
DATE: Friday, August 1, 1997                TAG: 9708010697

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B6   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY MARY REID BARROW, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                    LENGTH:   84 lines

ARCHAEOLOGY TEAM HOPES TO FIND HISTORIC KITCHEN AT LAND HOUSE

One of the most interesting discoveries an archaeologist could make at the city's historic Francis Land House would be to uncover the foundation of an 18th-century kitchen.

The discovery would make it possible to recreate a kitchen for the public to tour that would be a close replica of the one the prominent Land family used in its heyday in old Princess Anne County, said Land House Administrator Mark Reed.

If the old kitchen foundation were found, a new one could be built with the same dimensions and of the same materials as the original.

Now for the first time, such a discovery may be possible.

Mary Derbish and a crew from the College of William and Mary's Center for Archaeological Research in Williamsburg are hard at work, digging test holes in the soil as they conduct the first archaeological survey ever of the historic property on Virginia Beach Boulevard.

One of the more elegant early homes in old Princess Anne County, the Land house was believed to have been built in the late 1700s or early 1800s by the fifth or sixth Francis Land. The Land family had been prominent in the area since the 1630s. The survey of the Georgian home was funded by a $10,000 appropriation from City Council this spring.

Not finding the Lands' old kitchen would even be helpful to a lesser extent, Reed explained. Then city historians would have the freedom to re-create an outdoor kitchen to the best of their knowledge, knowing they hadn't overlooked the original foundation.

An archaeological survey is a methodological search. Holes are being dug every 50 feet on a grid across the Land House property. With the grid system, it would be hard to miss part of a building foundation anywhere on the land.

On Thursday, Derbish, a graduate student intern at William and Mary, and crew members Adrienne Vaughan and Eleanor Breen were struggling to dig test holes with an auger in the hard clay. They took samples of dirt as deep as 6 feet and kept coming up with grayish, brownish clay and sand that to the practiced eye was obviously fill material.

The site has had a lot of construction in the 20th century, explained Reed, from farm outbuildings to the driveway and parking lot that are there now.

In addition, sewer lines have been dug, utility lines have gone underground and French drains have been installed around the home's foundation. Work like that displaces dirt and archaeologists have to get under the layer of displaced dirt to get to original soil.

``We're looking for a really nice solid break in the soil,'' Derbish said.

But Thursday, the women never found it. Now, they are thinking of bringing in a power auger to help get to soil samples below the fill layers.

``It's almost like searching for a needle in a haystack,'' Reed said.

If the old kitchen doesn't turn up, Reed would be happy with a kitchen trash pit. He has inventories of Land family belongings over the years, but they are not specific. They speak, for example, only of earthenware, but not of what kind or how old. Pieces of broken pottery in a trash midden would give a clear picture of what the Lands had and perhaps when.

Other treasures Reed dreams of finding include artifacts related to African Americans on the property, which would increase the understanding of Land family slaves, and evidence of the presence of Native Americans in the area.

Over the years, the Francis Land House has produced several major exhibits on archaeological discoveries in old Princess Anne County, but none has been from the Land property itself.

``We haven't had anything from us, because there hasn't been anything,'' Reed said. ``I want the artifacts not only to add to our knowledge but also to show them to the public to enhance their appreciation.'' ILLUSTRATION: STEVE EARLEY/The Virginian-Pilot

Field archaeologist Mary Derbish, left, and field technicians

Eleanor Breen and Adrienne Vaughan drill test holes on the grounds

of the Francis Land House in Virginia Beach in their quest for

antiquities.

FRANCIS LAND HOUSE

Where: 3131 Virginia Beach Blvd., Virginia Beach.

Call: 431-4000.

Open: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and noon to 5

p.m. Sunday.

Admission: $3, adults; $2.50 seniors; $1.50, students, 13 and

older; $1, ages 6 to 12 and under 6, free.

What's happening? Archaeologists will be working on the site from