Vardeman

​​​​Prior to construction work on U.S. Highway 150, archaeologists from the University of Kentucky investigated the remains of an early nineteenth-century house owned by Morgan Vardeman.  Despite the lack of intact architectural features - foundations, piers, or posts - architecture-related artifacts from the site revealed the location of the Vardeman house and provided information on how it was built. Soil chemistry analysis also provided insights into activities carried out around the house.​

William Menifee was the first property owner. He occupied it in 1781 as colonists were establishing the Wilderness Trail through Cumberland Gap into Kentucky.  In 1789, Menifee sold his property to his father-in law, John Vardeman, Jr.  Vardeman’s son Morgan took over the property in 1803.  Most of the artifacts from the site date to Morgan Vardeman’s occupation of the property, which lasted until ca. 1850.​​

​Soil Chemistry

Plowing had removed most of the architectural remains of the Vardeman house. So, archaeologists turned to the spatial distribution of the artifacts, but also to soil chemistry analysis, to help them identify the house location and the waste disposal areas in the yards that surrounded it.

The Vardeman Family threw away many things, but what was most significant for the soil chemistry analysis, were the organic remains - food, human waste - and ash from fireplaces they disposed of. As these materials decomposed, their presence changed the chemistry of the soil.

Researchers interpreted areas with high levels of potassium and magnesium as places where burning had taken place, such as a hearth, or where family members had thrown out ash after cleaning-out hearths. Other site areas showed high levels of phosphate, calcium, manganese, and zinc.  These areas were interpreted as places where organic materials linked to privies and trashpits were deposited.