Archaeologists Uncover a Palladian Greenhouse's African Roots
By Lauren Walser | Online Only | Feb. 25, 2011
"This garden was probably the greatest attraction of the place. During the summer months, people came from far and near—from Baltimore, Easton, and Annapolis—to see it. It abounded in fruits of almost every description, from the hardy apple of the north to the delicate orange of the south." —Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave (1845).
On a former plantation on Maryland's Eastern Shore, archaeologists have uncovered a new chapter in the history of the site, where Frederick Douglass once lived and worked.
Built in 1785 by enslaved Africans, the Wye House "orangery" in Easton, Md, is believed to be the only surviving 18th-century greenhouse in North America and is one of several buildings that make up the former Wye plantation, long celebrated for its Palladian architecture. Archaeologists began excavating the orangery site in 2009.
"We wanted to find out if there were African Americans connected with this famous building, and then we wanted to learn about its actual purpose in terms of what was grown there, how it was maintained, and how it changed over the years," says Mark Leone, University of Maryland at College Park archaeologist, who led the excavation and who has been conducting excavations in the Annapolis region for more than three decades.
Among the team's discoveries, which were announced last week, was a small bundle with two prehistoric arrowheads and a coin buried under brick pavement in the greenhouse, evidence of the spiritual traditions of the enslaved Africans who worked there. These types of bundles were kept by the door, Leone says, to keep harmful spirits out.
The team also unearthed a West African-style charm among the bricks at the back of the furnace that regulated temperature in the greenhouse, suggesting that enslaved Africans played a role in the construction of the brick-and-mortar heating system. They found evidence that enslaved Africans lived in one of the three rooms in the greenhouse, where they could continually operate the hypocaust heating system and care for the plants.
Leone and his team conducted complicated pollen analyses and other experiments to understand the function of the greenhouse, discovering that the Wye House's enslaved Africans were pioneers in early agricultural experimentation.
"This was home of very scientific farming," he says.
Leone says the pollen analyses revealed that the greenhouse started with a range of flowering plants and medicinal herbs, and by the 1820s, more exotic plants were being cultivated, including oranges, lemons, and a variety of roses.
The archaeologists have been excavating the Wye House estate for more than six years, focusing on the orangery for nearly three years, at the request of the estate's current owner, Mrs. R.C. Tilghman. "I'm committed to preserving the history of this building and the entire estate," she told the University of Maryland in a press release. "This land has always been a part of my life, and its preservation comes as a duty."
The Wye House, built along Maryland's Eastern Shore in the 1780s by wealthy landowner Edward Lloyd IV, was once part of a large plantation on thousands of acres. The Revolutionary-era house and orangery have remained in the family for more than 11 generations.
Leone says the house is a "virtually perfect Palladian building," with a uniquely American expression. He notes that the Lloyd family owned an original English language version of The Four Books on Architecture by Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio, suggesting they modeled their estate off the famous architect's plans.
"This is an original adaptation of a Palladian farmhouse, adapted for a Chesapeake estuary," Leone says. "The real uniqueness of it is that it is a Palladian building with an African side, and an African function."
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Comments
Submitted by laxdady at: March 1, 2011
Actually-the large pre-historic American Indian "pestle /hand maul was discovered by Drake Witte and Richard Tilgham 3-11-10--without any assitance/superVision.impute,comment,--etc from Umd archaeology team --they didnt show up till the heat of the summer around july.I not apart of Dr Mark Leone Archaeology team thank you vary much !! lol