Smithsonian Institution - United States National Museum - Bulletin 249 Contributions from the Museum of History and Technology Papers 52-54 on Archeology

These papers gather three detailed reports from the Smithsonian’s Museum of History and Technology, offering a window into mid‑20th‑century fieldwork at Virginia’s colonial sites. Written by leading archaeologists, the texts explain how research questions were shaped, how careful excavation methods were applied, and what early artifacts can reveal about everyday life in the 1600s and early 1700s. Listeners get a sense of the scholarly process behind uncovering forgotten structures and the careful documentation that supports each discovery.

The first report examines a brick foundation uncovered at Clay Bank, describing the mix of refined English glass and humble earthenware that hints at a domestic setting once hidden from maps. The second focuses on the Tutter’s Neck site, where stratigraphy and pottery clues paint a picture of settlement patterns along the James River. The final study, “The Poor Potter of Yorktown,” combines documentary records with pottery analysis to explore the lives of modest craftsmen in a bustling colonial port. Together, they provide a vivid, step‑by‑step portrait of archaeology in action.