Charles County Archaeological Society of Maryland, Inc

Investigating Native American Site in Charles County

2012-02-29T20:54:00.001-05:00

CCASM tries to provide opportunities for members to participate in and to contribute to archaeological projects. Dr. James Gibb of Gibb Archaeological Consulting in Ananpolis, MD has agreed to work with CCASM to investigate a Native American site near Bryans Road here in Charles County. (Jim is donating his time, etc.)
We will be working on private property - approximately 10 acres. The project will be spread out over several months. There is already a research design for the project, and there will be a final report. Also there should be lots of opportunity to dig, screen, wash artifacts, identify artifacts, and maybe even to do some surveying.

Next dates we will be at site - current weather at site
Sunday March 4 (9am - 3pm)
Sunday March 11 (9am - 3pm)

Contact us for more specific information

Saturday, February 25, eight people braved the cold (and wind) to dig shovel test pits (STPs). We found ceramic sherds, fire-cracked rocks, flakes, and some artifacts that were more recent. One of the best ways to learn is by doing, and this was a great opportunity to learn.

Screening and Digging STPs

Describing Soil in STP

Recording Locations of STPs

Thank You for the Curatorial Bags

2012-02-17T16:59:00.000-05:00

Andrew Garte of Garte & Associates in Shady Side, Maryland, has donated 2800 curatorial bags of different sizes to Charles County Archaeological Society of Maryland, Inc.

Various Bag Sizes

CCASM would like to thank Andrew for his donation that will allow us to upgrade our collections to the standards established by the Maryland Historical Trust.

Thank you for your support.

Westwood Manor - Being Fashionable in the 17th Century

2012-02-10T08:00:00.003-05:00

Patricia Samford

At the February 9 meeting Patricia Samford talked about the reanalysis of artifacts excavated in 1996 at Westwood Manor in Charles County. Of all the interesting artifacts found, Patricia's interest in one artifact, a decorated ivory handle of a walking stick, led her to learn more about fashion in Maryland in the 17th Century. So the title "Walking Softly and Carrying a Big Stick: Being Fashionable on Maryland’s Western Shore in the Late 17th-Century. Patricia is the Director of the Maryland Archaeological Conservation Lab at Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum.

The reanalysis was done by Julia King's students at St Mary's College. Patricia also brought a copy of the report.

The Artifact

The Report

A few of the People

Attendance: 24 including 2 young boys

Projectile Point Identification, Historical Archaeology, ...

2012-01-28T20:39:00.001-05:00

One advantage of being in ASM's Certified Archeological Technician (CAT) Program is attending special workshops.

Saturday January 28 three CAT Workshops were offered -- Projectile Point and Lithics Identification conducted by Carol Ebright, Overview of Historic Archaeology conducted by Jim Gibb, and Laboratory Techniques conducted by Rebecca Morehouse. Alex McPhail gave a short presentation on CAT Journal best practices, and Cynthia Goode of American University talked about the Great Dismal Swamp Landscape Study Project.

Below are the CCASM members that traveled to Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum to participate in the workshops.

Jim, Carol. Elsie, Josh, Barbara, Belinda

CCAS is a chapter of the Archeological Society of Maryland (ASM).

18th Century Port Tobacco

2012-01-03T13:40:00.003-05:00

Carol Cowherd

At the January 12 meeting Carol Cowherd talked about the search for the original 1729 layout of Charles Town, locally known as Port Tobacco. This was in support of archaeology being done in the area. Carol is the President of CCASM.

This was also our first time meeting at the Police Department. We had plenty of room, as can be seen in the photos. However, the parking lot indicated was also used by restaurant patrons. For future reference, parking is also available on the north side of the building (but not in the back where the police cars park), and on the street.

Attendance: ~22

Topics and Speakers for Upcoming CCASM Meetings

2012-01-01T08:00:00.001-05:00

It's time to mark your calendars. Here are the topics and speakers for our upcoming meetings.

All visitors are welcome. There is no fee to attend.

March 8, 2012 (7:00pm)
Topic: The Original Mt Aventine(s)
A Multidisciplinary Investigation for the Original Mt. Aventine(s), at Chapman State Park in Western Charles County
Speaker: Laura Cripps
Howard Community College, Assistant Professor of Anthropology/Geography
April 12, 2012 (7:00pm)
Topic: The Search for Newtowne Chapel
The Search for Newtowne Chapel, a 17th Century Jesuit Chapel in cemetery of St Francis Xavier Church in Newtown, St Mary’s County Maryland
Speaker: Scott Lawrence
May 10, 2012 (7:00pm)
Topic: Making Stone Tools
Tim Thoman will demonstrate flint knapping, the technique Native Americans used to create stone tools. He will demonstrate both pressure flaking and percussion flaking (hitting the stones with antler or wooden billets). (This was originally scheduled in September, but was cancelled due to the weather - flooding.)
Speaker: Tim Thoman
Native American Village Manager,
Jefferson Patterson Park & Museum

Starting 2012 meetings are
2nd Thursday of the month (September - May)
    7:00 pm

   La Plata Police Department, La Plata, MD
   Click to find Police Department on Map
   Parking is on the north side of the building (but not behind where the police cars are), on the street, and in the lot across the street.

Click to see Topics and Speakers for Previous CCASM Meetings (2010-present)

Wishing You a Wonderful Holiday Season

2011-12-22T08:00:00.002-05:00

Happy Holidays

New Location and Day of Month for Meetings

2011-12-14T18:39:00.002-05:00

CCASM was able to find a larger meeting room. So starting January 12, 2012, we will be meeting in the Community Meeting Room at the

   Town of La Plata Police Department
   101 La Grange Ave, La Plata, MD
   Click to find Town of La Plata Police Department on Map

The change in location also required us to change the day of the month on which we meet.

The new day of the month is the 2nd Thursday.

The time is still 7:00 pm.

Parking is in the lot across from La Grange Avenue. Please do not park in the area reserved for police cars.

For those long-time residents, this is the old La Plata Post Office.

Riley Tract in Rock Creek Park

2011-12-08T08:00:00.003-05:00

Tom Forhan

At the December 7 meeting Tom Forhan told about the work he had done in Rock Creek Park. Before the government acquired the land for Rock Creek Park in 1890, the area was farmed by a diverse group of landowners and tenants, including 100 acres owned by William Riley. His talk highlighted cultural landscapes and the wilderness. Tom is the Vice President of Archeological Society of Maryland, Inc.

Only thirteen people braved the weather and the traffic delays to hear Tom's talk. Sometimes rain came down so hard it sounded like the station roof might give out.

Attendance: 14

2011 Search for Newtowne Chapel Report

2011-11-08T17:30:00.004-05:00

Scott, J. Babock, Jim Gibb, Frankie

This year Scott Lawrence, Dr. James Gibb, Peter Quantock, and a number of volunteers searched for the 1661/2 Jesuit Chapel in the St. Francis Xavier Cemetery at Newtown, St. Mary's County, Maryland.

To view the report in Google Docs

either select "Research by CCASM Members and Others" in the right column of this blog
and click on "Search for Newtowne Chapel Report - 2011".
(Good to know for future reference.)
or just click here for report

The work was done for Fr. Brian Sanderfoot, Pastor of St. Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Church. The church is getting ready to celebrate its parochial 350th anniversary.

Discovering the Piscataway Fort

2011-11-03T08:00:00.013-04:00

Dr. King

At the November 2 meeting Dr. Julia King, Anthropology Professor at Saint Mary's College of Maryland, told about discovering the late seventeenth century Piscataway Indian Fort in the Charles County Zekiah Swamp.

Dr. King described several sites on the Wicomico River and in the Zekiah Swamp that she and her students have investigated over the last three years and how this past summer she thinks they have found the Zekiah Fort. They did not find a palisade during their limited field session. However, artifacts indicate that this was a contact period site, and the location makes sense.

Trade Beads
found at site

Attendance: 35

Open House and Village Ghost Walk at Historic Port Tobacco

2011-10-30T08:00:00.009-04:00

On Saturday October 29 CCASM participated in the Port Tobacco Alliance Open House and Village Ghost Walk. Despite the cold and rainy weather we had a good time. The ghost walk was changed to ghost stories inside the warm Courthouse.
CCASM volunteers included Carol Cowherd, Jim Gibb, Rich Gorski, Barbara Kane, Steve Lohr, and Elsie Picyk.

Archaeological Artifacts

Jim with Burch House Artifacts

Steve with Civil War Objects

Children Activity - Archaeobotany

Barbara working with child

Family working together

Ghost Talk

Elsie telling about the Cocking murders and lynching

Blue Dog Story (fuzzy)

Ghost of Tom Jones

CCASM Displays

October 8 ASM Annual Fall Meeting

2011-10-09T08:00:00.002-04:00

Robinson Nature Center

October 8 the Archeology Society of Maryland, Inc (ASM) had its annual fall meeting at the new Robinson Nature Center in Columbia, Maryland. Carol Cowherd provided the chapter report for CCASM.

Two of the talks related to Charles County. The 2011 Frederick Stiner Memorial Lecture was "A Multidisciplinary Investigation for the Original Mt. Aventine(s) at Chapman State Park". Laura Cripps talked about non-invasive archaeology looking for the older site, and Mark Tacyn talked about the history related to the later site. Jim Gibb, who is also a CCASM member, talked about non-invasive archaeology, shovel test pits, and evidence of sedimentation at Port Tobacco in Charles County.

Alex presenting certificate to Belinda

Belinda Urquiza, one of our CCASM members, received her certificate for graduating from ASM's Certified Archeological Technician (CAT) Program.

Congratulations, Belinda.

Other talks at the meeting included Mark Raab on the new Robinson Nature Center, Lee Preston Jr (Upper Patuxent Archeology Group) on three centuries of milling at the site, Jennifer Chadwick-Moore on the impact of climate change and rising water levels on the archaeological resources in Maryland, Kenneth Short on 18th century architecture in Howard County, and Bob Wall on the 2011 ASM Field School at the Barton Site in Allegheny County.

History and Archaeology of Maryland Mills

2011-10-06T08:20:00.003-04:00

Jim Gibb

At the October 5 meeting Dr. Jim Gibb of Gibb Archaeological Consulting showed how water-driven mills were built, the different type of materials processed by the mills, and what to look for in the landscape when looking for evidences of old mills.

At the end of the meeting we saw part of DVD on the Mill Brook Farm Grist Mill in Nanjemoy.

Attendance: 20

At Nanjemoy Heritage Day 2011

2011-09-28T11:50:00.003-04:00

CCASM had an exhibit at the 11th Annual Nanjemoy Heritage Day on Saturday September 24.

Elsie with Diagnostic Information

Barbara with Archaeobotany Activity

If you look closely at the exhibit on the left, you might be able to see a DVD player showing a slide show of various CCASM activities, notebooks with diagnostic information for identifying historic and prehistoric artifacts, posters for telling time with historic artifacts, and the back of the Port Tobacco Display.

For the first time a children's activity was included. The archaeobotany activity involved picking out seeds, e.g. corns, beans, onion, from gravel and identifying them. The seeds were then taped to a form for the children to take with them.

Elsie Picyk and Barbara Kane represented CCASM at the event. George Picyk provided the photos. They had an enjoyable afternoon meeting others interested in archeology as well as promoting archeology in Charles County.

We would like to thank those CCASM members that provided items for the exhibit. And we would especially like to thank Barbara Kane for developing the children's activity, Dr. James Gibb for allowing us to use the Port Tobacco Display, and the Picyks for providing the DVD player.

Announcing the Discovery of the Zekiah Fort

2011-09-16T11:16:00.001-04:00

This summer Dr. Julia King was once again looking for the Piscataway Indian Fort in the Zekiah Swamp in Charles County, and she believes she found it. In 1680 the Piscataway moved to Charles Calvert's land in the Zekiah and built a fort initially for protection from raids by northern Indian groups. The fort was abandoned in the mid-1690's. Dr. King's work was funded by the Smallwood Foundation and Michael Sullivan.

The announcement of the discovery was made September 15, 2011, at Mount Victoria, the home of Mike Sullivan. In addition to Julia King and Mike Sullivan, those speaking included Gov. Martin O’Malley, Sen. Mike Miller, Sen. Thomas "Mac" Middleton, the presidents of St Mary's College and the College of Southern Maryland, as well as representative from three Piscataway groups- Billy Tayac, Mervin Savoy, and Natalie Proctor.

Numerous local historic and preservation organizations were represented. At least eight CCASM members attended. Five of them had volunteered for Dr. King this summer. Sorry, I didn't get pictures of the CCASM members.

Skylar Bauer and Alex Flick

Here are pictures of two of the St. Mary's College alumni that worked on the project as well as a box with some of the artifacts from the site.

Zekiah Fort Artifacts

For more information on the event see St. Mary's College Press Release

Archaeology Project at Mt Aventine

2011-09-10T09:36:00.007-04:00

Laura Cripps

Dr. Laura Cripps, Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Howard Community College, conducted a small non-invasive survey project at Chapman State Park on September 2 and 3. The project was to produce additional information on the extent and preservation of archaeological remains at the Park for use by the DNR and the Friends of Mt Aventine.

You can hear more about what she found at the October 8 meeting of the Archeological Society of Maryland, Inc. (see calendar). Dr. Cripps will be giving the 2010 Frederick L. Stiner Memorial Lecture on "A Multidisciplinary Investigation for the Original Mt. Aventine(s), at Chapman State Park".

September 7 CCASM Meeting

2011-09-07T15:39:00.001-04:00

~~September 7, 2011~~ ~~(7:00 PM)~~ -- CANCELLED due to inclement weather

Inclement weather policy: If the evening activities of the Charles County Public Schools are canceled due to inclement weather, CCASM meetings and/or activities will also be canceled.

Excavating at St. Francis Xavier Cemetery

2011-08-26T11:46:00.008-04:00

Scott, J. Babock, Dr. Gibb, Frankie

Scott Lawrence and Dr. James Gibb are looking for the 1661/2 Jesuit Chapel in the St. Francis Xavier Cemetery at Newtown, St. Mary's County. Based on precious STP work, 5' x 5' units are being excavated. The site is completely clear and is situated away from known burials.

CCASM members are welcome to participate. Carol Cowherd has helped on two days.

Current plans are to continue excavating for at least two more days. The dates will be posted once they are set. The times are 9-4, but it is not necessary to volunteer for the whole day.

Contact Scott or Dr. Gibb for more specific information.

St. Francis Xavier Cemetery
21370 Newtowne Neck Road
Leonardtown, MD 20650

Trip to Smithsonian Museum Support Center

2011-08-05T17:44:00.001-04:00

Friday August 5 was the CCASM trip to the Smithsonian Museum Support Center in Suitland where we toured a small part of the National Museum of Natural History archaeology collections. This was the highest rated option on our survey for a week day CCASM trip during the summer.

Carol S, Josh, Phil, and Robin in back
with Elsie and Sheila in front looking at parkas

Jim describing drawer contents

James Krakker, the archaeological collections specialist in the Department of Anthropology, showed us just a small fraction of some of the objects from North America. He indicated there was the equivalent of an acre of storage for archaeology and ethnology. Of course, we had to see the collections from Maryland. Also we saw how artifacts were catalogued in the 1800's, where collections were processed, and how the collections were stored.

It was quite an interesting trip.

Click on NMNH Anthropology Collections to learn more about the collections.

Museum Support Center

The tour was set up by Carol Cowherd who volunteers for Jim Krakker at the MSC.

Trip to Mount Calvert

2011-07-16T16:56:00.003-04:00

Saturday July 16 was the CCASM trip to Mount Calvert Historical and Archaeological Park in Upper Marlboro. This was the highest rated option on our survey for a weekend CCASM trip during the summer.

Rich and Belinda

Josh and Mike Lucas

At Mount Calvert they are currently excavating a late 17th- early 18th century site. But the site was also occupied in Archaic and Early Woodland times. Two of the more interesting artifacts we found were an Archaic LeCroy point and a Rhenish stoneware sherd with the letters "ET•HIB•"

We also took time to visit the museum and to enjoy the view of the Patuxent. It was a beautiful day.

Mount Calvert Museum

View of Patuxent

Dr. King Thanks CCASM Volunteers

2011-07-14T23:00:00.004-04:00

On July 14 Dr. Julia King thanked the CCASM members that volunteered to help process artifacts from Notley Hall. CCASM's help in the lab allowed Dr. King's crew to spend more time in the field at Windy Knoll, the possible Piscataway Fort.

Dr. King shared photos of the work done this year at Notley Hall and at the Windy Knoll. There was also an opportunity to looks at the artifact distributions and to try to understand what the distributions might indicate. Some of the contact period artifacts found at Windy Knoll are shown below. You should see a copper point, a gun flint, a white tobacco pipe stem with a maker's mark, and glass trade beads.

Not all the volunteers were able to come to the informal show and tell. But for those who could, Julie took to lunch at the Front Porch in Leonardtown.

It was quite a nice "thank you".

Thanks to Sheila Smith

2011-06-30T17:13:00.001-04:00

CCASM would like to thank Sheila Smith for her generous donation.

As she requested, CCASM is using the money to fund a grant for Peter Quantock's magnetometer and ground penetrating radar research in Port Tobacco Village.

CCASM appreciates their efforts in increasing the archaeological knowledge of Charles County.

(Peter is currently working on a Masters in Anthropology at the University of Denver. He was a charter member of CCAS and part of the Port Tobacco Archaeological Project.)

Volunteering for Dr. Julia King

2011-06-22T17:20:00.010-04:00

This summer Dr. Julia King was once again looking for the Piscataway Indian Fort in the Zekiah Swamp in Charles County. And CCASM volunteered to help.

But first Dr. King and her crew worked at the Notley Hall site at the mouth of the Wicomico. Notley Hall was the home of Thomas Notley, the seventh Maryland governor.

Polly, Rich, Carol, Carole (June 3)

Elsie (June 22)

Members of CCASM volunteered over 130 hours. They helped wash, bag, and count the artifacts from the 250+ shovel test pits dug at the Notley Hall site. CSM had provided a lab in which to process the artifacts.

Those participating included Carol Cowherd, Joshua Eller, Rob Gibbs, Rich Gorski, Elsie Picyk, Carole Raucheisen, Carol Starnes, and Polly Zimmerman.

Pictured below is Dr. Julia King and two of her crew, Scott and Skylar in the lab. Skylar supervised our labs.

Julie King, Scott, and Skylar

2011 ASM Field Session

2011-06-19T16:20:00.003-04:00

The 2011 ASM Field Session was June 10 – 20 at the Barton Site in Allegany County, and three of our CCASM members were able to attend.

Rich troweling

Belinda with ceramic sherd

Carol removing post mold

Rich is troweling in one of the northern units looking for additional sections of a Page palisade. Belinda is holding a piece of pottery that may predate the Page occupation and was found in one of the southern units. Carol is working in a unit with part of the deep Susquehanna storage pit (later trash pit) that cut through a Page occupation feature.

Looking south

Looking north

Roy Brown

Bob Wall and Charlie Hall

Dr. Robert Wall of Towson University is the principal investigator. He is pictured at right with Dr. Charlie Hall, the
Maryland State Terrestrial Archeologist.

Also pictured at the right is Roy Brown, the president of the Western Maryland Chapter of ASM that has been volunteering with Dr. Wall at the site for the past several years. Roy provided the atlatls and a target that we tried to hit.

The Barton site is part of a series of prehistoric sites that contain artifacts dating from the Paleo-Indian period to Contact times. It was purchased in 2002 by The Archaeological Conservancy, a non-profit organization dedicated to acquiring and preserving archaeological sites.

Click on Barton Village Site to find out more about the site and about work done there in previous years.

At River Artsfest

2011-06-11T17:50:00.003-04:00

CCASM was at River Artsfest in Indian Head on Saturday June 11.

Carol Cowherd, Joshua Eller, Elsie Picyk were kept busy with all the people that stopped at the CCASM booth. They had a lot of conversations with people, some of whom had historic or prehistoric sites on their property. Also many people were just interested in the various artifacts and information being displayed. Several commented on how interesting the booth was. We handed out over forty fliers.

We would like to thank Dr. James Gibb for allowing us to use the Port Tobacco Display and for providing the tent. We would also like to thank the River Artsfest organization for the opportunity to participate.

At Cobb Island Day

2011-06-04T20:20:00.003-04:00

CCASM was at Cobb Island Day on Saturday June 4. It was on the Old Fisherman Field.

Barbara Kane, Carol Cowherd, Joshua Eller, and Rich Gorski had fun talking to all the people that stopped by the CCASM table. We almost ran out of fliers.

At nearby tables we leraned about Cobb Island history, oyster boats, and bees as well as saw the robots that won the National SeaPerch Challenge for middle schools. John Gardner, one of our CCASM members, helped with the SeaPerch Challenge.

We would like to thank Dr. James Gibb for allowing us to use the Port Tobacco Display. We would also like to thank the Cobb Island Day organization for the opportunity to participate and for the tent they provided.

Topics and Speakers at Previous CCASM Meetings (2010-present)

2011-06-01T16:34:00.011-04:00

February 9, 2012

Westwood Manor and Being Fashionable on Maryland’s Western Shore in the Late 17th-Century

A new analysis of artifacts from Westwood Manor, a Charles County plantation on the Wicomico River included an ivory handle from a walking stick. This led into a discussion of fashions in Maryland in the 17th century

Patricia Samford, President, Maryland Archaeological Conservation Lab Director, Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum

see Westwood Manor - Being Fashionable in the 17th Century for posting about meeting

January 12, 2012

Using Land Deeds and Plats to Look for Port Tobacco in the 18th Century

Carol Cowherd showed how land records and plats were used to look for the original 1729 layout of the town and also talked a little about life in the town in the eighteenth century.

Carol Cowherd, President, Charles County Archaeological Society of Maryland, Inc.

see Port Tobacco in the 18th Century for posting about meeting

December 7, 2011

Cultural Landscapes and Wilderness: Historic Archaeology of the Riley Tract Rock Creek Park, Washington, DC

Tom Forhan told about the work he had done in Rock Creek Park. Before the government acquired the land for Rock Creek Park in 1890, the area was farmed by a diverse group of landowners and tenants, including 100 acres owned by William Riley. His talk highlighted cultural landscapes and the wilderness.

Tom Forhan, Vice President, Archeological Society of Maryland, Inc.

see Riley Tract in Rock Creek Park for posting about meeting

November 2, 2011

Discovering the Piscataway Fort

Dr. King described several sites on the Wicomico River and in the Zekiah Swamp that she and her students have investigated over the last three years and how this past summer she thinks they have found the Zekiah Fort.

Dr. Julia A. King, Professor of Anthropology, Saint Mary's College of Maryland

see Searching for Piscataway Fort for posting about meeting

October 5, 2011

History and Archaeology of Maryland Mills

The presentation explored the history and architecture of Maryland mills and showed how archaeological investigations have revealed remarkable differences in technology among the state’s mills.

Dr. James Gibb, Gibb Archaeological Consulting

see History and Archaeology of Maryland Mills for posting about meeting

May 5, 2011

Identifying and Dating American Bottles

A workshop to discover the different features of machine-made glass bottles that help to identify the date and the use of the bottle.

Alyssa Marizan, Gibb Archaeological Consulting

see Identifying Machine-Made Bottles for posting about meeting

April 6, 2011

Sands of Time: Sedimentation of Port Tobacco

A look at the massive soil changes at Port Tobacco using information from the Burch House excavations.

Anne Hayward, Gibb Archaeological Consulting

see Looking at Massive Soil Changes at Port Tobacco for posting about meeting

March 2, 2011

Wollaston: The Search for a Seventeenth Century Manor

An overview of the 2008 excavations conducted along the Potomac River in Charles County.
Local lore has often credited this area to be the location of the original Wollaston Manor house built by Captain James Neale in 1661. However, the artifacts and the dimensions of the two dwellings excavated indicated that these buildings were not Wollaston Manor.

Kelly Cooper, Education Coordinator,Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum

see Searching for Seventeenth Century Wollaston Manor for posting about meeting

February 2, 2011

Is There a Prehistoric Woodland Site in My Backyard?

Over the past several years flakes and other artifacts have been appearing in the Carol"s backyard. After briefly reviewing the type of technology associated with Native Americans in the Chesapeake, we looked at what these artifacts can tell us.

Carol Cowherd, Charles County Archaeology Society of Maryland

see Looking at Prehistoric Artifacts in Charles County for posting about meeting

January 5, 2011

Archeology and History of Q-Ranch in Gila County, Arizona

Belinda shared her experiences of excavating a historic site and Mogollon pueblos on the Q-Ranch in Arizona, and also shared stories relating to the history of the ranch.

Belinda Urquiza, Charles County Archaeology Society of Maryland

see Sharing Experiences Excavating in Arizona for posting about meeting

December 1, 2010

After the Digging is Done: Archaeological Discoveries in the Laboratory

A discussion on what archaeologists do with artifacts after the excavations, the research that goes into learning about material culture, and what these exciting finds tell us about the past.

Silas Hurry, Curator of Collections, Historic Saint Mary’s City

see Finding Out What Happens After the Digging Is Done for posting about meeting

November 3, 2010

Forts, Traitors, and Traders

Dr. King reviewed some of the exciting findings from this summer's 2010 field season in the Zekiah Swamp, including closing in on the Zekiah Fort and discovering the site of Governor Josias Fendall, a hero to some, a traitor to others.

Dr. Julia A. King, Professor of Anthropology, Saint Mary's College of Maryland

see Hearing About Forts, Traitor, and Traders in Charles County for posting about meeting

October 6, 2010
Life in Early Prince George’s County, Maryland: Archaeological Discoveries at the other Charles Town 1684-1721
Dr. Michael Lucas, Maryland National Capital Parks and Planning Commission
see Hearing About an Early Prince George's County Town for posting about meeting

September 1, 2010
The Posey Site
A late 17th Century Charles County site, whose artifacts show how interaction with European colonists changed the material culture of Maryland’s Indians
Sara Rivers-Cofield, Curator, Federal Collections, Maryland Archaeological Conservation Laboratory
see Learning about Posey Site and its Artifacts for posting about meeting

April Beisaw Awarded Gordon R Wiley Prize

2011-05-29T10:56:00.000-04:00

If you volunteered at Port Tobacco during 2008 or 2009, you will remember April Beisaw. She was the co-director of the Port Tobacco Archaeological Project and of the ASM field sessions in Port Tobacco in 2008 and 2009.

Well, Dr. April M. Beisaw has been awarded the 2011 Gordon R. Willey Prize presented by The Archaeology Division of the American Anthropological Association. The award is in recognition of the exceptional work in her publication “Memory, Identity, and NAGPRA in the Northeastern United States”, American Anthropologist, vol. 112, no. 2 (2010).

The Gordon R. Willey Prize recognizes the best archaeology paper published in the American Anthropologist over a period of three years. April will receive the award at the Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association in Montreal, Canada, November 6 -11, 2011.

April is currently an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Heidelberg University in Tiffin, Ohio.

April, Congratulations!

Washing Artifacts at Port Tobacco Market Day

2011-05-15T14:00:00.001-04:00

CCASM participated in the 2nd Annual Market Day at Port Tobacco on Saturday May 14. Our major activity was washing artifacts excavated April 30 at the Burch House (see posting Excavating at Burch House).

CCASM regulars that helped wash were Phil Angle, Carol Cowherd, Joshus Eller, Jim Gibb, Rich Gorksi, and Steve Lohr. We also had help from a number of other volunteers, some of which can be seen in the photos. Despite the rain we had an enjoyable day washing artifacts and meeting others interested in archeology.

Due to the weather, the Port Tobacco Display could not be used. We did have several waterproof pages with diagnostic information, but the main attraction was the artifacts being washed.

2010 Watson Surface Collection Report

2011-05-09T09:10:00.056-04:00

Last November members of CCASM and ASM walked two fields near the Zekiah Swamp (see posting Walking Fields Near Zekiah Swamp). The report indicating what we found has finally been completed.

To download the report (4.9 MB download)

either select "Research by CCASM Members" in the right column of this blog
and click on "Watson Surface Collection Report - 2010".
(Good to know for future reference.)
or just click here for report

May 7 Garage Sale to Benefit CCASM

2011-05-08T11:00:00.000-04:00

The Garage Sale was a success. Jane Keller organized the Garage Sale that was held May 7, and the proceeds were donated to Charles County Archaeological Society of Maryland, Inc. (CCASM).

We would like to thank Jane for all her fund-raising efforts. Also we want to thank all the CCASM members as well as all of Jane's neighbors who donated the money from their sale items to CCASM.

Identifying Machine-Made Bottles

2011-05-04T12:00:00.006-04:00

Alyssa Marizan

At the May 4 CCASM meeting Alyssa Marizan gave an overview of the things to look for when trying to identify and date machine-made bottles. She also brought a number of bottles so we could see the different types. For those wanting to learn more Alyssa recommended www.sha.org.

Alyssa works with Gibb Archaeological Consulting.

At the meeting CCASM recognized Jane Keller, our outgoing treasurer who is leaving the area. Jane has been a great asset to us, and we will miss her. (Sorry, I forgot to take a picture of her opening her gift.)

May was also CCASM"s annual business meeting.

Some machine-made bottles

The winners of the raffle for the classic ASM t-shirts were Gary Frick and Barbara Rowe.

Attendance: 20

Excavating at Burch House

2011-04-30T23:00:00.003-04:00

On April 30 CCASM excavated a unit at the Burch House in the Village of Port Tobacco. This activity was part of Maryland Archaeology Month. Thirteen people participated in the excavation.

The Burch House site was occupied from the mid-1700's through the twentieth century. The artifacts recovered will be washed May 14 during the Port Tobacco Market Days.

CCASM, Inc now Tax Exempt

2011-04-18T10:53:00.000-04:00

CCASM, Inc's application for tax exempt status was approved. Effective October 20, 2010, CCASM is tax exempt from Federal income tax under section 501(c)(3). We can receive tax deductible bequests and gifts.

Our subclassification is 509(a)(2) Public Charity. This is for exempt purpose activity-supported charities.

Discovering Archaeology Day at JPPM

2011-04-17T13:17:00.005-04:00

On April 16 Charles County Archaeological Society of Maryland, Inc had a Public Outreach Table at Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum's Discovering Archaeology Day in St Leonard, Maryland. Despite the rainy day over 60 people attended the event. Belinda Urquiza, Elsie Picyk, Carol Cowherd, and Phil Angle represented CCASM at the event.

There was also an opportunity to visit the tables and exhibits of other archaeological organizations.

What Is It?

Knapping (blurry photo, but...)

Knapping

We would like to take Dr. James GIbb for letting us use the Port Tobacco Display and Elsie Picyk for providing the DVD player used to display the CCASM slide show.

A Sunken Ship Under City Streets: The World Trade Center Ship

2011-04-16T08:45:00.002-04:00

Nichole Doub

On April 15 the College of Southern Maryland (CSM) Friday Night Lecture Series and the Charles County Archaeological Society of Maryland, Inc (CCASM) co-sponsored Nichole Daub's talk on the 18th century ship discovered beneath the World Trade Center in New York City last summer. Nichole described how the ship was found and how it was excavated from the site for transfer to the Maryland Archaeological Conservation Laboratory. She also explained the importance of conservation, especially for submerged wooden artifacts.

Nichole is the head conservator at the Maryland Archaeological Conservation Laboratory that is located at Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum in St Leonard, Maryland.

CSM Lecture

Ship at Trade Center

Part of Audience

CCASM Display

Looking at Massive Soil Changes at Port Tobacco

2011-04-07T16:02:00.003-04:00

Anne Hayward

At the April 6 CCASM meeting Anne Hayward discussed the soil changes that have occurred in the Port Tobacco area. A review of historical records documented the increasing sedimentation of the Port Tobacco River. Recent excavations at Burch House in Port Tobacco indicated layers of gravel that would be consistent with a sedimentation event. A special analysis of the soil in the various layers provided additional information.

Several CCASM members volunteered at the Burch House excavations last year and remember those gravel layers.

Anne works with Gibb Archaeological Consulting and will be going to graduate school at Penn State this fall.

Attendance: 20

April is Maryland Archeology Month

2011-03-20T21:01:00.002-04:00

Maryland Archeology Month

Events in Charles County

April 6 - 7pm
CCASM Meeting at La Plata , MD
Sands of Time: Sedimentation of Port Tobacco
for more details go to April 6 CCASM Meeting
April 15 - 7pm
Talk cosponsored by CCASM and CSM Friday Lecture Series at La Plata Campus
Sunk Beneath the City Streets: The Excavation, Analysis, and Care of the World Trade Center Ship
for more details read CSM Friday Lectures Celebrate Maryland Archeology
April 30 - 9am - 3pm
Port Tobacco, MD
Come and see a historical site being excavated. Members of CCASM and ASM members will be excavating near the Burch House in Port Tobacco. The site was occupied from the mid-1700's through the twentieth century.

Other Maryland Archeology Month Events of note

April 9 - 9am - 3pm
ASM Annual Spring Symposium on Archeology at Crownsville, MD
The Uses of Forensic Sciences, the Natural Sciences, and New Technologies in Support of Archeological Research
for more details go to http://www.marylandarcheology.org/symposium.php
April 16 - 10am - 4pm
Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum. St. Leonard, MD
Discovering Archeology Day--Discover the what, where, and how’s of archaeology! Also watch people making stone tools the way they have for thousands of years.
CCASM will have a table there.

Go to Maryland Archeology Month 2011 for all events in Maryland during Archeology Month

Searching for the Seventeenth Century Wollaston Manor

2011-03-04T10:42:00.000-05:00

Kelly Copper

At the March 2 CCASM meeting, Kelly Cooper provided an overview of the 2008 excavations conducted along the Potomac River in Charles County. Local lore has often credited this area to be the location of the original Wollaston Manor house built by Captain James Neale in 1661. However, the artifacts and the dimensions of the two dwellings excavated indicated that these buildings were not Wollaston Manor.

Kelly is the Education Coordinator for Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum. She had participated in the 2008 excavations.

The winners of the raffle for the classic ASM t-shirts were Kitty Frick and Anne Zabel.

Attendance:28

Looking at Prehistoric Artifacts in Charles County

2011-02-02T22:57:00.007-05:00

Carol Cowherd

At the February 2 CCASM meeting, Carol Cowherd talked about the artifacts that have been appearing in her backyard over the past several years. In order to help understand these artifacts Carol gave a brief overview of prehistoric lithics and ceramics that can be found in Charles County. The answer to the talk's question "Is there a prehistoric woodland site in my backyard?' was yes there is either a site or part of a woodland site.

Artifact Distribution

On the right is a map indicating what she found where along with an image of one of the ceramic sherds.

Carol is the president for the Charles County Archaeological Society of Maryland Inc. and a member of the Archeological Society of Maryland Inc.

Everyone got to a chance to hold a mortar and a pestle brought by one of our visitors. The woman also brought a picture of some of the projectile points that she had found.

The winners of the raffle for two copies of Jim Gibb's The Layman's Guide to Historical Archaeology in Maryland book were Carol Raucheisen and Gary Frick.

Attendance:16

Google Calendar for CCASM Events

2011-02-01T13:06:00.000-05:00

The larger version of the Google Calendar now works.

In December we started putting CCAS events and other archaeological events of interest into a Google Calendar. Also we put a small embedded version of the calendar on this blog rather than just putting up a picture of a calendar.

Now by clicking on "Calendar - Large View" it is easier to see the details. You also have the ability to use the "Agenda" tab to create a list of upcoming events.

If you do click on dates within the small calendar, here are things that you need to know.

Clicking on a date with text (usually only a few letters or numbers) will pop-up a small window with the event, location, and description information.

Unfortunately, the right side of the text is cut off and there are no scroll bars. On a Mac, using the right and left keyboard arrow keys will allow you to scroll in this pop-up window and see all the information.

To close this window, you have to click on some part of the calendar that is outside this pop-up window. For example, try clicking the "Today" button at the top of the small calendar.

Sharing Experiences Excavating in Arizona

2011-01-06T13:37:00.006-05:00

Belinda Urquiza

At the January 5 CCASM meeting, Belinda Urquiza shared her experiences excavating at the Q-Ranch in Gila County, Arizona. There were historic stories related to a graveyard on the Q-Ranch which Jesse Ellison bought in 1893. And there were prehistoric stories related to two pueblos occupied by the Mogollon/ Western Puebloan Indians from A.D. 1265 to 1380.

Belinda is the secretary for the Charles County Archaeological Society of Maryland Inc. She is also a member of various other archaeological societies including the Archeological Society of Maryland Inc and the Arizona Archaeological Society.

Attendance:21

CCAS is now CCASM, Inc.

2010-12-10T18:03:00.000-05:00

The Articles of Incorporation for CCAS to become a non-stock tax-exempt corporation in Maryland was accepted this month. So now we are

Charles County Archaeological Society of Maryland, Inc. (CCASM)

CCASM is a non-profit organization, but we do not have federal 501(c)3 tax-exempt status yet. We will file that application the first of next year.

Finding Out What Happens After the Digging is Done

2010-12-02T11:24:00.010-05:00

Silas Hurry

At the December 1 CCAS meeting, Silas Hurry talked about what archaeologists do with artifacts after the excavations are finished and how these artifacts can tell us about the past. There were examples showing how looking at the artifacts can tell us about the date of the site, what was at the site, e.g. where a doorway was located, or how the material culture changed over time, e.g. the increased use of individual drinking vessels.

Like many other archaeologists, Silas said that much has changed in archaeology in the past thirty years. He showed several rusted iron blobs as well as the X-rays indicating the objects hidden within. This was just one of the examples indicating the importance of conserving artifacts for the future when new technologies may become available to analyze the objects.

Silas Hurry is the Curator of Collections at Historic Saint Mary’s City.
For more about archaeology at Historic Saint Mary's City see www.stmaryscity.org/Archaeology.html

Discussions
Holiday Refreshments

Below are the winners of the raffle for the Archeological Society of Maryland, Inc classic t-shirts.


Sami		Alex

Washing the Latest Burch House Artifacts

2010-11-22T09:29:00.006-05:00

CCAS volunteered to wash the artifacts obtained from the Burch House excavations done with the GWU students in October. Washing artifacts is a time to see what was found and also to learn how to identify different types of artifacts.

Joshua, Elsie, Phil, Janice, Phil

On Sunday November 14 CCAS and ASM members with the help of one other volunteer washed over half of the Burch House artifacts outside in front of the Port Tobacco Courthouse. Luckily it was a nice day.

Those helping wash were Phil Angel, Carol Cowherd, Joshua Eller, Rich Gorski, Jane Keller, Steve Lohr, Elsie Picyk, Belinda Urquiza, and Janice Hawkins, a journalism student.

Brogan, Elsie, Rich, Barbara

On Sunday November 21 Phil, Carol, Rich, Elsie, and Janice returned to help wash the remaining artifacts. They were joined by Barbara Kane and her grandson Brogan. It turned out to be another nice day.

This was CCAS' first time to organize a lab for washing artifacts. Several CCAS members provided the equipment needed -- wash pans, strainers, tooth brushes, paper clips, and cardboard flats.

Below are some of the artifacts washed the second Sunday. You should be able to find old coins, bone buttons, a jaw, a military button, a door knob, and pieces of a plate that mend. The leaves are recent. What else do you see?

Click for Larger View

Learning About Native American Ceramics, Oysters, Ethics, and Law

2010-11-13T20:10:00.003-05:00

One advantage of being in ASM's Certified Archeological Technician (CAT) Program is attending special workshops. Saturday October 13 the CAT Workshops offered were Identifying Native American Ceramics, What Oysters Tell Us, Archeological Ethics, Archeology and the Law, and Archeology Report Writing.

Several CCAS members traveled to Derwood, MD, to participate in the workshops. Dr Jim Gibb, who is also a member of CCAS, conducted the Archeological Ethics Workshop.

At left Dr Bob Wall is explaining how to characterize Native American ceramics.

CCAS is a chapter of the Archeological Society of Maryland (ASM).

Walking the Fields Near Zekiah Swamp

2010-11-07T10:43:00.010-05:00

On Saturday November 6 CCAS had an opportunity to walk a soybean field adjoining a creek running into the Zekiah Swamp. The day turned out to be beautiful.

For us walking the fields involves flagging the location of artifacts followed by recording the location and description of the artifacts at each flagged location. Artifacts are sometimes retrieved so they can be identified and possibly photographed. After that the artifacts are returned to the landowner, and a report is written about what was found where.

Josh, Belinda

We found several clusters of artifacts with a lot of fire cracked rocks. Although we haven't looked at everything yet, we did find at least one archaic point.

The general area was known for having archaic artifacts, and at lunch we saw some of the thousands of artifacts the farmer had collected during his lifetime.

CCAS and ASM members participating included Phil Angle, Carol Cowherd, Josh Eller, Robert Eppley, Jim Gibb, Rich Gorski, Calvin Martin, Robin Martin, Elsie Picyk, and Belinda Urquiza, Six of those participating are in ASM's Certified Archeological Technician Program. Joe Gleason, who made arrangements for us to have access to the field, also participated.

We would like to thank Joe Gleason for setting this up.

We also would like to thank Jim Gibb for all the guidance, for providing the Total Station used to determine the location of the flagged artifacts, and for offering to create the map for the report.

Hearing About Forts, Traitor, and Traders in Charles County

2010-11-03T19:16:00.005-04:00

Julia King

At the November 3 CCAS meeting, Dr. Julia King topic was "Forts, Traitor, and Traders". "The Forts and the Traders" refers to closing in on the Zekiah Fort, which was used by the Piscataway Indians in the late 1600s. Dr. King reviewed the historical records that pointed to certain locations in the Zekiah Swamp where the Zekiah Fort might have been. Then she showed the results of the shovel test pits done by her and her students from St. Mary's College and how these results might or might not indicate the location of the Fort.

"The Traitor" refers to discovering the site belonging to Maryland Governor Josias Fendall, who was a hero to some and a traitor to others. Again Dr. King indicated how the historical documents pointed to the property belonging to Josias Fendall and subsequently owned by William Digges. The resulting archaeology done by her and her students this summer indicated they had probably found the site of Josias Fendall's house and later William Digges' house.


Question and Answer Time

Julia King is a Professor of Anthropology at Saint Mary's College of Maryland. We always enjoys hearing her talk about Charles County archaeology.

Here are some additional pictures taken by JoAnn Queen, a photojournalism student who was at the meeting.

Volunteering at Burch House Addition - Part 3

2010-10-24T20:15:00.004-04:00

Port Tobacco Archaeological Project (PTAP) opened two new units next to the Burch House. You should recognize the location from the pictures of the previous excavations in this area (Volunteering at Burch House Addition).

On Sunday October 24, eleven George Washington University students from the Classics and Archaeology Club worked at the Burch House along with the PTAP crew and other experienced volunteers. There were five screens and plenty of soil to screen and plenty of artifacts to identify. It was a great day.

CCAS members Phil Angle, Carol Cowherd, Jane Keller, Steve Lohr, and Elsie Picyk as well as ASM member Calvin Martin assisted the PTAP crew members Anne, Alyssa, and Scott. Scott was there with his new wife Laurie. And, of course, Jim Gibb was there overseeing everything.

On Tuesday October 26 PTAP and CCAS along with Rich Gorski completed the units. Now all that remains is washing artifacts, cataloging artifacts, and writing the report. PTAP will do the cataloging and the report in Annapolis.

CCAS plans to schedule a weekend day for washing the artifacts.

Volunteering at Burch House Addition - Part 2

2010-10-21T15:34:00.003-04:00

During September and October Charles County Archaeology Society members helped the Port Tobacco Archaeological Project (PTAP) with the additional excavations needed to provide an addition to the Burch House. This house is one of three surviving 18th-century houses in the town.

Alyssa, Jim. Anne, Elsie, Jane

PTAP looked at two areas around Burch House.

On the left new PTAP crew member Alyssa Marizan along with Dr. Jim Gibb, Managing Director for the Port Tobacco Archaeological Project, PTAP crew member Anne Hayward, and CCAS members Elsie Picyk and Jane Keller excavated a unit in the woods. The well will be in this area Not pictured is CCAS member Carol Cowherd.

The second area was to the east of Burch House. This unit was full of layers of heavy gravel, lighter gravel, sandy soil -- normally not a very interesting unit. But the unit shows the sedimentation that occurred in Port Tobacco and may even give a clue to the date. Also over 2 feet down, Jim excavated a gully. Sorry I didn't get a picture of it, but on the right is a picture showing some of the stratigraphy. Below this level were additional brick fragments and pieces of eighteenth century ceramics.

See Volunteering at Burch House Addition for pictures of the excavations completed next to the house itself.

October 16 ASM Annual Fall Meeting

2010-10-17T10:00:00.003-04:00

George, Carol, Elsie, Jim, Anne, [Belinda]

On October 16 the Archeological Society of Maryland (ASM) held its Annual Fall Meeting at the Oregon Nature Center in Cockeysville, MD.

At left are the CCAS members that represented the Charles County Chapter at the meeting. Carol Cowherd gave the report on the Charles County Chapter at the Business Meeting.
Of note to CCAS members, Jim Gibb was elected Treasurer of ASM, and Belinda Urquiza was elected ASM Membership Secretary.

Anne Hayward presented a talk on The Burch House, Archeology at Port Tobacco. Other talks included Michelle Kerms on Recent Anne Arundel Chapter Projects, Don Housley (Mid-Potomac Chapter) on Archeology at the Josiah Henson Site, and Stephanie Sperling on Excavations at Pig Point. (You may remember Stephanie talked to CCAS about Pig Point last spring. Well, this talk included an update of what has been found since then.)

The 2010 Frederick Stiner Memorial Lecture was The Archaeology of the Irish Immigrant Village in Texas, Baltimore County, Maryland by Dr Stephen Brighton, Department of Anthropology, University of Maryland at College Park.

Hearing About an Early Prince George's County Town

2010-10-07T18:43:00.002-04:00

Mike Lucas

At the October 6 CCAS meeting, Dr. Michael Lucas described the historic archaeological activities taking place at Mount Calvert Historical and Archaeological Park in Prince George's County. Mount Calvert includes part of Charles Town, the first county seat of Prince George's County. Charles Town was established in 1684 and gradually disappeared after 1721 when it was no longer the county seat . Mike showed details of some of the excavations and indicated what the excavations could tell us about the type of buildings that had been there and how those buildings were used.

Anticipating Talk

Mount Calvert Excavation

Mike is an archeologist at Prince George's County, Natural and Historic Research Division of Maryland National Capital Parks and Planning Commission.

Mount Calvert offers Public Archaeology programs from April through October. To volunteer or for more information you can e-mail Mike at Michael.Lucas@pgparks.com.

October 2 Garage Sale to Benefit CCAS

2010-09-29T19:06:00.020-04:00

The Garage Sale was a success. Jane Keller organized the Garage Sale that was held Oct. 2, and the proceeds were donated to Charles County Archaeological Society (CCAS).

We would like to thank Jane for all her fund-raising efforts. Also we want to thank all the CCAS members as well as all of Jane's neighbors who donated the money from their sale items to CCAS.

Almost set-up

People browsing

At Nanjemoy Heritage Day

2010-09-25T22:56:00.000-04:00

CCAS had an exhibit at the 10th Annual Nanjemoy Heritage Day on Saturday September 25.

Jane, Elsie, Carol at CCAS Exhibit Table

Phil also at the Exhibit Table

Elsie talking about the archeology
that has been done at Port Tobacco

Jane Keller, Elsie Picyk, Carol Cowherd, and Phil Angel represented CCAS at the event. They had an enjoyable afternoon meeting others interested in archeology as well as promoting archeology in Charles County. They were so busy they forgot to take many pictures.

If you look closely at the exhibit, you might be able to see the Port Tobacco Display, prehistoric ceramic sherds, projectile points, posters for telling time with historic artifacts, and notebooks with diagnostic information for identifying historic and prehistoric artifacts.

We would like to thank those CCAS members that provided items for the exhibit as well as the extra tables on which to display the items. And we would especially like to thank Dr. James Gibb for allowing us to use the Port Tobacco Display.

Learning about the Posey Site and its Artifacts

2010-09-02T11:22:00.004-04:00

Sara Rivers Cofield

At the September 1 CCAS meeting, Sara Rivers Cofield talked about the Posey Site and its artifacts. These artifacts show how interaction with European colonists changed the material culture of Maryland’s Indians. The Posey Site is a late 17th Century Charles County site located at the Indian Head Division, Naval Surface Warfare Center.

Sara is the Curator of Federal Collections at the Maryland Archaeological Conservation Laboratory.

She also brought some of the Posey artifacts housed at the MAC Lab. Below members and guests get a chance to look at shell beads, bone objects, terracotta pipe fragments, copper objects, and glass buttons among other things.

Joshua, Barbara, Elsie, Bob

image from www.jefpat.org

She was unable to bring the Posey artifacts in the image at the right since they are in a display on the first floor of the Charles County Government Building. So the next time you visit the building be sure to look for the display.

For more information on the Posey Site, visit Posey Site Summary on the Jefferson Patterson Parks and Planning website www.jefpat.org.

Volunteering at Burch House Addition Excavation

2010-09-01T08:00:00.001-04:00

Starting April Charles County Archaeology Society members helped the Port Tobacco Archaeological Project (PTAP) with excavations at the Burch House in Port Tobacco, MD. On August 31 we reached the "bottom" of the units next to the Burch House. The excavations were necessary for a planned addition to the Burch House. This house is one of three surviving 18th-century houses in the town.

Here are the pictures of us working as well as pictures of progress over the past months.

Elsie and Kelley
Carol and Elsie
Anne, Jim, and Jane

Jim, Elsie, and Carol
Elsie
Peter

Pictured above are CCAS members Carol Cowherd, Elsie Picyk, and Jane Keller along with Dr. Jim Gibb, Managing Director for the Port Tobacco Archaeological Project. The women sitting in the units are PTAP crew Anne Hayward and Kelley Walter. And the person with the big smile is Peter Quantock, another member of the PTAP crew and also a CCAS member. The last picture indicates how we tried to cope with the heat during July. Elsie Picyk brought her box fan, and everyone drank lots of water.

On May 20 the foundation to the 19th century addition to Burch House was uncovered.

May 22

Burch House
To find out more about the 19th century Burch House addition, go to http://porttobacco.blogspot.com/2010/06/some-burch-news.htm

On June 22 we identified a post hole with a post mold from an earlier structure. The picture on the right was taken looking north from the dirt pile behind the two orange buckets seen in the June 22 picture.

June 22

The work to uncover earlier strata continued while Peter took time to talk with visitors.

July 8

Aug 4

In all the units we have found a layer of burned oyster shells about 2.5' to 3' below the surface. In some places only black loamy soil with no artifacts was below the oyster shells. But on August 3 an area containing charred wood fragments (up to approximately 3" x 1") was uncovered. See the darker area in the lower central part of the picture at the left. It could be a fire pit or ... The last stratum removed before the picture was taken contained very few artifacts but those found included 3 tobacco pipe stems, 3 quartz flakes, and one prehistoric pottery sherd!

Aug 31

On August 31 we reached sterile soil in all the units. The picture at the left shows the foundation of the Burch House. On the left are the bricks for the original cellar. To the right of that in the exposed soil under the foundation are a post hole and post mold, probably from a structure that predates the building of Burch House.

We'll let you know when the report documenting this effort is available

To see some of the artifacts we found see Finding 19th Century Ceramics and Glass

or look on the PTAP blog http://porttobacco.blogspot.com/.

Saying Good-by to Peter

2010-08-24T17:12:00.002-04:00

Once again we are saying good-by to one of the PTAP crew-- Peter Quantock.

For three years Peter has been working with us volunteers as we try to learn more about Port Tobacco. But Peter is also a CCAS member and has spoken at several of our CCAS meetings. Remember hearing about a Roman coliseum in sunny Spain while we were bundled up one January.

He will be working on a masters degree in archaeology at the University of Denver. And he promises to come back and see us next summer.

By the way, ask him what barbeque has to do with determining the route he will be taking to Denver.

Saying Good-by to Kelley

2010-08-03T23:27:00.002-04:00

Too bad it takes someone leaving for us to have a party--maybe not a party but at least a lot of good food. Today was Kelley's last day at Port Tobacco, and we wanted to let her know we would miss her. Yet we somewhat envy her since she is going to graduate school in archaeology at William and Mary.

Peter, Kelley, Anne

Above is Peter Quantock, Kelley Walter, and Anne Hayward--the PTAP crew that we have been excavating with this year.

New Time and Place for Meetings

2010-07-16T09:00:00.004-04:00

Starting this fall the Charles County Archaeological Society will be meeting

1st Wednesday of the month (September - May)
    7:00 pm

"Historic" La Plata Train Station,
    101 Kent Avenue, La Plata, MD.
   Click to find Train Station on Map

Volunteering for Public Archaeology Saturdays

2010-07-16T08:00:00.001-04:00

From May 15 through July 3 CCAS members volunteered for the Public Archaeology Saturdays conducted by Port Tobacco Archaeological Project (PTAP) at the Port Tobacco Courthouse. While we washed artifacts that were found during the Burch House excavations, we also learned about colonial and post colonial ceramics, buttons, animal bones, etc.

Scott, Phil, Steve

Scott Lawrence (PTAP) and CCAS members Phil Angle and Steve Lohr are washing Burch House artifacts. Other CCAS members participating are Elsie Picyk, Carol Cowherd, Jane Keller, and Jim Gibb.

Finding 19th Century Ceramics and Glass at Burch House

2010-06-13T11:03:00.001-04:00

For a change, rather than indicating what CCAS members are doing at Burch House, here is what we are finding. Normally we do not find whole pieces of glass or ceramics. But last week in a probable builder's trench from the 19th century addition to Burch House, we found a whole wine bottle. And as you can see, there were larger pieces of 19th century ceramics and glass. Notice the almost complete pipe bowl and the plain ceramic marble.

The pieces below were washed this past Saturday (June 12). And for those that helped wash on the previous Saturday, you would have seen the other half of this transfer printed plate and mug that had been found in a different unit.

Having Tea Among the Excavations?

2010-05-27T17:01:00.002-04:00

Not all of our volunteering at the Burch House involves digging and screening dirt. May 27 everyone participating was treated to Tea by CCAS member Jane Keller. Jane not only provided tea made in her great-grandmother's tea kettle, she made scones (real ones), cookies, and cucumber sandwiches.

Attending the ASM 2010 Field Session

2010-05-18T18:45:00.013-04:00

The Archeological Society of Maryland (ASM) 2010 Field Session was held May 14-24 at the Smith's St. Leonard Site located at Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum in Calvert County. This site is the home lot of a tobacco plantation occupied during the first half of the 18th Century.

This was a great opportunity to dig, screen, and wash artifacts in the field as well as to meet others with an interest in archeology. Also several special workshops were offered. For more about the Field Session see 2010 ASM Field Session

Belinda

CCAS member Belinda Urquiza is shown screening at the Field Session.

On Tuesday MAC Lab Conservator Nichole Doub conducted a workshop on how to lift artifacts in the field. Below Nichole is watching CCAS member Carol Cowherd and ASM member Susan Bocci lift a flat object they have backed to keep the object together. Also pictured is Carol holding up a broken flower pot that she and Susan have bandaged.

Carol, Susan, Nichole
Carol

Elsie

On Wednesday MAC Lab Director Dr. Patricia Samford conducted a workshop on identifying Colonial and Post-Colonial ceramics. CCAS member Elsie Picyk is holding a piece of edged creamware during the workshop.

Washing Artifacts at Port Tobacco Restoration Society Market Day

2010-05-16T19:05:00.006-04:00

On May 15 members of CCAS washed artifacts discovered during the recent excavations at the Burch House. Jim Gibb and Scott Lawrence of PTAP provided the equipment and also helped with the washing. This was part of the first Port Tobacco Restoration Society Market Day.

Carole, Carol, Elsie, Cathy, Jane, Dan

Pictured above are CCAS members Carole Raucheisen, Carol Cowherd, Elsie Picyk, Jane Keller, and Dan Keller along with Cathy Thompson, Charles County Preservation Planner. CCAS member Steve Lohr also participated.

Learning to Identify Flakes

2010-05-11T23:24:00.004-04:00

At the May 11 CCAS meeting, Dr. James Gibb presented "A Workshop on Stone Tool Making". Below members and guests are learning to identify different types of flakes. We tend to recognize projectile points, but we also need to be able to recognize the flakes created when a projectile point was made.