HISTORICAL DOCUMENTATION AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION OF CODRINGTON CASTLE, BARBUDA, WEST-INDIES

Codrington Castle was Barbuda's principal structure for almost two cen turies (1680s-1870s) while the island was leased by the Codrington fam ily. The building no longer exists because it was razed near the turn of the 20th century. Analysis of historical documents determines the C astle's position, configuration, and architecture; analysis of archaeo logical data verifies its chronology, construction, and renovation. Th e study concludes that: (1) three rectangular buildings sequentially o ccupied the same location; (2) these structures had different long-axi s orientations; (3) the Castle's functions included defense, storage, administration, and habitation; and (4) an expansive subsurface archae ological feature delineates the extent of the second Castle. Descripti ve analysis of the ceramics distinguishes imported wares from Afro-Car ibbean pottery and defines three intermediate ceramic categories in wh ich the syncretism of two pottery making traditions is correlated with the ethnicity of the potters and manufacturing locations. Lithic arti facts are interpreted as evidence for direct exploitation of West Indi an chert sources during the historic era or, alternatively, for the re cycling of prehistoric artifacts by historic inhabitants. Manufacturin g timespans and stratigraphic positioning of imported ceramic, glass, and kaolin pipe artifacts corroborate Codrington Castle's duration of occupation as determined from historic records. The Castle exemplifies Barbuda's role in provisioning the vast sugar estates that were the b asis of the Codrington family's wealth.