Reassessing the Hallowes Site: Conflict and Settlement in the Seventeenth-Century Potomac Valley

Dating Methods and Techniques at the John Hallowes Site (44WM6): A Seventeenth-Century Example

“…2). Subsequent phases consisted of a possible addition to the east face of the house (phase 2), and the construction of fences in the yard (phase 3) that would have hindered lines-ofsight from the bastions and likely postdated the destruction of these defensive features (Hatch, McMillan, and Heath 2013;Hatch, Heath, and McMillan 2014). Our findings challenge previous research and help to clarify the early history of Virginia's Potomac River valley.…”

“…His social network consisted of a community that spanned the Potomac River and included Robert Slye, Jones's master. It has been demonstrated elsewhere that John Hallowes was among a group of former Marylanders who fled to Virginia in 1647 as a result of Ingle's Rebellion (McMillan and Hatch 2012;Hatch, McMillan, and Heath 2013;Hatch, Heath, and McMillan 2014). This group formed a distinct community along the Potomac River that maintained connections on both shores.…”

“…McMillan's (2015) study examines trans-Atlantic and inter-colonial trade networks as revealed through clay tobacco pipes at the John Hallowes site. Hatch, Heath, and McMillan (2014) offer a new analysis of the architecture at Hallowes, interpreting it as a response to conflict surrounding Ingle's Rebellion (1645)(1646) and as part of a wave of subsequent emigration from Maryland to the Northern Neck.…”

“…We have found that all of the methods used support the newly assigned date range of 1647-1681, placing the occupation of the Hallowes site approximately 30 years earlier than originally thought. The new occupation range has significantly changed the interpretation of the site, particularly in regards to the fortifications (Hatch, Heath, and McMillan 2014). Based on the results of the reanalysis, the combination of multiple lines of evidence and several different dating techniques allow for a nuanced and detailed understanding of a site that was occupied for less than 40 years.…”

Venison Trade and Interaction between English Colonists and Native Americans in Virginia's Potomac River Valley

“…Therefore, it stands to reason, based upon John Hallowes's historical context and the artifacts contained within the features, that the bastions were probably constructed right after the house was finished and removed shortly after Hallowes's death, probably around 1666 when David Anderson moved to in the Chesapeake and methods for identifying and excavating this type of structure had not been fully developed. While other 17th-century fortified settlements have been uncovered in the Chesapeake, the form of this particular fortified house is without equivalents, making it wholly unique from an archaeological perspective (Hatch, Heath, and McMillan [2014]).…”