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Archaeologists have found the remains of a Revolutionary War-era barracks near the Colonial Williamsburg visitor centre in Virginia.
The discovery was made during construction of a new indoor sportsground near to the centre last summer.
Colonial Williamsburg is a 300-acre historic site that features restored and recreated buildings dating from the 17th to 19th centuries. Indeed, during the Revolutionary War, the city of Williamsburg was the capital of Virginia, one of the Thirteen Colonies.
Maps from that period suggest that the barrack block was constructed in 1777 to accommodate up to 2,000 soldiers and a hundred horses, but its exact location had not been known until now.
The barracks is believed to have been destroyed in a 1781 fire set by the troops of British General Charles Cornwallis on their way to Yorktown. By this point, Virginia’s capital had been moved to Richmond, which was considered safer from British attack.
Following the discovery of the barracks, archaeologists spent five months recovering artefacts from the site, including pottery, musket balls, and jewellery.
Also found were bits of lead shot with toothmarks in them – mostly likely the result of being chewed on by soldiers because of the sweet taste of the lead. Horseshoes and a comb for a horse’s coat were among other items uncovered.
‘Here at Williamsburg, we interpret the American Revolution and a lot of the events that led up to it,’ said Jack Gary, the museum’s executive director of archaeology. ‘But we don’t have a lot of sites that really tell us about what actually happened during war- time. And this site does.’
‘It allows us to get some insight into the everyday lives of your common soldier,’ he added. ‘It also tells us about what the officers’ lives were like.’
The site is estimated to cover roughly three to four acres in its entirety, although currently only a small percentage of that area has been excavated.
Digging at the site is set to resume on the completion of the sportsground, and ahead of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in July 2026.
Image: The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
