2024 Public Archaeology Lab Days (Oct-Dec)

CCASM has been working with Charles County at the ongoing Public Archaeology Lab since 2015.  The lab is for processing artifacts recovered from various archaeology initiatives in Charles County -  including artifacts from investigations of sites on County properties, artifacts recovered from savage archaeology in the County, as well as artifacts recovered around the 1970's before the Port Tobacco Courthouse was reconstructed.  Esther Read is the archaeologist in charge.

Health precautions:  Following guidelines for Charles County. 

Location: Courthouse (2nd floor; use South Wing door) and Burch House (both inside and outside) in Historic Port Tobacco Village  map 

  Note: depending on the weather, we may also be in the field on Mondays; 
            (we try to post the latest schedule as soon as we get it - may not get until Monday morning)

            Monday,   Nov 18  (11am - 3pm) Lab at Port Tobacco and
                                                 (10am - 3pm) in field at Maxwell Equestrian Park
           Saturday,    Nov 23       (10am - 3pm) in field at Maxwell Equestrian Park
             Monday,   Nov 25 (11am - 3pm) Lab at Port Tobacco and
                                                 (10am - 3pm) in field at Maxwell Equestrian Park
             Monday,   Dec  2  (11am - 2pm) decorating Burch House for Holiday Trail
             Monday,   Dec  9  (11am - 3pm) Lab at Port Tobacco
             Monday,   Dec 16 (11am - 2pm) Christmas Party
                                              
Last Lab date for 2024 (and Christmas Party) will be Dec 16
Dates for School Visits 2025: Mon, Mar 17; Fri, Apr 4; Mon, Apr 7: Fri, Apr 11; Wed, Apr 23;

Anchor Hocking
Brown Bottle Base

On Monday November 18 while the other volunteers were at Maxwell Hall looking for more artifacts, Claudia and Carol were at Burch House processing the artifacts that had already been recovered from Maxwell  Hall.  Since it was a nice day, we worked outside on the picnic table.  In the morning we brushed and bagged metal artifacts labeled E-#.  There were more metal artifacts to be processed but we switched to washing artifacts (mostly glass) in the afternoon.  It's always nicer to be able to wash outdoors.  We chose this base from a brown bottle that was embossed with the word "RAINBOW" as the artifact of the day.  The "anchor" trademark indicates it was made by Anchor Hocking Glass Corporation between 1938 and ca 1980.  It had been recovered last Saturday from an area identified as a bottle dump.

Barb Wire

On Monday November 4 Mary, Claudia, Evie, Jordan, Peggy and Linda cleaned artifacts from Maxwell Hall, the Oyster House in Port Tobacco and artifacts brought down from the courthouse attic. We chose this barb wire fencing from the Maxwell Hall Daffodil Site as the artifact of the day.

Thanks to Linda for the info and to Mary for the photo.

Monday October 28 was supposed to be a lab day but ...  Mary was the only one in lab in the morning and decided to clean - floors, bags, whatever needed cleaning while the other volunteers were with the school group.  After lunch we decided to take the afternoon off.

Porcelain cup

The Monday October 21 Lab was a little crazy with people doing lots of different activities during the day - cleaning up and inventorying tools and equipment in the shed, inventorying bags and pens in the lab, retrieving some of the last bags of artifacts from the rafters of the Courthouse (a dirty job), stabilizing some of the retrieved bags, putting new flagging tape around the Swann House foundation, and also the normal activity of sorting and bagging some of the artifacts washed in previous weeks.  Not sure this was everything we did.  There were eight volunteers - Linda, Denise, Elsie, Claudia, Evie, Carol, Jordan, and Jadyn -- along with Esther and Esther's sister who was visiting from the West Coast.

We chose these Chinese porcelain cup sherds (from a group of porcelain sherds) as the artifact of the day.  The mended sherd on the left contains seven pieces.  The sherd on the right appears to have a similar design and may or may not mend at the rim to the other sherd. They had been among the 1970s Port Tobacco artifacts that were brought down from the attic.

Various Bottle Finishes

 

At the Monday October 14 Lab it was just Linda and Jadyn.  We bagged dry brushed items from last week and washed items from the Courthouse box (1970s Port Tobacco artifacts).  We chose these glass bottle fragments with different finishes as the "artifact" of the day.

Thanks to Linda for the photo and the info.

Buckle

Monday October 7 while several of the regular volunteers were in the field, Linda, Claudia, and Jadyn were at Burch House sorting and bagging the artifacts that were washed last week and then dry brushing the remaining metal artifacts.  We chose this sturdy copper alloy buckle as the artifact of the day.  It was with the other artifacts recovered during the 1970s excavations at Port Tobacco but that's all we know.  So it is listed as Port Tobacco, no provenience.

Thanks to Linda for the photo and the info.

2024 Public Archaeology Lab Days (July-Sep) --2024 Public Archaeology Lab Days (Apr-Jun)  --2024 Public Archaeology Lab Days (Jan-Mar)
2023 Public Archaeology Lab Days (July-Dec) --2023 Public Archaeology Lab Days (Jan-June)
2022 Public Archaeology Lab Days (July-Dec) --2022 Public Archaeology Lab Days (Feb-Jun)
2021 Public Archaeology Lab Days (Mar-Dec)
2020 Public Archaeology Lab Days (Sep-Dec) --2020 Public Archaeology Lab Days (Jan-Mar)
2019 Public Archaeology Lab Days (Jul-Dec)   --2019 Public Archaeology Lab Days (Jan-June)
2018 Public Archaeology Lab Days (July-Dec) --2018 Public Archaeology Lab Days (Jan-June)
2017 Public Archaeology Lab Days (July-Dec) --2017 Public Archaeology Lab Days (Jan-June)
2016 Public Archaeology Lab Days (July-Dec) --2016 Public Archaeology Lab Days (Jan-June)
2015 Public Archaeology Lab Days

 

Volunteering for Maxwell Hall Grant Archaeology - Continuing

The Friends of Maxwell Hall received a grant titled "Maxwell Hall: Discovering and Raising New Voices".  The goal was to learn more about the African/African American experience at Maxwell Hall. The first half of the project is archival and landscape research headed by Esther Read. The second half is a community outreach to locate descendants of those who lived and worked at Maxwell Hall in an effort to tell a more complete story and to build relationships with the community. 

Esther completed the interim archaeology report in May that also included identification of Native American sites.  In September she received the permit that allows surveying.  So the archaeological work on the grant continues.

CCASM members are providing volunteer hours for the archaeological part of the grant.  Volunteer hours count as an in-kind match ($29.95/hr).

Locations: Maxwell Hall Park Equestrian Area
                  Hughesville, MD (but near Benedict, MD)

                  
Next dates:  Check Lab post  (All field/lab work on this grant is to be completed by Nov 30, 2024.)

Monday November 18 Linda, Doug, Mary, Elsie, and later Jordan volunteered with Esther to dig additional STPs at the Daffodil Site in the morning.  They didn't find that much but it did help define the boundaries of the site.  Then in the afternoon they walked the fields.  It was another sunny fall day.

Flagging STP location

Documenting STP

Thanks to Elsie for the info and to Linda for the photos. 

On Saturday November 16, another sunny fall day, CCASM members Steve, Doug, Linda, Elsie, Denise, and Ned along with an additional volunteer John worked with Esther on the site.  Steve, John, and Doug used their metal detectors.  Doug ran a leaf blower.  The others flagged and retrieved artifacts from locations identified by the metal detectors and maintained the provenience of the artifacts.  They also retrieved artifacts from an ice house pit below the south end of the ridge.  Based on the artifacts this does not appear to be the Mount Arundel site.  There were some rosehead nails, but most of the artifacts were more later.  The oldest artifact was a button possibly dating from 1780-1810 that was found by Steve on the far north end of the ridge.  

A little of every activity

Checking out what
Metal Detector detected

Clearing path for
Metal Detector

Back of Button

Recording location

Thanks to Ned for the info and the photos.  He actually sent lots of photos. 

Monday November 11 was a sunny fall day.  Denise, Doug and Linda joined Esther to clean undergrowth and briars from two strips of land at the Mount Arundel site in preparation for metal detecting this Saturday. 
Thanks to Linda for the info.

Monday October 14 we continued to work in the same area as last week.  Esther ran lines to several new points.  In the morning Denise and Mary dug (mostly Denise dug and Mary screened) several STP's.  A lot of rusted metal from a collapsed building, a few pieces of glass, and one ceramic was uncovered. After lunch Esther joined in the fun and helped to dig additional STP's in a wooded area. We finished the day by driving around the fields to check on the status of the soybean crop.  Not ready to harvest as of now.

The weather was delightful and the soil was easily dug, so a good day in the field.
Thanks to Mary for the info.

Monday October 7 was another beautiful day to be in the field.  Denise, Mary, Elsie, and Carol volunteered with Esther to dig four more STPs at Maxwell Hall Site 4.  This involved Esther and Denise cutting paths to the STP locations.  Each STP had at least one historic artifact.  There were lots of pieces of rusty barb wire as well as an early whiteware ceramics sherd, an oyster shell, and nails.  We even found some English ivy.  Esther reminded us this was where all the daffodils were last spring - another landscape feature that would indicate a residence in the area.  A 1930s aerial shows a building in this area.  Esther thought we should call it the the "Daffodill Site".

Starting to clear a path
into the brush

    

Screening

  

More Screening

 Thanks to Esther for the additional photos and info.

Finally a nice day to be in the field even if it did get cut short by rain.  Monday September 23 Denise, Elsie, Carol along with a new volunteer Jordan joined Esther in the field at Maxwell Hall Site 4.  We dug five STPs and found nineteenth century artifacts in one.  

Documenting

Screening and finding
no material culture artifacts

 

Wednesday July 10 was a hot day (mid to upper 90's).  Even so, Linda, Doug, Denise, and Mary joined Esther to continue walking the field that we had started last week and to continue surface collecting.  Several more artifacts were found including the base of a very nice projectile point and a piece of worked rhyolite.
Thanks to Linda and Mary for the info.

Wednesday July 3 was a nice enough day (not too hot) for Esther and CCASM members Denise, Linda, Doug, and Ned to be in the field at the Equestrian Park.  The farmer had disced the wheat stubble and completed planting soybeans with a drill in the fields on the Red and Blue trails.  Linda, Doug, and Denise walked parts of two of the Blue Trail fields that had been planted after the rain.  Nothing was found in the first field, but we found some shell pieces, a couple of flakes, a possible piece of pipe, and two pieces of ceramics in the second one,
Thanks to Ned, Denise, and Linda for the info.

After a number of months we returned to the Equestrian Park on Wednesday May 29.  Mary, Gary, and Ned joined Esther at an area on the Red Trail.  We dug four STPs in the morning.  Then We explored a continuous shell midden along the shores line with Esther wading in the water and Mary walking the upper bank.  Gary and Ned set flags at 100 ft intervals to indicate an area to be explode in the future.

Always paths to clear

Stopping for a photo

Thanks to Mary and Ned for the info and thanks to Mary for the photos.

Monday November 6 we returned to the Equestrian Park.  The farmer had just harvested soybeans in part of a field that supposedly had an early colonial building.  CCASM members Ned, Peggy, Linda, Elsie, and Carol along with two repeat volunteers Doria and Melaney joined Esther to surface collect for part of the day.  We only found two small bricks, but only a small part of the field had been harvested.  The field was continuing to be harvested while we were there.  After lunch we walked the bluff and on the shore.  Esther found at least two new shell middens, and Linda recorded the locations.  

Surface Collecting

Recording shell midden location

But the most interesting thing found were two U.S. Coast & Geodetic Survey Reference Marks that had fallen down onto the shore of the  Patuxent..  They were labeled Fodder No. 1 and Fodder No. 2 and were dated 1943.  Two reference marks are needed to determine a boat's location on the River.

Geodetic Survey Reference Markers.

Thanks to Ned for the additional photo and for the photos of the markers.

Monday October 23 we were able to finish surveying this site (18CH101).  CCASM members Mary, Peggy, Denise, Elsie, Ned , and Jim continued digging STPs today.  There were three teams - Elsie and Denise; Peggy and Jim; and Ned and Mary (although Mary helped Esther part of the time).  We did some additional STPs in the road where it bends along the Patuxent and out on the field's edge.
Thanks to Ned for the info and photo.

Monday October 16 was another beautiful but cooler day to be in the field.  CCASM members Mary, Linda, Peggy, Denise, Carol, and Ned joined Esther at the site to dig nine additional STPs.  After laying out the grid we divided into two teams with Ned assisting where needed, especially when the digging through the root filled soil became difficult.  The STPs did start to define the edges of the shell midden with some STPs having essentially no shells and at least one having a buried layer of densely packed shells.  A small amount of worked lithics were recovered.

On Monday September 19, a beautiful day to be in the field,  CCASM members Elsie, Mary, Linda, Pat, Carol, and Ned joined Esther to dig shovel test pits (STPs) at the Chalk Point Site in an area above where a shell midden had been found on the shore.  We dug eight STPs and found lots of shells in at least three of them as well as a small amount of worked lithics.  

Laying out grid

STP Team A

STP Team B

STP Team C

Documenting

Shells from STP

Thanks to Ned and Pat for the additional photos.

For archaeology done during the initial part of the grant
Volunteering for "Maxwell Hall: Discovering and Raising New Voices"

2024 Charles County Holiday Tour

The 2024 Charles County Holiday Tour will be December 7-8.   Four sites in the Historic Port Tobacco Village are participating in the event on Saturday December 7.

Link to information on other sites 2024 Holiday Tour

Burch House

Saturday, Dec 7 10am-4pm)

Be sure to stop by Burch House in the Historic Village of Port Tobacco to enjoy Christmas decorations from a simpler time.  You can make a Christmas ornament to keep or to hang on the tree, learn about the history and archaeology associated with Burch House.  Don't forget to visit the Archaeology Lab to learn about archaeology and see some of the tools archaeologist use.  There will be cookies.  Charles County Archaeological Society of Maryland, Inc (CCASM) members will be staffing Burch House during the event.   

To learn more about Burch House check out Archaeology Lab at Historic Burch House.

 

Location of Burch House
in Village of Port Tobacco

Investigating the James Swann Site -2024

CCASM and other Monday volunteers are working with Esther Read to continue the investigation of the James Swann Site that is now owned by Charles County.  James Swann was a "free man of color" (believed to be Native American) that acquired land in Port Tobacco in 1840's and operated a tavern and oyster house in the village for almost twenty-five years. 

Check Public Archaeology Lab Days post for weekday schedule and Public Archeology days;

For the Public Archeology weekend of October 26 and 27 the weather could not have been better. On Saturday volunteers worked on the last openned unit while Esther troweled a plow scar in a previous unit.  Steve shoveled out the plow zone of the unit, removing most of the soil on Saturday and completing it on Sunday.  So on Saturday Claudia, Linda, Elsie, Mary, and Carol were kept busy screening.  We found lots of small artifacts. Remember this was a plow zone.  For the artifact of the day we chose a small black button and a black faceted object that would have been inset into a button or a piece of jewelry.

The Soil Removers

The Screeners

Two Interesting
Artifacts

On Sunday two new volunteers - Alex and Shawn - joined Denise, Elsie, Carol, Steve and Esther for the day.  Carol worked with them as they learned how to trowel and actually troweled part of a plow scar in the unit Esther had been working on Saturday. Alex was excited to uncover what she thought might be a whole brick but turned out to be just a large fragment of a brick.  Steve finished shoveling the plow zone of the other unit. Esther troweled the unit down and was able to take the final picture and to close out the unit.  That means Denise and Elsie were kept busy screening.  Overall we recovered three bags of artifacts from this unit.  The unit with the plow scars is still open and still perplexing.

First-time Trovelers

Not first-time Screeners

Thanks to Esther for additional photo.

Monday September 16 Denise, Carol, and Esther returned to the site to continue toweling the plow scars in three units.  We are seeing several post mold outlines as well as what might be individual post holes.  Lots of possible scenarios.  We will just need to keep investigating.

The weekend of September 14 and 15 was a great time to be in the field.  On Saturday morning Carol and Esther were joined be Tiara, Ann, Kim, and Ella.  Tiara has volunteered before and helped Ann, Kim, and Ella open up a new unit.  Carol troweled while Esther drew unit profiles and talked to several visitors to the site.
On Sunday it was another nice day.  Tim joined Denise and Carol to trowel plow scars in hope the scars were obscuring other more interesting features.  Esther continued documenting - a never ending task.

Opening a new unit
(with three first timers)

Troweling plow scars
(and documenting)

Finally a day that was not too hot.  Monday September 9 Elsie, Carol, Malinda, and Jadyn were in the field at the Swann Site while Denise worked in the lab at Burch House.  Elsie, Carol, and Jadyn troweled while Malinda screened.  It was Jadyn's first time troweling.  The purpose of troweling is to help us see soil color changes in the floor of the unit, and this unit had a lot going on that we haven't figured out yet. Esther continued drawing profiles for previous units.  Documentation seems to be a never ending task.

Troweling

The lone screener

Although Monday July 8 was really hot, Esther with CCASM members Denise and Mary as well as two newer volunteers Kyle and Jadyn were in the field to get Unit eleven, Level 1 to a stopping point until the weather becomes less hot and we can work on the site again. They were able to finish cleaning up the level and straightening the sides by lunch time.  In the afternoon they decided to work in the air-conditioned lab.  Esther will still need to come out to do the drawings, probably in the mornings when it is not as hot.

Monday July 1 turned out to be a really nice day - much cooler than it had been in weeks.  So, of course, everyone decided to be in the field at the Swann Site.  Claudia, Linda, and Carol screened.  Initially Denise helped with the shoveling, and Ned helped wherever he was needed.  In the afternoon everyone ended up screening since there were so many buckets of soil needing to be screened. 

We found a number of small interesting ceramics but chose this dirty gray stoneware sherd as the artifact of the day.  Some of the glaze appears to be slightly brown.  We will need to wash it to see if it is glaze or just dirt.  (Update: after washing could definitely identify it as a piece of English brown stoneware.)

Stoneware Sherd

Looking for artifacts in the shade on a nice day

 

 

Monday June 24 was another hot and Esther decided to limit the number of people in the field.  CASSM members Ned and Mary along with new volunteers Kyle and Rosanna continued to work on the unit.  They started around 10 and stopped around 12:30 in order to take advantage of the cooler(?) temperatures in the morning.  Esther thinks one more day is needed to close the unit for the summer.

The temperature was predicted to be in the nineties on Monday June 17, so most of the volunteers decided to work in the lab.  Ned and Esther were joined by two younger volunteers, Kyle and Noah, who shoveled soil from the latest test unit in the morning.  Kyle’s sister took photos before helping Ned with sifting in the morning.  The soil had such hard dry lumps that it required frequent spraying with water so that hard lumps could be broken to go through the screen.  After lunch Kyle, Noah, Esther, and Ned all did screening.

Thanks to Ned for the information.

Even though we had just spent two days in the field, on Monday June 3 Linda, Mary, and Claudia volunteered with Esther at the site.  They were joined by two new volunteers--Rosanna and Kyle Swann.  Esther opened a new unit where the bottle seal had been found.  She thinks the seal may belong to Daniel St Thomas Jenifer.
At lunch time Ned dropped by.  He and Mary drove Claudia and the two Swann family volunteers to see Dr King's site at Chapel Point, and everyone got a tour of the site.
 

Glass Bottle Seal

Two Public Archaeology Days were held the weekend of June 1 and 2.  Saturday was a slow day since so many other activities were going on that day.  Still Ned and Denise enjoyed working with Esther on the site.  On Sunday Denise, Mary, Ned, Steve, Frank, and Carol volunteered.  During the day four members of the public joined us to help screen and even do a little troweling.  While most of us worked on two of the open units, Mary assisted Steve as he metal detected around the units looking for nails (iron). While verifying what had been detected, they found a wine bottle seal fragment.  The fragment had partial initials of "T" and "I".  So of course, it was chosen as the artifact of the day.  Now we need to research to find an individual living in or near Port Tobacco with those initials

What did metal detector find?

Just looking

That looks interesting

Metal Artifact

On Monday May 20 we continued working on the unit that had been opened on Sunday.  Claudia, Elsie, Mary, Kathy, Carol, and Malinda screened with Denise helping with the screening when she was not flat shoveling.  Esther finally got a chance to do the drawings.  We chose this metal object that was recovered from the new unit as the artifact of the day.  We do not know what it is, but it is interesting.  We also recovered a vareity of other artifacts - everything from small flakes to green edged ware rims.

Lots of screeners needed

Documenting Units

Public Archaeology was planned for the weekend of May 18 and 19.  The weather was not that cooperative, and we could not be out in the field on Saturday.  However, Sunday turned out to be a nice day to do public archaeology.  Steve dug (a lot) while Denise, Elsie, Doug, and Linda screened.  Visitors included Jesse Swann (who also helped the screeners)along with his wife and his daughter.  Jesse's family have a connection to the site.
(Thanks to Elsie for the update.)

Monday April 15 (Tax Day) turned out to one of the warmest days so far this year.  We decided to quit early when we finished the current unit rather than starting a new unit.  Denise dug and helped Esther as Esther troweled and completed the unit.  Claudia, Mary, Elsie, Linda, and Carol screened.  The screeners got the tent.

Screeners shaded by the tent

Lots of sun for those in the field

We returned to the site Monday April 8 and continued excavating the new unit.  It's amazing how many buckets of soil needing to be screened that one person digging can generate.  Denise did most of the digging while Esther cleaned up and documented.  Tim joined  CCASM members Claudia, Elsie, Linda, Gary, Mary, and Carol to screen.  With all the other historic and Native American artifacts we found another projectile point (Piscataway).

We stopped around 2pm to have a solar eclipse viewing party. Linda brought snacks.

Lots to screen.  Luckily there lots of
people here to screen

Taking a break or
giving the screeners a chance to catch up?

Sunday April 7 ten people (including six CCASM members and two of Esther's former students) joined Esther at the Swann Site for a Public Archaeology Day.  It was another beautiful but somewhat balmy day.  Excavation of the first level of the partial unit with a possible post hole was completed, and another unit to the south was opened.  We recovered historic artifacts - bricks, ceramics, glassware, pipe stems, rosehead nails, gun flint, ... and Native American Ceramics - fire cracked rocks, flakes, and one complete stemmed projectile point.  CCASM members helping were Mary, Elsie, Denise, Claudia, Carol, and Jim.

Checking out post hole/mold

How did one partial unit generate
so much soil?

Earthenware Sherd

 Whenever it is sunny and not too hot we plan to be in the field at the Swann Site on Mondays.  Monday March 25 was one of those days. Esther dug part of the west half of the open unit with a post hole.  The dirt kept Elsie, Denise, Pat, Carol, and Malinda busy screening until past our usual quitting time.   There were a number of historic and indigenous artifacts recovered in the screen- ceramics, glass, nails, brick, flakes,... 
We chose one of the larger fragments that was not a brick as the artifact of the day.  It was an early lead glazed red earthenware sherd.

More hands make screening go faster

Monday March 18 was a nice but windy day to be in the field.  Esther with help from Elsie continued excavating the partial unit and found two post holes.  In the morning Claudia, Carol, and Malinda screened while Ned cleaned off the area north of foundation in preparation for a future unit there.  In the afternoon Malinda joined Mary and Linda in the lab and Elsie helped with the screening.  We were finding historic and native American artifacts.

Trying to pry buckets apart
(Took a really long time)

Screening on a windy day

Clinched Rose-head Nail

 

Monday March 4 turned out to be another nice day to be in the field.  Ned with some help from Cal, a new Charles County Planning employee, excavated a partial unit on the west side of the open units to look for another post mold.  Claudia, Elsie, Linda, Carol, and Cal screened. 
We ended up choosing this clinched Rose-head Nail as the artifact of the day.  It is on a dirty overturned plastic bucket; the only light colored background we could find.

Ned starting partial unit

Screening

More Screening

On a beautiful Monday (February 26) several of us returned to the Swann Site to work on completing a unit while others worked inside in the lab.  Elsie and Mary worked with Esther to clean up the bottom of the unit so the features in the bottom of the unit could be documented.  Ned and Peggy helped but also worked on cleaning up the site for us to return soon.

Cleaning bottom of unit

Post mold excavated

Screening newly excavated dirt
into another completed unit

Thanks to Ned for the photos. 

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Investing the James Swann Site -2023