On Friday, March 4, the morning group was bright-eyed and bushy tailed, ready to begin the first day of field work. We had a short briefing with Dr. De Cunzo about the plan for the morning work and what we hoped to accomplish. The group was divided into 3 groups – according to task. One group (where I worked) assembled the transit and began establishing a grid with Dr. De Cunzo, another group worked with Andrea and mapped the North and Water lots, while another group worked with Julie to do site photography.

Assembling and balancing the transit proved to be a very painstaking process. Emily, Ashley and I had quite a task ahead of us. We had to be very careful so as not to damage the equipment, but also to ensure that our measurements would be as precise as possible. We had to adjust the legs of the tripod, turn all sorts of wheels and knobs to level transit itself and then the scope. Precision here is very important because an unbalanced transit or off-level scope could give inaccurate readings for the grid. After the transit was properly set up, Emily and Dr De Cunzo worked with me to establish a primary datum point along the southwest wall of the Read House. Our zero point was the west corner of the house – furthest from the Strand. We measured along the southwest wall to determine the length from the west corner to the south corner. We used a measuring tape in Engineering scale (feet and tenths of feet) to measure horizontal distances and a meter stick to measure elevation. Emily and I worked closely together with laying the grid. I looked through the scope to where she was standing with the meter stick, we had to line up perfectly so I could take an accurate measurement. We marked points in 25 foot intervals across the water lot – Emily holding the meter stick for elevation, and Ashley pulling the tape and marking and flagging the points.  The distances and elevations were recorded at each point by Dr. De Cunzo, Ashley and Kitty. These points will be the starting points for Shovel Test Pits (STPs)

Andrea’s group, Marissa, Clay and Michael used Engineering tape to measure out the Water and North lots. They created scale drawings of each lot, indicating boundaries and other features. These maps will be used continuously through the rest of our archaeological investigation to mark STPs, and other excavation points.

The third group, working with Julie, was Kitty, Fallon and Brielle – Ashley worked a bit with this group also. They walked the North and Water lots taking photographs at different points on the sites. Black and white, color slide, and digital cameras were used – Dr. De Cunzo explained the different uses of each type of camera. Black and White film is used because it preserves the best, according to archivists. Digital cameras have obvious applications in our current age of technology but many curators and archivists are unsure about the future of digital records and how they will be stored. About 40 photographs were taken with each camera.  Information about each image was recorded by Kitty and Ashley, this information included: date taken, photograph number, film canister number (if applicable), facing direction (N, S, etc.), and a short description of the area. Photograph locations were selected so as to best capture the current conditions of each site – pre-excavation.

Despite the frigid wind blowing from the Delaware River, we had a very productive first day in the field.

Our first week of historical research on the Read House, gardens, and water lot was approached from many different directions. Yet, surprisingly, these many different approaches seem to have been performed by everyone, no matter their time period of study.
Most of us started out on the internet, searching Google or delCAT for anything of relevance. In some instances, individuals were able to find online documents pertaining to their time period, such as wills of the owners. However, delCAT seemed to yield more promising results. When search terms were entered into the system, primary and secondary sources were listed. Theses from former University of Delaware students, such as Michele Anstine, and others were found within the system, giving us researchers some interesting information. Many of the primary sources, however, were located in Special Collections. This is where many of the group’s turned to next.
In Special Collections, one group was able to find Records of the Court of New Castle, in which they found mentions of individuals from their time period. Another group also found a small booklet describing some of the renovations and history behind the Read House.
The next logical step for many people was to try and locate the deeds relating to their time periods. The media center in the bottom floor of the University of Delaware Library has a microform section in which many of the deeds pertaining to New Castle before 1850 can be found. Once a microform attendant was available, students were able to find the correct reels for the deeds they were searching for. It seems that some had a hard time figuring out how to search through a reel, but it also seems that they hope to look at them again with a fresh pair of eyes. Perseverance is definitely the key in this situation. Some individuals stated that the handwriting is almost illegible and also that the microform machines can make you a little dizzy and queasy.
There were a few different reactions posted up on our class blog this week. Some felt that the week was not too successful. Whatever the case, it is apparent by reading the research plans and ambitions for the upcoming weeks that we will not give up any time soon!