Phase-II Archeaology Investigation: Tennis Lawn 2013
This 2013 project followed up on the 2010 survey evidence indicating the possible location of a former building. Historic maps show no structure in this area, but concentrations of domestic and architectural artifacts found there led to speculation that a slave quarter may have stood in what is now the Tennis Lawn. The Phase II testing further investigated if a building did exist in this portion of the property and, if so, what its function may have been, with exciting results: Two of the test units revealed characteristics of a large feature. Although its details remain undetermined, the likely feature’s size apparent configuration, and recovered artifacts suggest that a possible root cellar or sub-floor pit associated with a dwelling for enslaved African Americans and/or other servants.
