Featured Fragment Blog

DIY Currency: It Just Makes Cents

DIY Currency: It Just Makes Cents

By: Katie Rezendes With war comes shortages ¾ from food and supplies to even physical money. The American Civil War was no exception to this reality. By the second year of the war in 1862, government-issued currency was quickly disappearing as people began to hoard...

Rocker – Stamped and Dentate – Stamped Pottery

Rocker – Stamped and Dentate – Stamped Pottery

From the Wolfe Neck Shell Midden Sitein Sussex County, Delaware By Bill Liebeknecht In advance of a proposed trail at Cape Henlopen State Park in Sussex County, Delaware, Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control hired Dovetail Cultural...

One Foxy Point: A Fox Creek From John Dickinson Plantation

One Foxy Point: A Fox Creek From John Dickinson Plantation

By: Andy Martin This Fox Creek or Selby Bay (if you’re from Virginia) projectile point was recovered from the John Dickinson Plantation in southern Delaware. Why is this extra cool? Fox Creek/Selby Bay projectile points are a relatively common point type that are...

That’s not a knife! This is a knife. Or is it?

That’s not a knife! This is a knife. Or is it?

By: Andy Martin Today we’re talking about one of the less-discussed pieces of the Native American/pre-contact tool kit…the knife. There has been seemingly endless amounts of ink spilled about projectile points and axes and pottery but believe me (I’ve looked) there’s...

“Poppin’ Medicine Bottles”

“Poppin’ Medicine Bottles”

Featured Fragment –“Poppin’ Medicine Bottles” By Katie Merli Medicinal, pharmaceutical, and chemical bottles have a distinctive look to them, even today. Informative labels, child-proof closures, and even the well-known “Mr. Yuk” stickers from our youth set these...

Common Cents Archaeology

Common Cents Archaeology

By: Joe Blondino Most of the artifacts that archaeologists find don’t give us an exact date for when they were used or deposited on a site. Typically, artifacts are assigned a “type”, and each type has a date range that is generally accepted based on previous...

Diamond-Notched Tobacco Barn a Precious Gem?

Diamond-Notched Tobacco Barn a Precious Gem?

By Danae Peckler Tobacco barns may still be something of a common sight in central and southern Virginia, but their days are increasingly numbered. Listed as one of Preservation Virginia’s Most Endangered Historic Properties in 2009, many are being reclaimed by the...

A Kookpot from Casimir

A Kookpot from Casimir

Featured Fragment –A Kookpot from Casimir By William Liebeknecht Our story starts in 1651 with the construction of Fort Casimir, a colonial fortification built by the West India Company in what is now New Castle, Delaware. The four-sided fort was only lightly equipped...

Every Woman Needs a Little Black Dress

By Kerry S. González and Sara Rivers Cofield In the late winter of 2020, PQ (Pre-Quarantine), Dovetail conducted an archaeological excavation of a family cemetery associated with a branch of the Embrey family in Stafford, Virginia. The small plot contained the graves...

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