Historic Christ Church-Archaeology: 1670 Church Site

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1670 Church Site
In July 1670, John Carter II delivered to the vestry of Christ Church Parish the first church constructed on the site of Christ Church. Believed to have been a frame building, the church was built under the direction of John’s father, John Carter I, who died six months before its completion. The church would last until about 1730, when Robert “King” Carter, son of John I and half-brother to John II, began construction on the magnificent brick church that stands on the site today. Given the liberty to use whatever he wanted from the old church, Robert Carter likely dismantled the building as work started on his brick church. Little else, however, is known about the 1670 church. The parish’s first vestry book, which no doubt discussed the building in some detail, disappeared circa 1840, leaving behind many unanswered questions.
A Phase II excavation (44LA55) in October-November 2005 led by archaeologists Thane Harpole (Fairfield Foundation) and Rob Haas uncovered tantalizing clues about the site and its evolution over the past 350 years. In particular, post holes and trenches from areas east of the brick church date from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and may provide evidence of the 1670 church and the churchyard landscaping in the early years of Christ Church. Phase III excavations set to begin September 5, 2006 will expand on these features to understand their shape, dimensions, and function and what relationship they may have to the 1670 church. The research also seeks to uncover more evidence of Native American pottery and early architectural debris to learn about the site as it moved from a small Cuttatwomen Indian settlement to a churchyard of the established Church of England. For more information on how to be a part of this dig, please click here.	Historic Christ Church Volunteer Ben Davis (left) and Foundation President John Hunt (center) screen test units east of the Carter tombs with the help of archaeologist Rob Haas in November 2005. Features in these units date to the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries and will be a focus of the Phase III excavations in the fall of 2006.