new acquisition
Preserving the Potomac’s Prehistory
Edward Johnson
The Conservancy acquires two important sites in Virginia.
Thunderbird Archaeology researchers investigate the Jeffrey Rockshelter. Their work has redefined the boundaries of the site.
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ocated on the Potomac River in Loudoun County in northern Virginia, the Jeffrey Rockshelter contains the remains of over 10,000 years of human activity. A few hundred yards from the rockshelter sits Jeffrey Village, an equally ancient site. Both of these sites are part of the Conservancy’s newest preserve in Virginia. The Jeffrey Rockshelter was first investigated in the 1960s and ‘70s by the Archaeological Society of Virginia.
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These excavations produced a large amount of data, including hearths, postmolds, projectile points, bone, and fragments of steatite and ceramic vessels. Radiocarbon testing of samples from the site has produced a variety of dates, some of which are problematic; however, additional analysis of the artifact assemblage indicates the site was used from the Early Archaic through the Late Woodland period (a.d. 900-1400). Recent work at the site by archae-
ologists with Thunderbird Archaeology, a Virginia-based cultural resource management firm, helped redefine the boundaries of the site to include the area surrounding the rockshelter. This area, which has not been disturbed, has significant research potential. “The rockshelter and its open air component represent a much revisited way station for prehistoric people traveling along the Potomac,” said archaeologist David Carroll, who worked on the project.
spring • 2009
