Architecture

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Nails

Doorknob

Pintle

Hinge

Windowglass

Padlock

Lockplate

Windowspline

“They are very comfortable, so [the women] told me as they displayed with great pride the interior of their imaginative mansions. Each cabin has a lot attached to it, which the negro women keep in a good state of cultivation, and raise vegetables of all kinds, which command a ready sale in the camps, or at officers' quarters."
Philadelphia Inquirer, May 18, 1863

What kinds of artifacts tell archaeologists about buildings? Think about the parts of a building that rot away and the parts that might stay in the ground. Architecture-related artifacts can include nails, window glass, roofing slates, shutter hooks, door latches, door knobs, hinges, keys, bricks, paving stone, and plaster. These kinds of artifacts give us information about how homes were constructed, the dimensions of buildings, the quality of interior fittings, and how a building was used.

At Mitchelville, archaeologists recovered 11,314 artifacts that helped them identify the location of former homes and learn more about how the houses were constructed. Historical documents and photographs show us that houses at Mitchelville were simple wooden buildings clad in weatherboard. They were not built on brick foundations or on posts set deep into the ground. Some houses had glass windows, while others just had shutters. Archaeologists working at Mitchelville over the years have discovered one of the best ways to find former houses is by locating concentrations of nails. The nails may be all that remain after the wooden boards rot away. At 38BU2301 even nails were difficult to find. Archaeologists believe that this portion of Mitchelville contained some of the last houses built in the town, and that these houses may have been lived in for only a few years (from 1864 until 1868). They also think houses in this area were dismantled to salvage the building materials.

Excavation Finds

Here is what archaeologists found at two houses during the 2013 excavations at 38BU2301: