Archaeological Excavations at 44JC568, The Reverend Richard Buck Site

Archaeologists from the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities (APVA), excavated archaeological site 44JC568 during the summers of 1996 and 1997. The work in 1996 was conducted from June 17th to July 26th by 13 field school students earning credits from the University of Virginia. In 1997, 18 field school students, again earning credits from the University of Virginia, worked at the site from June 30th to July 25th. Archaeologists named the site after the area’s first documented land owner, the Reverend Richard Buck, who served as the minister at Jamestown from 1610 to 1624. The Buck site, located in James City County, Virginia, on a parcel known as Neck-of-Land in the Peleg’s Point residential subdivision, is approximately one mile north of Jamestown Island. This report summarizes findings from 44JC568.

The artifacts recovered from the site indicated it was occupied from ca. 1630-50. Historical records included details of Richard Buck’s 1619 patent on 750 acres of land at Neck-of-Land, bounded by Mill Creek on the east, Back River on the south, and Powhatan Creek on the west. It is unlikely that the Reverend himself lived at Neck-of-Land, residing instead at Jamestown. Upon Buck’s death in 1624, the property passed into the hands of a caretaker and guardian of his children, Richard Kingsmill. In 1635, Thomas Crump, husband of Richard Buck’s eldest daughter Elizabeth, acquired the 500 acres directly to the north of the original 750-acre Buck land patent. Buck’s eldest son Gercian attained his majority in the early 1630s, and in 1636 purchased the 500 acres from his brother-in-law, Thomas. Through this acquisition and the inheritance of his father’s Neck-of-Land property, Gercian amassed a contiguous 1,250-acre tract of land. Two years later, the youngest Buck sibling, Peleg, inherited the entire property upon Gercian’s death. Peleg held the land until his own demise in 1642, whereupon Elizabeth Crump assumed ownership until 1654. Due to the changing ownership of the property between 1619 and 1654, site 44JC568 likely related to a series of resident and non-resident owners, as well as groups of indentured servants and tenants.

During the two summer field seasons, archaeological crews located and excavated a total of 53 features at 44JC568. These included three barrel lined wells, nine human burials, four small outbuildings, two pits, a series of ditches and fence lines, and additional miscellaneous soil discolorations and anomalies. The site yielded more than 12,000 artifacts, consisting primarily of poottery, case-bottle glass, clay tobacco pipe stems and bowls, nails and other iron objects, and faunal remains. Analysis of the findings suggested that the site served as a farmstead for a series of occupants. The artifact collection and archaeological context offered insights into the outfitting and operation of one of Virginia’s earliest attempts at settling Jamestown’s hinterland.

弗吉尼亚古物保护协会（Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities, APVA）的考古学家于1996年和1997年夏季对考古遗址44JC568进行了发掘。1996年的发掘工作于6月17日至7月26日开展，由13名来自弗吉尼亚大学的田野考古实习学生完成，他们可获得相应学分。1997年，同样来自弗吉尼亚大学的18名田野考古实习学生于6月30日至7月25日在该遗址开展工作。考古学家以该区域首位有记载的土地所有者——1610年至1624年担任詹姆斯敦教区牧师的理查德·巴克（Reverend Richard Buck）牧师，将该遗址命名为巴克遗址。巴克遗址位于弗吉尼亚州詹姆斯城县佩莱格角住宅区的一处名为Neck-of-Land（地峡地块）的地块上，距离詹姆斯敦岛以北约1英里。本报告对遗址44JC568的发掘成果进行了总结。

从该遗址出土的文物表明，其使用年代约为1630年至1650年。历史文献记载了理查德·巴克于1619年获得的750英亩土地特许状细节：该地块东至米尔溪，南至后河，西至波瓦坦溪。巴克牧师本人大概率并未在此地居住，而是居于詹姆斯敦。1624年巴克去世后，该地产由其子女的管家兼监护人理查德·金斯米尔接管。1635年，理查德·巴克的长女伊丽莎白的丈夫托马斯·克伦普，从原750英亩特许地块的北侧购得500英亩土地。巴克的长子杰西安于17世纪30年代初成年，1636年从其姐夫托马斯手中购得该500英亩土地。通过此次收购以及继承父亲的地峡地块地产，杰西安累计拥有了连片的1250英亩土地。两年后，巴克最小的子女佩莱格在杰西安去世后继承了全部地产。佩莱格持有该土地直至1642年去世，随后伊丽莎白·克伦普获得所有权并持有至1654年。由于1619年至1654年间该地产的所有权多次变更，遗址44JC568大概率与一系列常住与非常住土地所有者，以及契约佣工和佃户群体相关。

在两个夏季的考古发掘季中，考古团队共在遗址44JC568内定位并发掘了53处考古遗迹，包括3座桶衬水井、9座人类墓葬、4座小型附属小屋、2个坑穴、一系列沟渠与围栏线，以及其他各类土壤变色异常区。该遗址共出土超过12000件文物，主要包括陶器、瓶形玻璃器、黏土烟草管的烟杆与烟碗、铁钉及其他铁器，以及动物遗骸。对发掘成果的分析表明，该遗址曾作为一系列居住者的农场宅地使用。此次文物收集与考古背景信息，为了解弗吉尼亚州早期开发詹姆斯敦腹地的相关尝试的筹备与运作提供了重要视角。