Thanks, I'm glad it's being watched. Getting back to what Lyle said  
about the recent heavy rains and flooding in the area [as well as  
elsewhere in the state], up here there are extensive remains of Civil  
War trenches and earthworks and cannon emplacements all along the  
hills overlooking the Rapidan River at Raccoon Ford. It seems to have  
never been tilled, it has been used as a pasture for cattle, as it  
still is, so the grass cover has kept it all very well protected. So  
you have these trenches that have been there for 140 years [and we've  
been living here for over 30], and in just the past year we've had  
such heavy rains, parts of them have eroded out and washed down in  
deep gullies. I hate to see it. But the water has cut right through  
the grass and soil, it's so sad. I wish the site would be protected,  
it's amazing, and in 2 battles at Raccoon Ford on the Rapidan, almost  
3000 men were killed. Right now, and as far as I know, anyone could  
do anything they want with it. Historic land in Orange County is very  
under-protected, and the DC sprawl gets ever closer.

Nancy

-------
I was never lost, but I was bewildered once for three days.

--Daniel Boone



On Jan 20, 2007, at 10:49 PM, James Brothers wrote:

> Very unlikely to have lots of early artifacts. Falling Creek was  
> only in use from 1619-22. Jamestown had Europeans living there from  
> 1607 on. There have been a number of limited excavations on the  
> site to date including Howard MacCord (Archeological Society of  
> Virginia),. Roland Robbins (archaeologist for the Saugus  
> Ironworks), and William and Mary. Nothing from the 17C has been  
> recovered so far. Wm & Mary got a few 18C artifacts, and for some  
> reason collected lots of 20C glass fragments. The site has also  
> been used for years as a place to dump trash. Which actually may be  
> a good thing. Using a metal detector is just about impossible. The  
> site is part of the Chesterfield County Park System and is not open  
> to the public. It is periodically checked by Chesterfield police.
>
> James Brothers, RPA
> [log in to unmask]
>
>
>
> On Jan 20, 2007, at 22:37, Sunshine49 wrote:
>
>> Thanks for all this, wow, quite interesting. I hope the site is  
>> fairly well protected, once people see those timbers in the  
>> newspaper pictures, I'd worry about souvenir hunters down there  
>> cutting out pieces to take home. I was amazed to see how well  
>> preserved they are. Might there be a full archaeological  
>> exploration of the area, to find where the 1621/22 iron workers  
>> lived? Were they buried at the site? Is it possible it might be as  
>> rich with relatively untouched artifacts as they have been finding  
>> at Jamestown? Aside from finding the ironworking technology at the  
>> site, I would think finding how the ironworkers lived would be  
>> very unique. Not merchants or farmers or the wealthy, but  
>> ironworkers. People like that probably aren't very well  
>> represented in the records. I hope I can get down there one day to  
>> see it for myself.
>>
>> Nancy
>>
>> -------
>> I was never lost, but I was bewildered once for three days.
>>
>> --Daniel Boone
>
>
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