoeachotherbyametalbarorlinks.Thebuttonsaremeanttobeplacedthroughshirtsleevebuttonholescreatingatensionthatdrawsthecufftogether. Sleeve buttons were worn regularlybeginning in the late 17th century and grew inpopularity as interchangeable accessories that

allowed thewearer to incorporatepersonalstylepreferencesand/orsubtlepoliticalstatementsinanoncommittal fashion. Those archaeologicallyrecoveredinrecentyearsfromPatriotParkNorthandOldColchesterParkandPreservearemadeofmetals such as brass, copper, and pewterwhichwere cast into round, oval, octagonal, or morecomplexshapes.Coloredglasswasoftenmolded,faceted,orroundedandusedasinsetstoproducethe appearance of ornate yet inexpensivedecoration.

Copperalloy,round‐shapedsleevebuttonswithfacetedcoloredglassinsetswerearchaeologicallyrecoveredat

OldColchesterParkandPreserve.

Bronze,oval‐shapedsleevebuttonwiththewordsTallioinscribedaboveafoxarchaeologicallyrecoveredat

PatriotParkNorth.ReadmoreaboutTalliosleevebuttons

http://annapoliscurator.blogspot.com/2014/09/william‐pacas‐sleeve‐buttons_12.html

Excerpted from the December 6 and November 22, 2019,editionofC.A.R.T.ArchaeologyArchaeological testing at both Mt. Air andRiverbendPark continues.Artifacts fromMt.Airaremainlyhistoricandrange in timeperiod,butoccasional prehistoric artifacts such as debitage(trash from making stone tools) are recovered.Artifacts recovered from Riverbend park havebeenmainly prehistoricwith occasional historicartifactssuchasnailsorglassfragments.

Artifactsrecoveredfromrecenttesting.FromRiverbend:quartzdebitageandprehistoric ceramics;FromMt.Air,nails,jackfieldceramic,andceramicelectricalinsulator.

STPsurveyprogressatMt.Air—areasinyellowhavebeencompleted!

Congratulations Rich! 

CongratulationstoRichardEilers,formerNorthernVirginia Chapter President of the ArcheologicalSociety of Virginia for receiving theOutstandingVolunteerAwardattheFCPAEllyDoyleAwardsinNovember. Rich canoftenbefoundhelpingwith artifacts at theCART Lab at theArchaeology andCollections BranchofficeattheJamesLeeCenter.He ispicturedhereatadigoutsideofFairfaxCounty.(PhotobyY.French)

FOFANEEDSYOU!

FOFA is a 501c(3) non‐profit organization thatsupports theCulturalResourceManagementandProtection Branch of the Fairfax County ParkAuthority. We seek to further promote theunderstanding and appreciation of FairfaxCounty's cultural resources through archaeologyand historic preservation. Among our otheractivities, FOFA can now offer support in theacquisition of needed field equipment, artifactstoragesystems,andcomputersoftware.We need you to become a supportingmember!Please fill out the attached membershipapplication,andespecially letusknowareasthatyou can assist (i.e. website development andmaintenance,fundraising,outreach,etc.).Follow us on Facebook and on the internet athttp://fofaweb.org/.

MembershipFormhere.