Team is finishing excavation of structure from the 1800s

An archeological team from the College of William and Mary has nearly finished excavating portions of a former plaster mill on Depot Street in Amherst, beside railroad tracks and near the historic Amherst Milling Co.

The team, working for the Virginia Department of Transportation’s cultural resources program, found stairs and artifacts as the members confirmed what an historic plat showed — a structure dating to the 1800s.

“To the best of our knowledge, that’s what was there,” said Randy Lichtenberger, a VDOT archeologist.

The dig is routine for VDOT, as it is required under the federal National Historic Preservation Act. Any project that involves federal funds requires permits, and such archeological evaluations are key to documenting historic sites, Lichtenberger said.

“This area is so rich in finds, really neat little things we’ve discovered throughout this district,” said VDOT spokeswoman Paula Jones.

Artifacts at the site bore that out.

The William and Mary team found a small, intact bottle, similar to what would have contained vanilla with a cork top; pieces of other bottles, including one from a heavy jug that may have been used to contain bleach; a large pick, the rust from which indicated it may have originated in the 19th century, said the crew leader, Elizabeth Monroe.

They also recovered part of a smoking-pipe bowl that possibly dates to the Civil War.

Such is the work of crews as they carefully examine sites where VDOT plans projects.

Lichtenberger’s work traverses a large swath of the Commonwealth –– VDOT districts that include Bristol, Salem, Staunton and Lynchburg. The site in Amherst will be for a bridge, said Mike McCormack of VDOT.

“We evaluate (the sites), to see if there are any sites that are eligible for the National Register,” Lichtenberger said.

The procedure enables experts to assemble historical information, if not preserve an area entirely.

“It may not be that a project is stopped, but information is documented and pictures are taken and there’s a better understanding of the history of the Commonwealth,” Jones said.