From September 25th to the 27th Dr. Jim Jordan’s Honors Anthropology course visited Hull Springs Farm (HSF) while exploring the cultural and historical character of the Northern Neck of Virginia. Dr. Jordan and 14 honors students settled into the Camp at HSF for a home base during their trip. They were able to practice the tools and techniques of anthropology to gain insight into the lives of the people of the Northern Neck, past and present.
Several notable artifacts were found at Nomini Hall, a home built in 1729. There were a total of 149 artifacts discovered. A prehistoric projectile point was one of the unexpected artifacts. Also of note were three kaolin pipe stem fragments. In non-archaeology terms they are fragments of long clay pipe stems. Pipe manufacturing techniques changed over time, which allows archaeologists to date finds by measuring the cross sectional dimensions of the stem fragment. One of the three pipe stem fragments found, one was the artifact ever found in 14 years of digging at Nomini Hall. The dimensions date it to 1620 – 1640.
The students enjoyed their time both exploring the Northern Neck and relaxing at HSF. We were pleased to have them and look forward to future students enjoying the cultural heritage of Virginia. Glad that Hull Springs Farm could make your class “seem more like a family.”
Honors Anthropology students digging at Nomini Hall, a Northern Neck neighbor to Hull Springs Farm.