It is sad to hear about the destruction of such an important site as the
Benjamin Duvall Pottery in Richmond. I find it hard to understand how that
could happen in the Capital of the State of Virginia where they have an
extensive tourist industry and many historical restorations. Most of these
restorations have had archaeologists involved and the State of Virginia has
a large population of historical archaeologists. The City of Alexandria,
Virginia has a model program with archaeologists as city employees that do
an excellent job of monitoring construction and planning excavations when
needed on important archaeological sites being destroyed by development.
The Alexandria project also has a great reputation for involving the public
in its excavations and analysis of collections. Why can't the Richmond,
the capital of the state get its act together? There are a couple of state
agencies close to that site with staff archaeologists. Are the political
boundaries so restricted as to let such an important archaeological
resource get trashed without any archaeological planning? I would hope
that COVA and other groups in Virginia raise some questions about what is
happening.
George L. Miller
Florence, New Jersey