The first week of our 2011 field season was devoted to the search for Deborah Newman’s homesite. Deb Newman was a Nipmuc woman known to have lived on Keith Hill in Grafton from about 1790 to 1813. Colonial era town records imply that Deborah was the daughter of Betty Sampson Abram, the grand-daughter of Deborah Abram, and the great-grand-daughter of one of the original seven native Hassanamesit proprietors, Andrew Abraham. We’d ultimately like to connect what we learn from the Deb Newman Site to the information we’ve collected from the Sarah Boston Site. We hope that by identifying the remains of the Newman house we can start to get a better picture of the late 18th and early 19th century Nipmuc landscape in Grafton.

We have a general idea where Deb Newman’s house might be, thanks to some detailed documentary research and Dr. Steinberg’s expert work with historical maps in ArcGIS. However, finding a small house occupied for a short period of time in a thickly overgrown forest is a difficult challenge and requires a great deal of planning and strategy. It’s a bit like playing a game of ‘Battleship’, actually! We sample a large area by excavating several small ‘test pits’ at a predetermined interval. We then concentrate our efforts by increasing the frequency and size of our excavation units in areas with higher artifact concentrations. This is a standard method used for the initial location of sites, and has proven to be an excellent learning experience for our field school students. Students have learned how GPS technology can help us accurately map the networks of stone walls and trails that criss-cross Hassanamesit Woods. They’ve learned to maintain an accurate grid system and collect topographic information using the laser transit, and they’ve also learned that archaeological survey is not easy work! It requires strength to dig through New England’s rocky and rooty soils, and skill to orient one’s self in the dense underbrush. The students had a great first week, and we thank them for all their hard work!