2025 Field School Week 2

By: Charlotte Niblett & Ali Tierney

This week at Poplar Forest, we’ve been busy with digging, lab work, and a public archaeology day!

Last week, our work was at the Quarter Site, but this week we were up the hill, digging around the base of the 1857 Slave Dwelling. We excavated four units in total, plus a few more for Public Archaeology Day on Saturday. Artifacts included lots of machine-cut nails, ironstone, and flow blue ceramic, and even a few buttons. As we’ve been digging, visitors are invited to speak with us and see first-hand how archaeology is conducted – and we get the chance to speak with the public about our own work.

This week’s focus was on material culture, which are objects that have been either made or influenced by human usage, and our mornings were busy with lectures on the various major categories of material culture, such as ceramic, glass, nails, metals, and clothing-related artifacts. In the lab, field school students washed and sorted artifacts, and learned how to label artifacts using a fountain pen. Writing so small on an artifact is definitely a challenge, but with a little practice, we were able to successfully label them all.

But the highlight of the week was undoubtedly our Public Archaeology Day this past weekend! As part of our efforts to share stories of Poplar Forest’s past with the broader public, we welcomed many visitors, including family members with a connection to the property’s history and a group from the Monacan Indian Nation, as well as friends and family of our archaeologists. The turnout was strong, and many visitors enjoyed excavating on our public day units, participating in activities, and washing artifacts while learning about the history and archaeology at Poplar Forest. Some of these activities included piecing together ceramic pottery sherds, much like we do in the lab, as well as spelling games that involved the types of artifacts found on the property, and more.

Stay tuned for more updates from our dig sites, and thank you to all who attended!