The "Learning Through Excavating" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading about the excavations that have been taking place at the 1719 Hans Herr Mennonite meeting house in Willow Street.  The house, which I have visited many times and have written about in the past, is the oldest original Mennonite meeting house still standing in the Western Hemisphere.  I have enjoyed walking through the house, but often wondered what might be hidden in the ground below the lower level of the house or the land that surrounds the house.  The soil of the farm, which has been plowed over and over for 300 years, more than likely holds the records of centuries of life during the early years when the Herr family lived on the property near Willow Street, Pennsylvania.  

The Han Herr House

In the fall of 2020 and 2021, a group of students from my alma mater, Millersville State Teacher's College, now known as Millersville University, have been part of an archaeology program which is searching the grounds around the Hans Herr House, gathering real-life information on excavations which are about 3-by-3 foot and 5-by-5 foot test units on the five-acre Hans Herr farm.  So far they have unearthed 40,000 historical artifacts which recently was part of a presentation at Mennonite Life - the historical organization which operates the 1719 Museum as well as an archive and library on Millstream Road in Lancaster.  So far the students have moved about 4,500 tons of earth.  Every bit of dirt is hand-dug, hand-screened and excavated stratigraphically which is layer by layer.  The reason for the historical dig is to get a sense of the material that was used and still survives through the centuries.  The students are hoping to discover the remnants of the original settler's cabin which predates the historic sandstone house that is still there.  They are beginning to think that the original building might have been destroyed and one of the outbuildings was built over top of it.  Many of the artifacts they have discovered are a cross-section of material from the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries.  Some projectile points are estimated to be from as far back as 5,000 years ago.  Tiffany Fisk, the administrator at the 1719 Museum, says she was impressed by the Millersville students and what they have found during the past few years.  The students discovered what may have been an area that was used as a quarry when the stone house was being built.  The training that the students are receiving is tremendous and will only help them in the future. She is thrilled when the students discovered chisel marks on a layer of sandstone which could have shown that there might have been a quarry at one time.  Millersville thanks the 1719 Museum for the tremendous opportunity that they have given to the students from Millersville.  They are able to learn so much more through real-life experiences than they could through a simulated experience.   What follows are some of the pieces that the Millersville students have found during their hand digging and screening at the 1719 Hans Herr House.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

A pair of bronze cuff links, known then as sleeve links are estimated to be from about 1740-1790 and indicate whomever owned them had a sense of style.  The anchor motif is associated with Philadelphia's maritime economy.  A lot of the decorative items, particularly buttons, were made deliberately with natural themes because the sailors were a very big market for them to sell to. 

This decorative pipe dates back to about 1710-1740.  Discovering a pipe stem is fairly common, but finding one with the decorative bowl intact is unusual.  The pipe is made of white kaolin clay and the decorative face is about the size of a quarter.

This piece of Philadelphia-style red ware pottery probably dates back to the mid-to-late 1700s.  Philadelphia potters were working throughout the 18th and early 19th century.  This piece is not particularly fancy, but it demonstrates their trade connections and where they're buying things from.

In the 18th century, German Moravian potters settled in Central Pennsylvania, around the Bethlehem area and began making their own red wares with dots of green on the piece of pottery with decorative styles favored by the Moravians.  Several pieces of pottery discovered on the property indicate the family's taste for the fine things which might go against the stereotype people have of historic German Swiss Mennonite families being understated and plain.