35. Near the Water’s Edge: The Archaeology of Colonial Newtown On the Eastern Branch of the Elizabeth River
by T. F. Higgins III, D. W. Lewes, E. J. Monroe, with contributions from: S. T. Andrews, D. Lightfoot, and J. McKnight
Archaeological Data Recovery at Sites 44NR0009 and 44NR0012 Associated with the I-64/I-264 Improvements Project, City of Norfolk, Virginia
2017 x + 286 pp. 236 figs., 19 tables, 5 appdx.
Archaeological data recovery at Sites 44NR0009 and 44NR0012 in the City of Norfolk, Virginia uncovered the remains of eighteenth-century warehouses and slave quarters on the outskirts of historic Newtown, a once flourishing community established along the Eastern Branch of the Elizabeth River at the close of the seventeenth century. Fueled by brisk maritime trade and subsequent commercial and residential development, Newtown flourished during the first half of the eighteenth century, but as other economic and political centers emerged, the town’s prosperity waned during the third quarter of the century; by the century’s close, the town and the outlying properties associated with Sites 44NR0009 and 44NR0012 were largely abandoned. They melded into an agricultural landscape of cultivated fields and pasture by the late nineteenth century. By the third quarter of the twentieth century, most of the acreage of Newtown was occupied by residential development and the raised grade of I-64. Excavation at these sites revealed rich archaeological evidence little more than a foot below surface, giving researchers important clues about material culture and the cultural landscape along this portion of the Elizabeth River in the eighteenth century. The emerging picture of life here, though far from complete, helps us to better understand the socioeconomic dynamics that played out at Newtown over generations, between enslaved African-Americans, merchants, and property owners.
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