5-in-1 Community Is Still a Discovery

Complexes Offer Choices Alongside Indian History

Kim Whittaker and her 15-month-old twins look forward to the pool's opening. (By Ann Cameron Siegal For The Washington Post)

Stonegate may look like just another townhouse development, but there are surprises within.

Before the townhouses and condominiums appeared, before the landscaped pocket parks blossomed, local archaeologists bubbled with excitement about the historical significance of the 23-acre site in Alexandria's West End.

In fact, Alexandria's first archaeological preserve is creek-side in Stonegate. During pre-construction digs in 1992-95, artifacts were found indicating that Stonegate is the oldest tool-working site in Alexandria.

Several uncovered "chipping clusters" and projectile points ranging from 3,500 to 1,000 B.C. led researchers to believe the site served as several temporary settlements where Native Americans would form tools from cobbles found in the streambed, said Fran Bromberg, a preservation archaeologist with Alexandria's Archaeology Museum.

"You could almost visualize where the people were sitting with the cluster of flakes around them," Bromberg said.

Older artifacts, dating to 6,500 years ago, were also found, Bromberg said, but they are considered "dropped finds" that early people probably brought from elsewhere.

Diggers also found pottery shards bearing cord markings and net impressions. "This is extremely important to Alexandria," Bromberg said, because these findings, dating from 1,000 B.C. to 200 A.D., suggest later temporary settlements where Native Americans may have come together for seasonal activities such as spring fish runs.

From an archaeological viewpoint, Bromberg said, there are still many research questions about the site worth pursuing. That's why the preserve is so important. "It's there for the future," she said.

Today, Stonegate hugs both sides of West Braddock Road on a rise between North Van Dorn Street and Northern Virginia Community College's Alexandria campus. The community is made up of five separate neighborhoods -- four small townhouse communities and one garden-style condominium community -- each with its own features, personality and board of directors.

However, "Stonegate" is the only sign you'll see. The individual community designations are obvious only to residents and real estate agents.

There's a bit of friendly competition among the communities. One claims to be the greenest, another touts its spacious driveways while pointing out that in another section cars must be parked at an angle to fit. "We have bigger back yards." "Our floor plans are better for entertaining." Some homes have wood-burning fireplaces in the kitchens, and others have master bedroom suites where the bathroom is on a raised level.

There is something for just about every taste -- as long as you like stairs, because all the varied floor plans are multi-level.