Existing comment:
Archaeology at Josiah Henson Park
Montgomery Parks has conducted archaeological research on this property since 2009 and will continue studies to learn more about the daily lives of those enslaved here and whose experiences are not recorded anywhere else. Reconstructing the plantation landscape of the early 1800s enriches our understanding of how the enslaved community and Riley family used these areas differently.
[Captions:]
A dwelling stood at this location in the 1800s (1). While the above-ground indications are gone, evidence of human activities is buried under the soil (2). Archaeologists found intact postholes and remnants of posts, used to provide support for wooden structures (3).
While obscured by 20th-century changes, elements of the Riley plantation landscape remain within the Park. Identifying these physical spaces allows a better awareness of the human interactions that once took place here.
Archaeologists excavated this area and found features that indicate a wooden structure and rubble from a stone chimney. Artifacts, including plates, cups, smoking pipes, pins, and marbles, suggest that the building was a residence that dated to the first half of the 1800s, likely quarters for the enslaved or the overseer. |