By Chloe Martin
Faculty advisors: Dr. Michael Spencer and Dr. Andrea Smith
3:00-3:50pm, HCC 328
The topic of this project is the prevalence and use of pug mills in the 18th century in Virginia. A pug mill is an alternate method of mixing the clay used in brickmaking that is often considered to be a more “modern” practice, though evidence suggested that it existed alongside the traditional mixing method, treading. A pug mill is a barrel-like machine that grinds and mixes the clay to create a pliable consistency. The research in this study primarily focused on creating a set of lenses and patterns with which to identify pug mills in previously unexplained findings in the archaeological and written records. These were achieved by conducting archival research, experimental research, and data analysis on sites where pug mills were suspected based on preliminary knowledge.
The methodology for this project consisted of three main steps: archival research, experimental research (which included the creation of a model pug mill and microscopic analysis of bricks from suspected pug mill sites), and data analysis (which included the creation of a map to show and code sites analyzed for pug mill remains, as well as charts showing the data produced in the microscopic analysis).
Though no definite results were found through this study, the research provided more concrete criteria for how to further analyze the existence and location of pug mills in the 18th century, as well as provided further evidence of their existence in Virginia in the 18th century.
