2016 Public Archaeology Lab Days (Jan-June)

CCASM is continuing to work with Charles County at the Monday Public Archaeology Lab Days on various collection cataloging and exhibit initiatives (Charles County) -  including vesselizing ceramics, organizing catalog files, and preparing information for exhibits both at Stagg Hall and Burch House.  Esther Read is the archaeologist in charge.

Here is what we did during the first half of 2016.

June 27 there were four people (Elsie, Julie, Peggy, and Carol) at the lab.  The photo shows some of the washed ceramics (mostly creamware) recovered in the 1969-1970 Port Tobacco excavations.  And most of the artifacts washed last week were sorted and bagged.  Esther was in front of Stagg Hall investigating possible features in the floor of the units (and generating a few more artifacts that would need washing).   Next lab we plan to have a few more work areas for any new people stopping by to help.
Can you find the decorated piece?  Hint: it is small and has red and blue paint on it.

June 20 Elsie, Jeanne Marie, and Julie were at the Open Lab sorting, bagging, and washing some of the remaining artifacts from Stagg Hall as well as washing some of the older 1970 Port Tobacco artifacts.  Ester was outside finishing and drawing units in front of Stagg Hall.  Julie provided these images of drying screens with washed artifacts.  These artifacts had been recovered in 1970 from around the Port Tobacco hotels.  Did you notice the pipe bowl with the metal connection for the stem?

June 13 Elsie, Jeanne Marie, Peggy, and Esther were at the Open Lab.  Still washing although started washing some of the older Port Tobacco artifacts.

After a break for Memorial Day, Elsie, Jeanne Marie, Julie, and Carol were back in the lab June 6 sorting, Bagging, and then washing artifacts from Stagg Hall.  Esther and Jim Gibb also were there.  Jim was mapping the excavations that had been done at Stagg Hall.  One of the more interesting artifacts was the spout from a Rockingham teapot.

May 23 Elsie, Peggy, and Carol worked on the artifacts from Stagg Hall - sorting, bagging, and washing - while Esther cataloged the artifacts from Benedict.  There was everything from a cord-marked pottery sherd from Stagg Hall to a blue bead from Benedict.  And, of course, there were glass, ceramics, and nails.

On May 16 it was just Elsie and Julie, but they finished processing the artifacts recovered from Benedict.  Julie provided the photo at the left.  It shows all the artifacts from one level (Stagg Hall) after they have been sorted and before they were bagged.

May 9 Elsie, Jeanne Marie, Julie, and Esther continued processing the artifacts recovered from Benedict.  Interesting finds included a large crumbled item of sheet brass, lots of rhyolite and a small piece of light blue glass, possibly a trade item.

May 2 Elsie, Jeanne Marie, Peggy, Carol, Karen, and Esther continued processing the artifacts recovered from Benedict.  The artifacts that had been washed last week were bagged.  The weather was overcast, and we worked indoors in the morning.  Then the sun came out, and we moved tables outside to wash most of the remaining artifacts outdoors.  Artifacts included Jackfield sherd, North Devon gravel-tempered sherd, air swirl wine glass stem, rhyolite point, broken white chert point, ...

April 25 Elise, Carol, and Jeanne Marie moved two tables outside in front of Burch House and washed artifacts that SHA and Charles County had recovered from Serenity Farm last week.  The artifacts weren't that exciting, but the weather was beautiful.  (There was supposed to be a picture, but it's hard to take a picture when the memory card in the camera is missing.)
  

On April 18 Elsie, Peggy and Jeanne Marie continued to rebag the artifacts brought down from the Port Tobacco Courthouse attic while Esther and Carol were digging STPs at Serenity Farm.  Most of the artifacts needed to be washed, but the rebagging was necessary since the original bags were falling apart. The artifacts will be taken to Burch House so they can be washed.

The lab returned to the Courthouse on April 11.  Elsie, Jeanne Marie, Julie, Carol, Karen, and Esther continued to rebag the artifacts that had been stored in the Courthouse attic.  This was Karen's first time to work with us.  We took a break at lunch for Elsie and Carol to show the others the location of the James Swann house and of the jailhouse that had been excavated in 2008-2009.   Another one of those days so much was going on that I forgot to take pictures.

On April 4 Neal and Carol completed washing all the Stagg Hall artifacts recovered to date.  Elsie
and Peggy with help at the end from Carol and Neal completed sorting and bagging all the Stagg Hall artifacts that have been washed.  Only two drying screens with a few artifacts from Stagg Hall remain to be sorted and bagged.  And Esther was working with artifacts recovered from recent surface collecting at Serenity Farm near Benedict.  She is planning to have a public archaeology weekend there this month (more on this later).

The number of people helping out in the lab continues to grow.  On March 28 Julie, Neal, Peggy, Elsie, and Carol sorted the already washed artifacts from Stagg Hall and Rich Hill.  Neal was introduced to mortar and plaster and nails.  And in the morning the new owner of Chimney House along with his two daughters and his visitor from France stopped by.  The older daughter helped Neal sort while her father and sister were given a tour of Burch House.

Once again on March 21 Elsie and Carol were in charge of the lab.  With two people sorting two different screens of artifacts recovered from Stagg Hall and three people washing artifacts from Stagg Hall and Rich Hill, we were pretty busy.  Of course, there is always time to stop and look at something interesting.

While Esther was having fun in Italy, Elsie and Carol were in charge of the lab on March 14.  Peggy and Jeanne Marie finished washing several smaller bags from Rich Hill.  Carol and Elsie finished the sorting of two screens of artifacts recovered from in front of Stagg Hall. There were lots of rusted nails from different time periods - not easy to sort. 

March 7 Elsie, Peggy, Carol, and Esther were back in the lab rebagging the artifacts.  They were joined by Jeanne Marie who only recently learned about the lab.  The artifacts appeared to have been pulled in order to do vesselization.  There was a lot of porcelain and white salt-glazed stoneware.  Also in the bottom of one box Esther found a lot of large prehistoric lithics. 

Doesn't look like a lab.  Well, of course it's not.  Monday, February 29, was so nice that we decided not to work indoors.  So Elsie, Peggy, Carol and Esther worked outdoors in the two open units in front of Stagg Hall.
Just a note: The report found last week mentioned that the data catalog for 1967-8 excavation was on 3x5 index cards.  Well, Sheila found the cards!

Monday February 22 Elsie, Julie, Carol, and Esther continued rebagging artifacts.  There were boxes with tin-glazed ceramics and with seventeenth century stoneware.  It looks like they had been pulled for vesselization and in some cases the pieces had actually been mended.  Cathy joined us to look through some of the papers  found in the attic.  One was the report titled "Archaeological Investigation at Port Tobacco Courthouse Site (January 1967 to May 1968)" by Sarah Mathay, Archaeological Supervisor.  Although it indicated how the artifacts were labelled, that labeling system did not apply to the artifacts numbers being encountered.  Subsequent archaeological investigation was done after 1968, and the artifacts currently being process may have been from this later time.

Monday February 8 Elsie, Julie, Peggy, Carol, and Esther continued rebagging artifacts at the Courthouse. The cardboard boxes on the floor in the picture on the left give some idea of the state of the artifacts.  On the right Elsie is holding what appears to be part of a copper decorated sleeve button.  Today we rebagged all sorts of really interesting ceramics - tin-glazed earthenware, Chinese export porcelain, Buckley, black basalt, ...  Many of the artifacts were labeled, but unfortunately we haven't found the "key" that would associate the label with the location where the artifacts were recovered. 

Five people - Elsie, Julie, Peggy, Carol, and Esther - worked on rebagging artifacts at the Courthouse on Monday February 1.  This time the artifacts had been stored in plastic bags, possibly sandwich bags, and the bags were brittle and falling apart.  Luckily the majority of the artifacts were labelled and were associated with location BF1.  But there were also unlabeled ones that had fallen to the bottom of the box.  (Once again got carried away and forgot to take pictures.)

January 22-23 brought lots of snow that shut everything down.  By Wednesday January 27, it was possible to get to the Courthouse, but Burch House was still surrounded by snow.  So on Wednesday Esther, Elsie, and Carol started rebagging artifacts recovered from Port Tobacco in the 1970's.  The artifacts had been stored in the attic in paper bags, and the paper bags were falling apart.  We were just trying to help stabilize the collection.  Also Cathy brought copies of maps relating to that 1970 collection.  At some point we will try to see if we can match the artifacts to the maps.

January 11 Elsie and Carol continued started sorting and bagging the washed artifacts recovered from Stagg Hall while Esther cataloged some of the glass recovered from Rich Hill.  (Sorry, forgot to take any pictures.)  Next time we will be working on rebagging artifacts recovered from Port Tobacco in the 1970's.

On January 4, the first lab of the new year, Elsie and Carol started sorting and bagging the washed artifacts recovered from Stagg Hall while Esther worked on reports.  As you can see, there were a lot of nails, most of which were machine cut.  Interestingly, Carol found a burned walnut shell.   

2015 Public Archaeology Lab Days