Archeologists Uncover Large Slave Village Near Washington DC

Archeologists in Frederick, Maryland are digging up the past, trying to piece together what the lives of slaves might have been like. French refugee farmers from Haiti kept slaves there in the early 1800s, and the National Park Service says the largest slave village in the Washington region is buried on the grounds.
Archeologist Joy Beasley walks across the land now known as Best Farm. But approximately 200 years ago, it was a 300-hectare plantation¹ called L'Hermitage, owned by the Vincendieres, French farmers from Haiti. Their stone home and outbuildings still stand. The National Park Service archeologist says her team discovered evidence of six other homes on the property where slaves were kept. The Vincendieres owned 90 slaves.
"That's roughly 10 times the number you'd expect them to have for the size of plantation they were operating," says Beasley. "That made them the second-largest slave holders² in Frederick County and one of the largest in Maryland at that time."
VOA - K. Cardoza
Joy Beasley, archeologist at Monocacy National Battlefield, stands next to the foundations of the slave village. The homes of the Vincendieres are in the background.
The Vincendieres were also one of the most brutal³, according to Beasley, who says it's likely the family imported the harsh slave system practiced in Haiti to Maryland.
"There's an eye-witness account that refers to stocks and whipping posts and wooden horses - torture devices, in other words - being visible on the farm."
The harsh treatment prompted Maryland officials to take the family to court on more than one occasion.
"Charges ranged from what are called cruel and unmerciful beatings to, there was one instance, where they were accused of not providing appropriate food and clothing for their enslaved population," says Beasley, adding the Vincendieres were found guilty at least twice.
Very little is known about these enslaved men and women. That's why anything that personalizes them - every coin, shell and artifact found by archeologists - is so relevant.
"These individuals had lives beyond what their masters expected them to do," says Stephen Potter of the National Park Service. "Here, we get to see glimpses of their private lives as a community and as families."
VOA - K. Cardoza
Bones of animals - such as cows and fish - discovered at the site, help archeologists piece together what the slave population's diet might have been.
Back in their offices, Kate Birmingham is painstakingly⁴ cataloging all the items the team has found into plastic bags. The archeologists try to interpret what certain items might mean. For example, meat bones cracked open could mean slaves ate the marrow⁵, and glazed⁶ ceramic⁷ fragments could explain how they cooked their food.
Birmingham says they've found many more buttons than they would normally expect. "We know that, based on where the chimneys were placed on the houses, it would have been very cold inside. A working guess is that they had excess clothing they were taking the buttons off of because the primary reuse of clothing would be as quilts."
But digging up the past is painful, says Mary Harris, who has researched African-American history in Frederick County. She's been following the excavation⁸ with interest. Harris says these slaves wanted what everyone wants: a home, family. She says they were survivors⁹ who provide a lesson for everyone.
"It's what they overcame. It's strength and perseverance," says Harris. "And we can use those things in our lives today."
National Park Service archeologists resume their work at the L'Hermitage site this summer. Joy Beasley says they hope to eventually set up a permanent exhibit, featuring the artifacts they recover, to tell visitors the story of the plantation's history.

1 plantation   

n.种植园，大农场

参考例句：

• His father-in-law is a plantation manager.他岳父是个种植园经营者。
• The plantation owner has possessed himself of a vast piece of land.这个种植园主把大片土地占为己有。

2 holders   

支持物( holder的名词复数 )； 持有者； （支票等）持有人； 支托（或握持）…之物

参考例句：

• Slaves were mercilessly ground down by slave holders. 奴隶受奴隶主的残酷压迫。
• It is recognition of compassion's part that leads the up-holders of capital punishment to accuse the abolitionists of sentimentality in being more sorry for the murderer than for his victim. 正是对怜悯的作用有了认识，才使得死刑的提倡者指控主张废除死刑的人感情用事，同情谋杀犯胜过同情受害者。

3 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

4 painstakingly   

adv. 费力地 苦心地

参考例句：

• Every aspect of the original has been closely studied and painstakingly reconstructed. 原作的每一细节都经过了仔细研究，费尽苦心才得以重现。
• The cause they contrived so painstakingly also ended in failure. 他们惨淡经营的事业也以失败而告终。

5 marrow   

n.骨髓；精华；活力

参考例句：

• It was so cold that he felt frozen to the marrow. 天气太冷了，他感到寒冷刺骨。
• He was tired to the marrow of his bones.他真是累得筋疲力尽了。

6 glazed   

adj.光滑的，像玻璃的；上过釉的；呆滞无神的v.装玻璃( glaze的过去式)；上釉于，上光；（目光）变得呆滞无神

参考例句：

• eyes glazed with boredom 厌倦无神的眼睛
• His eyes glazed over at the sight of her. 看到她时，他的目光就变得呆滞。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 ceramic   

n.制陶业，陶器，陶瓷工艺

参考例句：

• The order for ceramic tiles has been booked in.瓷砖的订单已登记下来了。
• Some ceramic works of art are shown in this exhibition.这次展览会上展出了一些陶瓷艺术品。

8 excavation   

n.挖掘，发掘；被挖掘之地

参考例句：

• The bad weather has hung up the work of excavation.天气不好耽误了挖掘工作。
• The excavation exposed some ancient ruins.这次挖掘暴露出一些古遗迹。

9 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者