DATE: Tuesday, July 22, 1997                TAG: 9707220223

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B6   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY ERIKA REIF, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: WILLIAMSBURG                      LENGTH:   79 lines

WILLIAM AND MARY EXCAVATION SUGGESTS UPPER-CLASS PRESENCE THE HOUSE MAY HAVE BELONGED TO THE WEALTHY THOMAS BALLARD.

The image of 17th-century Virginians ``barely hanging on by their fingernails'' economically may be upgraded to include an elite ruling class following the discovery of a house foundation from that era.

The foundation walls of an upper-class home buried on the College of William and Mary campus changes the picture into something ``more like what we would expect,'' said James P. Whittenburg, an associate professor of history at the college.

Archaeologists have determined that the structure is from the Middle Plantation period, between 1634 and 1699.

The new find shows that lifestyles at Middle Plantation - a farming and trading settlement midway between Jamestown and Yorktown - were on par with the development of other British colonies, Whittenburg said.

What historians know about settlers starving in Jamestown and dying young from various diseases may not be the entire story.

Little is known about that era because only a half-dozen other Middle Plantation sites have been uncovered in Williamsburg. But it is known that only the wealthy could afford brick foundations.

Utility workers discovered the foundation while digging a ditch for water pipes several weeks ago. Archaeologists then explored a small pit next to the wall and collected artifacts to help them determine the foundation's age.

A nickel-sized piece of ceramic chalice was the most telling artifact, said David Muraca, a Colonial Williamsburg Foundation archaeologist.

The green, glazed bit of earthenware is from a known ``waster pit,'' where a kiln operator used to dump imperfect pottery.

Ceramics that can be traced to this location, known as the ``Chalice Site'' on the Chicahominy River, were made in the late 17th century, Muraca said.

``It has a pretty tight date to it,'' Muraca said about the artifact.

Another ceramic piece and the lip and base of two wine bottles indicate that the structure was built between 1674 and 1693, Muraca said.

That would make the building one of the oldest in Colonial Williamsburg, pre-dating both the college's construction in 1695 and the establishment of the town of Williamsburg in 1699.

Archaeologists from Colonial Williamsburg and the college said the house may have belonged to the wealthy and prominent Thomas Ballard, who sold the land to the college's founders.

It marks an era when class distinctions were growing, Muraca said, and the local elite were beginning to distance themselves from their servants.

Ballard was probably born in England, then moved to York County, where he became a clerk of court, said Colonial Williamsburg historian Julie Richter.

He worked his way up to justice of the peace, burgess, and finally to a seat on the regional Royal Governor's Council, where he was one of 12 councilors advising the governor.

The councilors were ``the top men of the colonies, the richest people, the best-connected people,'' Richter said.

They were recommended to the post by their colleagues and received their commissions from the king of England.

Ballard purchased 330 acres in 1674. As a tobacco farmer and merchant, he probably sold his and others' crops to English traders in return for everyday goods such as clothing. He had six children, likely all with his first wife, Anna, who died in 1678. His second wife outlived his death in 1699.

Muraca said the foundation of what might have been Ballard's home could indicate sophisticated architecture not common during that period.

``If upscale houses were being built during this time, the elite may have been using them as a means to lure the capital from Jamestown,'' Muraca said.

Whittenburg added, ``If you have a settlement or village with some nice brick houses, and we know there were some ordinaries and taverns here, and a college, it makes sense,'' Whittenburg said.

Officials from both the college and Colonial Williamsburg will meet during the next few weeks to discuss the feasibility and costs of a full-scale excavation of the site. If approved, the project would take three or four months to complete. ILLUSTRATION: Photo

BETH BERGMAN/The Virginian-Pilot file

Artifacts found by archaeologists and students at a site on the

campus of William and Mary suggest that the building was constructed

between 1674 and 1693 in what was then known as Middle Plantation, a

farming and trading settlement midway between Jamestown and

Yorktown.

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