Abstract
A variety of field techniques for the recovery of buried landscapes has been successfully and unsuccessfully used in the Midatlantic. Using examples from Morven, the utility of several are surveyed here. Of particular service was the practice of recording elevations as feet (ft.) above-sea-level readings; it permitted planned variations in garden contours (i.e., terraces, falls, sunken groves, drainage grading) to be observed across wide areas of the site. The system of measurement used in the 18th century, based on Renaissance surveying techniques, and knowledge of its use in designing gardens, enables modern archaeologists to predict where key elements of older landscapes may be found below ground. Other methods discussed include the use of the split spoon auger, the steel T-probe, post hole digger, backhoe trenching, checkerboard excavation, and areal excavation. While none is particularly unique or innovative, using them in combination provides the archaeologist with powerful tools for interpretation of buried historic landscapes.
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Goodwin, C.M., Metheny, K.B., Kratzer, J.M. et al. Recovering the lost landscapes of the Stockton Gardens at Morven, Princeton, New Jersey. Hist Arch 29, 35–61 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03374207
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03374207