By the end of our third day of fieldwork, we completed excavation in three new areas on the perimeter and interior of the Eutaw manor house.

Each new location we explore in the footprint of the house produces several distinct groups of artifacts that are not found in other areas. These subtle distinctions have allowed us to start a preliminary reconstruction of the locations and uses of various rooms within the house.

For instance, all of the gold leaf porcelain dinner plates and tea china have been found near the northwest corner of the home, but those same artifacts are absent elsewhere in the house.  Given that a dinner party  occurred at the time of the house fire, it seems likely that the presence of those ceramics in that one small area suggests that it was the location of the family’s formal dining room, or at at the very least a pantry where the family kept their dishes.

Other locations we’ve explored so far provided insights into the uses of various areas of the home, including the front entrance, kitchen, and side entrances.