We were rained out again this morning! Though with the unpredictable weather, the sun came out. After bailing water from some of the test units with buckets, the crew went into the labs to wash and document the artifacts from the Magruder and the Market Master’s House excavations. 
Here is a collection of four ceramic sherds from Test Unit 1 at the Market Master’s House. They range in date from about 1720 to 1830. The one on the far left is a piece of a white salt-glazed stoneware plate. This type of stoneware dates to between 1720 and about 1770. It frequently has a molded decorative pattern on it, particularly after 1740. This particular piece, a rim fragment, has “barley” and “basket” patterns on it. The second two sherds are Whieldon ware. Whieldon ware, or “Clouded ware” is an earthenware that dates from 1740-1770. It has a cream-colored body and is frequently decorated with green, brown, purple, yellow or grey spattered decoration. The piece on the left, another plate rim, has a “barley” pattern molded decoration and is green-glazed. This innovation was achieved in 1759. The plate rim sherd on the far right is shell-edged white earthenware. It has a scalloped-rim with impressed straight lines and a green hand-painted decoration. It dates to a bit later than the other pieces, between about 1800 and 1830.
These are just a few of the ceramic types we have been finding at Market Master's. They demonstrate the ways the occupants or propriators of the house engaged in a global trade of consumer goods and lifestyles. Later, when we have collected, assembled, counted and compared all of the artifacts from the site, we will be able to draw some interpretations from these bits of data.
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