Identifying an Interesting Ceramic

Last year while cataloging the artifacts recovered from the Port Tobaccos excavations around 1970, we came across this unusual ceramic sherd.  One of the surfaces was definitely scratch blue, but the paste was not stoneware.

One nice thing about ASM activities is that it draws a number of people knowledgeable about artifacts.  We took the sherd to the ASM Field Session last June and checked with a number of archeologists that knew a lot about ceramics.  Every time we mentioned scratch blue, the response was stoneware. Several people even touched the sherd to their tongue to verify it wasn't stoneware.

Then we took the sherd to the recent MHT/ASM  Workshop in Archeology since we knew Silas Hurry from Historic St Marys City would be there.  And he along with Kate Dinnel identified it as scratch-blue pearlware.  They indicated that this was rarely found.

So now we know it is scratch-blue pearlware.

Thanks Silas and Kate.

2019 MHT/ASM Workshop in Archeology

The 28th Annual Workshop in Archeology was held at the Maryland Historical Trust in Crownsville, MD, Saturday March 30, 2019. 
 
Topics and speakers included

• The Loss and Rediscovery of USS Indianapolis (CA-35) - Captain William Toti (Keynote speaker)
• [Not] The Last of the Piscataways: The 17th-century Indian Fort on Heater's Island -Dennis Curry 
  
• Three Centuries at the Brumbaugh-Kendle-Grove Farmstead through Archeology -Joel Dworsky    
• No Cause to be Ashamed of Baltimore: African American Life at Eutaw Manor House - Lisa Kraus
  
• Maryland's Magical Artifact - Sara Rivers-Cofield
• "X" Never, Ever Marks the Spot?: MHT's Use of Magnetic Susceptibility (Field Session Overview) - Matt McKnight
• The Shipwrecks of Curtis Bay - Susan Langley

The CAT Workshop on Historic Archaeology Overview was conducted by Silas Hurry and Kate Dinnel .

Susan Langley, Maryland State Underwater Archaeologist, indicated this year's maritime volunteer award recipient was Carolin McMannus.

CCASM is a chapter of ASM.

2019 Charles County History Day and Science Fair

The combined Charles County Public Schools Annual History Day  and the Annual Science Fair (now referred to as H.I.T.S.) were held on March 16, 2019.  CCASM sponsored one of the special History awards and one of the Science awards.  In both cases the award was $50 and a one-year membership in CCASM.

This year's history topic was "Triumph and Tragedy in History”.  The CCASM History award went to Aaliyah Davis for her historical paper on  “The Wounded Knee Massacre”.   Aaliyahis is in the seventh grade at Milton N. Somers Middle School.

All History Day Winners (Maryland Independent, April 10, 2019)

 This year's CCASM Science award for a project "demonstrating excellence and scientific thinking relevant to the field of archaeology" went to Maya Williams for her science project on “Weathering Chalk”.  Maya is in the fifth grade at William A. Diggs Elementary School.

All Science Winners (Maryland Independent, April 17, 2019)


Congratulations, Aaliyah and Maya!


Also CCASM would like to thank Carol Cowherd, Polly Zimmerman, and Roger Smith who judged the science projects for the CCASM award.

An Afternoon at the Charles County H.I.T.S. Expo

On Saturday March 16  Charles County held its fourth Annual History, Industry, Technology, and Science (H.I.T.S.) Expo.  There were forty-five table and seven classroom activities/displays sponsored by different organizations with CCASM having two of the tables.  A lot was going on.  There were a lot of hands-on activities to engage the students.

One of CCASM's tables included a display depicting the various archaeological skills related to history and science.  But most of our table space contained an activity we call "Archaeologists Dig for Clues".  Over seventy students completed the activity.  We know because we had sixty "I Dig Archaeology' stickers at the beginning of the afternoon.  We gave a sticker to most students that completed the activity, and we ran out.

Thanks to Denise, Mary, Linda, and Carol for being there to interact with the students and their parents. 

Historic Ceramics Workshop, Part I

Patricia Samford

At the March 14 CCASM meeting Dr. Patricia Samford conducted a workshop on colonial ceramics, ceramics from 1600 to the Revolutionary War.  This was the first part of a Historic Ceramics Workshop Tricia has previously given, but there was not time at a meeting to cover all historic ceramics.
 
Tricia tried something different for this workshop.  Rather than passing around examples where the last person probably didn't remember what it was, Tricia brought ten bags containing examples of all the different types of ceramics.  So when she described a type of ceramics, we would try to find it in our bag and could look at it while she talked.  Of course, if we couldn't find an example, she or someone nearby would help.

Reviewing Flowchart

Looking at ceramics

Dr. Patricia Samford is the Director of Maryland Archaeological Conservation Lab at Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum.

Attendance: 18

Archaeology at DAR Meeting

Anita Gorden

Anita Gordon, a member of the Port Tobacco chapter of the DAR, gave a presentation at their February 28th meeting on two 18th C female innkeepers of Port Tobacco.  In 2009 CCASM members and archaeology students from Heidelberg University (Ohio) had excavated part of the site of the inn run by one of these woman.  Anita asked CCASM to display some of the artifacts from this excavation at the DAR meeting.

CCASM members Mary and Elsie selected artifacts from storage for the display.  Esther, the Charles County archaeologist, prepared a fact sheet for each type of artifact which identified the artifact, where it was produced, the time period it represented, and how it was used.  Since the artifacts from the inn site were usually only tiny pieces, we supplemented theses small pieces with partially reconstructed vessels of the same types from other Port Tobacco locations.  In some cases we included pictures of complete vessels from sites other than Port Tobacco.

During the meeting CCASM members Elsie, Linda, and Mary discussed the artifacts with DAR members.  (Linda and Mary are also DAR members. ) Extra copies of Esther's fact sheet were given as handouts to interested members.

Thanks to Elsie for this posting, and thanks to Elsie, Linda, and Joyce Edelen for the photos.

Geopyshical Archaeology at Port Tobacco

February 22-26 under a contract with Charles County, Dr. Tim Horsley of Horsley Archaeological Prospection, LLC investigated parts of Port Tobacco using geophysical methods. This was a professional project but CCASM members were able to help lay in lines and get a chance to experience what was involved.

The magnetometry survey was completed the first day.  (It was a long day.)  The area being investigated included the front yard of Stagg Hall as well as the lot across the street to the south.  As you can see even the road between was investigated.

It took three days to complete the ground penetrating radar (GPR) survey - mainly because of the rain.  There were two half days when the rain called a halt to things.

And we also had to deal with the wind.  In addition to making us cold, it kept blowing the tape on the road. But we came up with a way to keep the lines on the road straight.

Now we just have to wait for the report.  It won't have all the answers, but it will give us a lot of clues to what is happening in the ground.

CCASM members that helped included Mary, Evelyn, Denise, and Carol.  And Charles County Archaeologist Esther Read was in charge. 

On March 7 Jim Gibb returned to the site and used his transit to obtain the coordinates for the various points that Tim had identified with yellow plastic stakes and flags.  Mary assisted him by holding the stadia rod.