Originally published in the Summer/Fall 2025 edition of the Virginia Defender, issue 77, printed December 11. Reproduced here for accessibility and archival purposes. To find other stories in the Summer/Fall 2025 issue or to download the full PDF, see this post. For other issues dating back to 2012, see the Full Issues page.

By Ana Edwards

The next time you visit the Lumpkin’s Jail site, there will be archaeology happening.

As part of the Shockoe Project master plan, the work will use what are called “test pits”- basically small excavations – to “reexposeand expand [the discoveries from 2008], preserve them in place beneath a pavilion and create a space that, through intentional public interpretation and multi-level experiences, will finally bring this story into the light.”

The goal for this phase of the investigation is not to begin construction, but to “pinpoint the jail’s foundations using a combination of Ground-Penetrating Radar and archaeological excavation.”

TerraSearch Geophysical is the firm handling the GPR exploration of the site. Tim Roberts, founder of Black Star Cultural Resources, is the archaeological consultant guiding that work.

For updates, see shockoeproject.com.