The evolution of an American mainstay is evident in a room at Historic Sandusky. One plain brown bottle bears the words Coca-Cola and Norfolk, Va. while a more modern green bottle is embossed with Lynchburg, Va.
Other objects include the sole of a shoe and an ornate glass lid, while the purpose of a large rusting object resembling an enormous safety pin is unknown.
“There is a saying in archeology: ‘What archeologists call artifacts, somebody else call trash,’” said Keith Adams, Hurt & Proffitt director of archeological materials laboratory.
In a very real sense, the items now sitting in a laboratory in Sandusky were garbage. During the mid-19th century, the Kanawha Canal served as the superhighway of Virginia as goods and passenger boats were transported to and from Richmond, said Lynchburg Museum Director Doug Harvey. By 1880, flooding and the railroad spelled the canal’s demise and the site became a place where people would toss trash.
Today, replacement of the James River Interceptor, a seven-mile long sewer line, is in the final stages of completion along the downtown riverfront. Hurt & Proffitt is contracted by the city to serve as a monitor during the project work to ensure the historical structure of the canal is not disturbed. Any historically significant artifacts that are found are set aside, cleaned and catalogued before eventually being sent to the Lynchburg Museum, where they may one day be put on display.
The laboratory inside Sandusky includes numerous glass and ceramic pieces found at the interceptor site, including early beer bottles from Anheuser-Busch and Pabst Brewing Co. to those with more medicinal purposes, such as those once containing Capudine, which claimed itself good for headaches and grippe, better known as the flu. Various railroad-related items also are within the collection, such as a brake wheel and a railroad switch lock.
According to Harvey, large stones that once comprised sections of canal walls and are roughly the size of a desk have been set aside and could potentially be used in future city projects.
“We were able to salvage a number of wonderful resources out there, and that’s the goal, and I think it’s been pretty successful,” Harvey said.
Certain clues denote the era in which an artifact was made. Some glass bottles used a “lightning” closure, a metal clasp with stopper that was invented in 1875. With that information, archeologists know the bottle can date no earlier than that year. Bottles that would have been sealed with crown caps — metal tabs found on many of today’s glass bottles — mean the artifact dates no earlier than 1892.
In addition to monitoring the interceptor project, Hurt & Proffitt is involved in archeological sites including Mead’s Tavern in Bedford County and Cabellsville in Nelson County.
“We work with people to impact their work as little as we can, and at the same time, to preserve what is essentially the interest of the public,” Adams said.
“A lot of different people said it in a lot of different ways, so it’s nothing new, without knowing your past, or to ignore your past, you do so at your peril.”
Courtesy of http://www.newsadvance.com/news/local/utility-project-in-downtown-lynchburg-yields-historical-artifacts/article_d4722bda-5997-53a2-be97-9e29ce59eef1.html#.VrDI4OYNy3o.facebook