CHARCOAL IDENTIFICATION AND AMS RADIOCARBON DATING OF A SAMPLE FROM OUTSIDE OF THE NORTHWEST CURTILAGE AT THOMAS JEFFERSON’S POPLAR FOREST, BEDFORD COUNTY, VIRGINIA

Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest is located in Forest, near the city of Lynchburg in Bedford County, Virginia. The current archaeological investigation of an area adjacent to the northwester quadrant of the curtilage (a 61-acre fenced space Jefferson built around his retreat house) was conducted prior to the construction of a new entrance road into the grounds. A single charcoal sample, collected from Layer C in the shovel test pit (ER7323) outside the curtilage, was submitted for identification and AMS radiocarbon dating. A few tertiary and secondary quartz flakes were recovered from the same layer. Prehistoric occupation in this area during the Late Woodland Period (AD/CE 1200–1700) is documented by recovery of one quartz Caraway projectile point from a nearby test pit. The charcoal is expected to date between AD 900 and AD 1600 (Jack Gary, personal communication March 17, 2015).