Burch House - Charles County Holiday Trail

The third Charles County Holiday Trail was held this past weekend (December 12-13).  One of the houses on the Trail was the Burch House in the historic Port Tobacco Village.  CCASM members hosted visitors to the Burch House.  There was a display highlighting the archaeology done at Burch House prior to the recent bathroom addition, and a display case with artifacts recovered from the 2010 Burch House excavation and from the recent Stagg Hall excavation.  And, of course, there was the Burch House itself, parts of which date back to the mid-eighteenth century.

Barbara represented CCASM at Burch House on Saturday.  Peggy and Carol represented CCASM on Sunday.  

2015 Public Archaeology Lab Days

CCASM worked with Charles County at the Public Archaeology Lab Days that were held at Burch House in Port Tobacco Village.  Esther Read was the archaeologist in charge.  Here are the various projects that were worked on.

December 14 Elsie, Peggy, and Carol washed artifacts recovered from Stagg Hall.  There were a number of artifacts that we haven't been seeing.  At right are two stones with triangles incised on the flat side.  Could they have fallen out of sleeve buttons?  The stones are shown in the drying tray above a piece of lead printers type to give some indication of their small size.

Monday December 7 Esther and Carol added artifacts to the display case at Burch House as well as helped get the Burch House ready for the Charles County Holiday Trail this coming weekend.  The buildings at Port Tobacco will be open 12pm-4pm.

On November 16 it was just Elsie and Carol.  They washed artifacts from one stratum of the new unit that had been opened the previous Saturday at Stagg Hall.  Artifacts included lots of nails and glass as well as porcelain, tin-glazed ceramics, and a marble.  On the left is one of the finds of the day.  It is part of a seventeenth century buckle.  (Sorry, I forgot to include a ruler.  The fragment was approximately two inches wide.)  There was also one piece of Mockley, a Middle Woodland Period ceramic.
  

November 9 Elsie, Cathy, and Carol continued washing the Stagg Hall artifacts while Esther worked on the Rich Hill artifacts.  The Stagg Hall artifacts contained a lot of nails, many with a minimum amount of rust.  This could indicate the nails had been in a fire.  During lunch Cathy shared some of her historical research "finds" relating to Thomas Ridgate and John Barnes.

Monday November 2 Elsie, Rich, Cathy, and Carol started washing the artifacts that were recovered the previous Saturday in front of Stagg Hall.  Artifacts included flakes, points, tin-glazed ceramics, whiteware, pearlware, mocha ware, stone ware, lots of cut nails, and three pieces of print type.  This doesn't include everything but does indicate the artifacts date from many time periods. 

Elsie, Sheila, Rich, and Carol continued inventorying the Port Tobacco boxes of artifacts on Monday October 26.  So far we have completed eighteen of the sixty boxes.  The lab next Monday also should include washing artifacts recovered from Stagg Hall during the upcoming Halloween event.  

Monday October 19 Elsie, Carol, and Esther started inventorying the Port Tobacco boxes of artifacts.  There are sixty boxes.  Esther came up with a plan, and we were able to finish five boxes.  Work is to continue next Monday. 

Monday July 20 three CCASM members - Elsie, Julie, and Carol - continued working with Esther on the artifacts from Rich Hill and Pomonkey North.  The day was made more interesting by all the visitors that stopped by.  This led to conversations and updates about other historical, archaeological, and environmental activities happening in the county.

June 15 four people participated in the Public Archaeology Lab.  This included one CCASM member as well as two archaeology students.  Most of the time was spent sorting and bagging artifacts recovered from Rich Hill as well as labelling the artifacts recovered from Pomonkey North.  Always nice to meet new people and learn more about identifying artifacts.

Monday May 11 at least ten people participated in the first Public Archaeology Lab Day at Burch House.  This included five CCASM members-- Jim, Sarah, Julie Lindsey, and Carol.  Most of the time was spent washing artifacts recovered from Rich Hill this past April during the Lincoln 150 Event, but there were also conversations related to previous archaeology done at Burch House and about archaeology in general.

Archaeology of Maryland's Shoreline Settings

Matthew McKnight
and Troy Nowak

At the December 10 CCASM meeting Matt McKnight and Troy Nowak started out by describing the three Offices in the Maryland Historical Trust (MHT) that deal with different aspects of archaeology and what each Office did.

However, the main part of the talk was about a shoreline case study and two underwater archaeological surveys.  One survey was to verify the location of reported sites along three tributaries of the Wicomico River dividing Charles and St Mary's counties.  This was based on what could be seen from the water.  The other was a more extensive survey of Janes Island on the Eastern Shore that was funded by Hurricane Sandy funds from the National Park Service.  It's not often we get to hear about underwater archaeology.

Matthew McKnight is a Research Archaeologist at MHT, and Troy Nowak is an Assistant Underwater Archaeologist at the MHT.  Although Matt and Troy worked together on these surveys, they are actually in different MHT Offices.

Attendance: 13

Public Archaeology at Stagg Hall - 2015

Charles County has started holding public archaeology events at Stagg Hall in Port Tobacco (map).  Esther Read is the archaeologist in charge.

Saturday November 16, 2015 we returned to Stagg Hall.  Work continued on the test unit containing the lead print type, and a new test unit was opened adjacent to it.   This new unit further defined a brick foundation that had been seen last time in the wall of the previous unit.  The question is which unit was inside the building and which was outside.  Or was the foundation really to support an interior wall.  Once again lead type print was found.  Eighteen people including two CCASM members participated.

In case you are wondering what
lead print type looks like

On October 31 two test units and one shovel test pit were dug.  The second test pit was particularly interesting.  We uncovered part of a foundation that appears to be associated with a print shop.  A number of lead print types were found.  We will continue to investigate that unit at the next field event, but we will start washing the artifacts recovered this coming Monday.  The weather was just right for working out of doors.  Twenty-two people including nine CCASM members participated.  (Esther was the only one that dressed up for Halloween.)

 

 

Protecting Historic Places, Archeological Sites and Cultural Landscapes from the Effects of Natural Hazards

Jen Sparenburg and Stephanie Sperling

At the November 12 CCASM meeting there were two talks relating to protecting archaeological sites from the effects of Natural Hazards.

First, Jen Sparenberg discussed hazard mitigation in Maryland.  She indicated that each county had a 5-year hazard mitigation plan, but most counties do not consider cultural resources in the Hazard Mitigation Plans.  Several counties are working to change that when the plans are updated over the next few years.  (The current Charles County's Hazard Mitigation Plan is for 2011-2016).   Jen also described the types of hazards that affect archaeological sites as well as gave some examples of protecting archaeological sites and historic structures.  Jen is the Hazard Mitigation Officer for the Maryland Historical Trust.

Next Stephanie Sperling talked about the continuing effort in Anne Arundel County to identify archaeological sites at risk due to sea-level rise and coastal erosion.  Stephanie also showed their SWAT team effort on three of the sites considered most at risk.  On her cell phone was an image of her in chest waders excavating a stratified site as the tide started coming in.  Stephanie is with the Lost Towns Project in Anne Arundel County.

Two members brought in things to share.  Barbara brought in a bone - what looks like the vertebra of a very large animal.  A neighbor had found it in the banks of a stream. The general opinion was that it may have been from a whale.  Also Joe brought in glass, possibly worked, that he had found near Zekiah Swamp.

Attendance: 15

Mallow's Bay Public Comment Meeting

Wednesday November 4 NOAA held the first of two public meetings seeking public input on how the Mallow's Bay site should best be used and managed.  After the official program sixty-two people made comments (2-minutes maximum).   The comments covered support, concerns, and proposed scope changes.  There were over a hundred people there.  I don't have an exact count of those attending.  Since many did not make comments, there were definitely over a hundred people present. CCASM indicated their support of the designation of Mallow's Bay as a National Marine Sanctuary, and at least three CCASM members attended.

The next meeting will be Tuesday November 10, 6:30-9, at Annapolis Maritime Museum, 723 2nd St, Annapolis, Maryland.  At least two CCASM members have indicated they plan to attend.

If you can't attend one of the meetings, you can submit electronic comments via the Federal Portal http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NOS-2015-0111. 

Mallow's Bay
Photo courtesy of National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration

The September 16 "Notice of Intent" only started the process to consider designating Mallow's Bay as a National Marine Sanctuary.  The process normally takes 2-5 years and consists of four steps. This meeting was part of the first of the four steps.
1- Scoping
2- Sanctuary Proposal
3-Public Review
4- Sanctuary Designation
  

2015 Annual Fall Meeting

On Saturday October 24 the Central Chapter of ASM hosted the 2015  Archeological Society of Maryland Annual Fall Meeting at Oregon Ridge Nature Center in Cockeysville, MD.  ASM holds its  annual Business Meeting at his meeting.  Carol provided a brief report on activites of CCASM, the Charles County Chapter.  Three members of CCASM were able to attend the meeting.

The Central Chapter put together an interesting set of talks.  The topics and speakers are shown below.  One discussion of note was not on the agenda,  and it didn't even relate to Maryland archaeology.  After her talk on Biggs Ford. Becca Peixotto answered numerous questions about her experience in a South African cave.  Becca was one of the six women researchers that retrieved fossils of H. naledi, a new human species, from the cave. 

• Threatened Heritage: Five Years of Response to Sea-Level Rise and Coastal Erosion on Archeological Sites in Anne Arundel County  [Frederick M. Stiner Memorial Lecture]
  Stephanie Sperling
• Dental Health of Delmarva Adena-Hopewell Native Americans of Pig Point Site (18AN50) in Lothian, Maryland
  
  Erin Edwards 
• An Introduction: Applied GIS for Archeologists
  
  Bill Dickinson Jr
• Status report on the 2013, 2014 and 2015 ASM Field Sessions at the Biggs Ford Site: Where we are in the analysis process
  
   Becca Peixotto (introduced by Dr. Charlie Hall)
•  Recent Archaeological Investigation of the Concord Historic Site in Capitol Heights in Prince George’s County
  
  Jeanne Ward
• Archeological and Geophysical Analysis of an 18th through 20th Century Landscape in Prince George’s County
  
  Matthew D. Cochran (co-authoried with Donald K. Creveling)
• Kirby Farm Site: A Middle and Late Woodland Periods Hunting Quarter in Maryland’s Interior Piedmont Province
  Wayne Clark with introduction to talk by Stephen Israel

CCASM is a chapter of ASM. 

2015 ASM "Fall Classic" Field Session

October 9 - 20 the Archaeological Society of Maryland, Inc (ASM) returned to the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) in Edgewater, Anne Arundel County, Maryland, for the 2015 "Fall Classic" Field Session.  Dr. Jim Gibb was the principal investigator.  In addition to being a member of ASM, Jim is also a member of CCASM.  At least two other CCASM members participated.

The field session activities included excavation, feature definition and lab work.  The excavation was in several areas that had previously been identified by magnetometer.  Most of the areas were near the Java House Ruin (1747), but one that may have been associated with a tenant house was closer to the river.  A Certified Archeological Technician workshop on historic ceramics was also offered.

CCASM is a chapter of ASM.

Tracing the Footsteps of Those Who Left Calvert County During the War of 1812

Kirsti Uunila

October 8 Kirsti Uunila showed documentary evidence for individual slaves from Calvert County who took refuge with British Naval forces during the War of 1812.  A source she recommended was the Maryland State Archives' web site on "Legacy of Slavery in Maryland".  Since most of the early Calvert County land records were destroyed, it is more difficult to tie the individual slaves to the specific land on which they resided.  But Kirsti did talk about a couple of archaeological sites and how they could relate to the departing slaves. 

After the talk, the topic of slave houses was brought up.  Kirsti recommended the book Hearth and Home by George McDaniel.  The book is based on surveys McDaniel did on extant slave houses and post-Civil War tenant houses in Southern Maryland.

Kirsti Uunila is the Historic Preservation Planner for Calvert County.

Attendance: 9

Archaeology at Jewish Synagogue in Baltimore

September 10 Esther Doyle-Read described the archaeology done on a Jewish mikveh, a ritual bath.  Archaeology had uncovered this original 1845 mikveh beneath the foundation of an extension of the Lloyd Street Jewish Synagogue in Baltimore.  Esther described the history and significance of the synagogue that was the first synagogue erected in Maryland and of mikveks.  It was interesting to see how Esther and her crew dealt with the obstacles to archaeology that occur in an urban environment.

Esther is a faculty member of the University of Maryland Baltimore County and is currently the Contract Archaeologist for Charles County.

Esther Doyle-Read

Attendance: 9

2015 Preservation Matters Newletter

Charles County Planning and Growth Mangement has just published the 2015 Preservation Matters Newsletter, an annual publication celebrating Charles County's Historic places.

 Click to see newsletter

To entice you to look at the newsletter, here is a list of the articles included in the newsletter.  The articles in red relate to several archaeology projects that were done near Benedict.  Also archaeology has started to be done at Rich Hill, and many of you probably remember all the archaeology done around the Burch House in Port Tobacco.  CCASM members volunteered at Rich Hill, the Burch House, and at the Southern Maryland Farm Field

• On the Trail of an Assassin: A Journey to Rich Hill – Preservation along the John Wilkes Booth Trail by Dave Taylor and Cathy Thompson
  
  
• Washington Burch: Traces of an Early Town Resident by Dayneisha Davis
  
  
• Archaeologists Time Travel Along Maryland Route 231 by Julie M. Schablitsky
  
  
• Early Colonial Roots: A Southern Maryland Farm Field by Julie M. Schablitsky
  
  
• 2015 Preservation Awards
  
  
• My, How Time Flies: The Commission's Fifth Year as a County-Appointed Board by Franklin A. Robinson, Jr.
  
  

A Thank You to CCASM from Elsie Picyk

George Picyk was one of the original members of the Charles County Archaeological Society.

Shrub Removal at Stagg Hall

Not all archaeology field work involves digging numerous STPs and test units based on a plan. Sometimes it involves monitoring shrub removal and then reacting to what is uncovered.

Wednesday July 15 contractors removed a line of shrubs in front of Stagg Hall, a historic property in the village of Port Tobacco.  Several 18th-century buildings had been located in this area of the village.

Jim Gibb monitored the removal and had invited CCASM members to participate.  Little showed up on the surface of the ground as shrubs were removed but probing found brick rubble under one shrub.  One STP was dug in a depressed spot that was in line with the brick rubble under that shrub. Hit brick and mortar in the bottom. Artifacts recovered included cut nail, white salt glazed sherd, and pipe stem that were probably 18th Century.

Thanks to Elsie for providing this information and to Esther for the photo.

CCASM at Piscataway Celebration

On Sunday July 5 Maryland's Piscataway Indian communities celebrated the 375th anniversary of the St. Mary of Piscataway Catholic Church becoming established here in Maryland. The signal event marking that occasion was the baptism of 13th generation Tayac, Kittamaqua (Great Beaver), his wife and children.

Several archaeological organizations including CCASM had displays there.  CCASM members helping included Carol, Barbara and her niece, as well as Ed and his daughter.

 

Here are additional photos from the celebration - the processional to the celebration that followed the mass

as well as the performance of a local native Drum and Dance Troupe.

2015 ASM Field Session - Biggs Ford 3

From Friday May 22 through Monday June 1 the Archaeological Society of Maryland, Inc (ASM) along with Maryland Historical Trust (MHT) returned to the Biggs Ford site near Walkersville in Frederick County Maryland for the 2015 Field Session. 

The Biggs Ford site (18FR14) is a large,well-preserved, multi-component Native American village site on private property in Frederick County, Maryland.  It is one of only a handful of large Native American villageson the Monocacy River, and is the only known site in the Potomac Riverdrainage that has major occupations by both the Montgomery Complex (1000-1450 AD) and Keyser (1300-1500 AD) peoples.

CCASM is a chapter of ASM.

The Land of Mary: Its Rocks and Minerals

Doug Zabel

May 14 CCASM members got a chance to learn more about the geology of Maryland.  At the May meeting Doug Zabel conducted an introductory workshop on the basics of minerals and rocks, focusing on the types of rocks occurring in Maryland.  Everyone had a chance to touch and to look at magnified surfaces of the various minerals and rocks.  Doug also showed how to test for carbonate rocks.  It was definitely more than anyone could remember, but at least it was easy to find at a few take-aways to build on.

Douglas Zabel is a professor of Biological and Physical Sciences at the College of Southern Maryland.

The workshop was followed by the annual CCASM business meeting.

    

  

Attendance: 22

2015 Port Tobacco Market Day

May 2 was the 6th Annual Market Day at the Port Tobacco Historic Village.   CCASM  had a booth at the event that included the Port Tobacco tri-fold showing some of the archaeology done in Port Tobacco.  A table displayed mended vessels recovered from the archaeology done at Burch House, one of the eighteenth century houses in Port Tobacco.  The booth also had a children's activity table and the display on what is involved in investigating a site.

As you can see the day was beautiful.  And a lot of people stopped by and talked.  What you don't see are all the children around the children's activity table (forgot to take a picture).  You also don't see all the other vendors that were at the event.  
 
Thanks to all the CCASM members that helped out -- Jim, Sarah, Barbara, Carol, and Lindsey -- as well as those that stopped by -- Julie, Carole, and Steve.  Also thanks to Debbie, not a member, who helped out with the children activities.