Archaeological Research


sc03618f63.jpgA major goal of the Blue Ridge Center is to explore the cultural history of the land and how the landscape has changed as a result of human impact.  Archaeological research became a necessary component of the Center's mission, and in 1999 the Blue Ridge Center approached Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi, to establish an archaeological research project on the property.  The goal of this project was to "demonstrate and describe the development and interaction through time of the natural and cultural systems represented in the Loudoun Valley."  This project became known as the Loudoun Valley Historical Archaeology and Ecology Project (LVHAEP). 

The Blue Ridge Center and LVHAEP have conducted 4 archaeological field schools and multiple smaller projects around the property.  To date, 33 sites and features of past occupation and land use, some previously unknown, have been identified. All are 19th and 20th century sites, including the complex of a main house and its assorted out buildings; a stone house and barn; a cemetery plot; several log cabins and frame structures; dry-stone fences; a possible charcoal hearth; and other miscellaneous indicators of occupation such as foundation footprints.

The Blue Ridge Center continues to promote the efforts of the LVHAEP and will support a survey project during May 2010 with the help of Roanoke College's archaeological field school. While all previous research of the LVHAEP has focused on the 893 acres of the Blue Ridge Center, the 2010 field school will help implement Phase II of the LVHAEP by beginning to explore the archaeological resources of Loudoun Valley that lie beyond the 893 acres of the Blue Ridge Center.

The LVHAEP is always seeking areas within the Loudoun Valley region for future archaeological survey. If you are a property owner who would like to support the efforts of the LVHAEP by allowing the project to survey your land for archaeological and historical resources, please contact Jeffrey Alvey at jalvey@blueridgecenter.org.