Dig It: Layer 2
The hut floor

During the winter encampment of 1777-1778, Washington's troops built thousands of log huts at Valley Forge. The construction of some of them, particularly those built on sloping ground, began with the digging of a shallow pit in the ground in the shape of the hut. After Washington and his troops left the encampment, almost all the logs that were used to construct the huts were carried away by farmers, leaving very little trace of the impressive log city that had once been there. The dug-in hut floors, however, remained as a clearly-visible archeological feature.

The huts, approximately 14 by 16 feet in size, usually had a door built in one end wall and a fireplace at the other end. The chimney for the fireplace was commonly made of logs lined with clay, most of which have unfortunately disappeared from the archeological record. In some huts, the fireplace included a stone hearth at the base. These types of fireplace hearths have been found to be well-preserved.

Along the sides of the huts, the soldiers constructed bunks -- usually with space for 12 enlisted men or for six of the lower-ranking officers to sleep. Holes that remain from the posts that supported the bunks have been found preserved, and appear as stains in the soil.

When the soldiers occupied the huts, debris built up on the floors. Some of the hut floors may also have been covered with cloth or mats, or with straw or leaves. Organic materials, such as these, added to the deposits that built up on the hut floors. Dropped objects could easily be lost beneath such floor coverings, or under the bunks. During archeological digs, artifacts have been found within the huts, including fragments of food bones (sometimes burned in the fireplace), broken bits of ceramic dishes, and eating utensils, as well as military gear such as musket parts, gunflints, and musket balls. Personal items, such as buttons, have also been found.

The numbers on the diagram below represent artifacts found in the hut floor. Click on a number to see a picture of the artifact.

Go to Layer 1 (Surface)

Go to Layer 3 (Subsoil)

Go to Dig It Home (Cross-Section)