Front & Center
Archaeological research at Highland sheds new light on people who lived and worked there By Carol Diggs
“H
ow do you lose a president’s house?” That was High land Executive Director Sara BonHarper’s reaction when a 2016 archae ological dig conducted at James Mon roe’s plantation turned up a discovery that completely reinterpreted the site. The research uncovered part of the foundation of Monroe’s original 1799 home, under the front yard of the ex isting Victorian-era Massey House. Highland’s largest Monroe-era stand ing structure, once thought to be a wing of the original home, had in fact been a free-standing guest house, one that Monroe had described in an 1818 letter to his son-in-law. Monroe, the country’s fifth president, lived at Highland from 1799 to 1823, along with his family and a large number of enslaved workers. The property is now owned by William & Mary, Mon roe’s alma mater, and is open to the public as a museum. The 2016 dig re shaped the public history work that’s taking place there, and this summer, another round of archaeological work has expanded what’s known about Mon roe’s home and the people who lived and worked there. In 2020, Bon-Harper—an archaeol ogist by training—secured a $24,000 grant from the Archaeological Institute of America and the National Endow ment of the Humanities to continue the excavation of Monroe’s original home. That grant covered the cost of several William & Mary graduate stu dents and a couple of employees. With some additional volunteers, Bon-Harp er and her team spent the month of June excavating several sections of the home’s foundation—often while High land visitors looked on. 22 434
Getting their hands dirty This year’s excavation focused on four investigation areas. The findings provide a fascinating picture of the old house, but also of the value, possibilities, and frustrations of archaeological research. One of the archaeologists’ goals was figuring out which side of the house had been the front—nailing that down would help to develop the home’s layout as well as map possible exterior features, like a front porch or entrance drive. Archae ologists do know where the chimney stood, and the 2016 research revealed the outline of a large room north of the base of the chimney, suggesting that was the front of the house. This summer, in trying to confirm that hypothesis, the team found something much more interesting: a huge amount of fire damage. Wall and plaster debris had fallen and fused, signs of a confla gration so intense that one side of the structure had collapsed. While historical documents speak of a fire at Highland after Monroe sold the property, this dis covery illustrates a catastrophic event— which may help answer Bon-Harper’s question about how the president’s house was “lost.” The archaeologists also sought to map the original home’s eastern side. Exca vation found no evidence of extensions or additions to the house along that side—“and we didn’t find any interesting trash sites,” Bon-Harper notes regret fully. Garbage pits and trash piles are gold for archaeologists; what residents of the time throw out reveals a great deal about what they did, made, used, and ate. But the team was able to confirm the structure’s eastern boundary. Additionally, the archaeologists want ed to figure out the subterranean struc ture of the original home. Did the cellar on the south end of the house connect to the “part-stone” cellar on the north end mentioned in historical documents? In stead of cellars, however, the excavation team ran across trenches made later, by people scavenging stone from the foun dation, and had to document those fea tures. In archaeology, as in any scientific discipline, “You have to be open to the ‘something else’,” Bon-Harper says. “We may not find the answer to our question, but we will find interesting information.”
SUPPLIED PHOTO
Digging DOWN
Insurance documents show the original home’s kitchen was not a separate build ing but was attached to the main house, unlike most kitchens in this period. The team hoped further excavation could shed light on the life of Hannah, the Mon roes’ enslaved cook. The team found the usual artifacts from kitchen operations— glass, ceramics, and bone—and they also found a deep disturbed area that might indicate a below-grade entrance to the kitchen wing, or might be a later intrusion
