THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 17, 1996 TAG: 9603150242
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Coastal Journal
SOURCE: Mary Reid Barrow
LENGTH: Medium: 97 lines
When archaeologists were excavating at Great Neck in the 1980s, they discovered the remains of a group of longhouses encircled by a palisade, the only such settlement belonging to the Chesapeake Indians that has ever been found.
Randolph Turner, director of the Portsmouth Regional Office of the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, was participating in that dig when he was working as a department archaeologist. They found post hole stains in the ground that nearly matched the outlines of native American longhouses in North Carolina as drawn by John White in 1585.
White's drawings depicted the long skin-covered frames with rounded tops and ends that were at a right angle to the side. The Great Neck longhouses were different in one significant feature.
``We found longhouses with oval ends,'' Turner said.
The information was turned over to what is known as an ``experimental archaeologist.'' His experiments with models showed that a long house with right angles at the end would lack stability in heavy winds.
Rounded ends would stabilize the building, he explained, and would have been a logical construction technique along the coast where high winds are frequent.
``Were the longhouses in Virginia really different from those in North Carolina?'' Turner went on to ask. ``Or did the English just not portray them that way because in their experience (English) houses didn't have oval ends?''
In either case, the archaeologists' discovery put a new look on Chesapeake Indian longhouses. Until then, historians had relied on early written accounts of what the Chesapeake houses looked like and they were always thought to resemble John White's drawings.
Today you can visit Jamestown Settlement Museum's outdoor exhibit to see a Great Neck longhouse replica. Although the houses there had been designed to resemble John White's drawings, one was reconstructed to look like the Virginia Beach model after the archaeologists' find.
``That's one little example of how using archaeology, you can in some cases re-write history,'' Turner said.
Turner will be speaking about the questions archaeologists ask and the things they look for at a meeting of the Princess Anne County/Virginia Beach Historical Society at 3 p.m. March 24, at the Atlantic Wildfowl Heritage Museum at the de Witt Cottage, 12th Street and Atlantic Avenue. The meeting is open to the public and parking is available in the Newcastle Motel and Raven Restaurant parking lots near the museum.
Turner's topic is ``The Chesapeake Indians and Their Predecessors: What We Can Learn About Them and From Them, Drawing on Archaeological Evidence.'' But he also will speak a little about the Department of Historic Resources' new regional office and what it can do for the area.
The Portsmouth office is the third regional historic resources office to be established in Virginia. The first was in Roanoke and then one was located in Winchester. Now the main Richmond office also serves as a regional office.
``Being in Richmond, it was hard to get to the Eastern Shore,'' Turner said, ``so the thought was to divide the staff across the state to work with folks. The challenge was to establish more offices with existing staff.''
The Eastern Shore now is in Turner's territory. He also covers all of Hampton Roads and more. In all, 13 cities and 20 counties will be looking to Turner for advice on historic structures and sites and related planning matters.
Turner who arrived in mid-November, has been spending most of his time thus far getting the word out about the new office. The sole staff member now, he expects to be joined by another historian this spring.
Turner is available to consult with individuals about such things as the rehabilitation of historic structures or how to put a property on one of the historic registers. He's also been talking to local government officials and to groups like the historical society about ways to use historic resources in education and to promote tourism, among other issues.
``And so far, the response has been excellent,'' Turner said.
P.S. It's the National Wildlife System's 93rd birthday. Stop by the Atlantic Wildfowl Heritage Museum at the de Witt Cottage, 12th Street and Atlantic Avenue, for cake and coffee from noon to 4 p.m. today and help them celebrate. A program on Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge will take place at 1 p.m. A refuge exhibit and a carving demonstration take place throughout the afternoon.
``FATHER GOOSE,'' Dr. William Sladen of the Airlie Conference Center, will speak to the Virginia Beach Audubon Society at 7:30 p.m. Monday at Eastern Shore Chapel, 2020 Laskin Road. His topic is ``Teaching Swans and Geese New Migration Routes Using Ultra-Light Aircraft.'' The meeting is free and the public is invited. MEMO: What unusual nature have you seen this week? And what do you know about
Tidewater traditions and lore? Call me on INFOLINE, 640-5555. Enter
category 2290. Or, send a computer message to my Internet address:
mbarrow(AT)infi.net. ILLUSTRATION: Photo of drawing
This is a 1585 drawing by John White of Indian longhouses in North
Carolina. Unlike these rounded tops and ends, Virginia longhouses
had oval ends.
by CNB