We decided to clear and uncover another foundation feature which was hiding underneath many thorny wild rose bushes. The building is believed to be date to the period when the furnace was under operation. The building does show up on the 1843 Barney map of the Hampton Estate as a dwelling. It was quite the task to wrangle the “Maryland jungle” away from the foundation. We started two test units at this feature to document the foundation wall and another to test inside the building. So far the test units have a greater variety of material culture including bone, an assortment of nails and ceramic fragments, slag, coal, and glass.
19th Century material culture: nails, ceramic, coal, animal tooth
Cellar Hole of dwelling partially exposed
Laying out test unit to find structure wall