Abstract
Little descriptive material concerning clay tobacco pipes from circa 1650–1700 era Tidewater plantations has been published. This report presents formal analysis and description of the clay tobacco pipes recovered during 1954–55 excavations at Green Spring Plantation in James City County, Virginia. Two important characteristics of the assemblage emerge from the study. First, a high proportion of the pipe fragments are Dutch in origin, indicating a substantial degree of economic interaction between Tidewater Virginia and the Netherlands, at least in the limited sphere of the clay pipe trade. Second, an apparently well-developed terra-cotta pipe manufacturing capacity existed, possibly at Green Spring itself. This portion of the assemblage includes decorative design elements wholly different from those displayed on English or Dutch pipes.
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Crass, D.C. The clay pipes from green spring plantation (44JC9), Virginia. Hist Arch 22, 83–97 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03374503
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03374503