Huge chimney found at Bacon’s castle

Excavations ahead of the installation of a handicapped parking space at Bacon’s Castle in Virginia has led to the discovery of a mass chimney.

Digging less than 6 inches down, he started hitting old brick and mortar laden with bits of oyster shell, then the U-shaped outline of a massive fireplace measuring more than 10 feet long.

That was followed by a second, equally immense firebox that butted back against the first and faced the other direction.

“What you see is an extraordinarily large, H-shaped chimney base,” says archaeologist Nick Luccketti, head of the James River Institute for Archaeology, which was called in to study and document the unexpected find.

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Story: Mark St. John Erickson, Daily Press | Photo: Joe Fudge, Daily Press