2025 Public Archeology Lab Days (July- Sept)

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.

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

 Next dates: 
Note: (We try to post the latest schedule as soon as we get it - may not get until Monday morning. 
            Being in the field depends on the weather - if it's not raining and not too hot.)
Fall School Visits on Mondays scheduled Sept 22, Sept 29, Oct 6, Oct 13, and Oct 20 (make-up day)

  Monday,       Sept  1  Holiday - No Lab
  Monday,       Sept  8   Field Work Near Marshall Hall
  Wednesday, Sept 10  Possible field work near Marshall Hall
  Sunday,        Sept 14  Possible field work near Marshall Hall
  Monday,       Sept 15  Possible field work near Marshall Hall
  Monday,       Sept 22  TBD
  Monday,       Sept 29  TBD

Monday August 11 Claudia, Linda, Peggy, and Carol were at Burch House and finished the sorting and bagging of all the remaining Swann Site artifacts recovered to date.  Denise, Malinda, and Kathy were in the field.  The base of two Swann Site units were troweled to better see any features.  This did produce five additional artifacts.

Monday August 4 was a short day in the Lab.  After Denise, Claudia, and Carol finished sorting and bagging the artifacts from the four trays of artifacts recovered from the same Swann Site provenience, we all decided to stop for the day.  Another tray had a small number of artifacts from several Swann Site provieneces that Malinda bagged and sorted, and Linda washed most of the remaining artifacts - not that much left.

Monday July 28 was another day in the lab at Burch House.  Everyone (Elsie, Denise, Claudia, Malinda, Kathy, and Carol) worked on sorting artifacts from four trays of artifacts recovered from the same provenience.  The tray highlighted last week was just one of those trays.  So each person worked on a different type of artifact - glass or ceramics or lithics or nails or brick or ...  We almost got everything sorted and bagged, and we plan to finish up next week. 

Tray of washed Swann Site artifacts

 
Monday July 21 we had seven people working at Burch House on Swann Site artifacts either washing or sorting and bagging.  It's been a while since we've had that many.  Jack joined Elsie, Denise, Linda, Malinda, Kathy, and Carol as we worked on the artifacts.  Since it's was Jack's first time, Linda gave him a tour of Burch House and worked with him as he washed Swann Site artifacts.  We decided to choose that tray of washed artifacts as the "artifact' of the day.  The tray includes a wide variety of artifacts - fragments of bricks, oyster shells, ceramics (decorated and plain), bottle glass, window glass, a tooth. and even a tobacco pipe stem.  If you blow up the image, you may see more.

Pipe Bowl Fragment

Monday July 14 we were back in the Lab at Burch House.  Denise, Claudia, and later Linda continued to wash, sort, and bag artifacts recovered from the Swann Site.  Linda also spent time straightening up Burch House, and Denise inventoried remaining artifact bags. Carol sorted and bagged artifacts from BF1-1-4.  It is from these artifacts that we selected an artifact of the day.  The artifact of the day is a fragment of a tobacco pipe bowl with a partial maker's mark that is somewhat distinctive - a "D" inside what appears to be a heart with additional geometric symbols (diamond circle, bar, possibly a stylized Fleur-di-lei) under the initial.  There isn't enough to identify the maker but there was a mid-eighteenth century London pipe maker whose makers mark was a TD inside a circle or heart.  Interestingly there are several seventeenth maker marks with initials and a stylized Fleur-di-lei inside a heart.  Maybe someone else will be able to identify the maker. 

2025 Public Archaeology Days (Apr-Jun) -- 2025 Public Archaeology Lab Days (Jan-Mar)  
2024 Public Archaeology Lab Days (Oct-Dec) --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

September CCASM Meeting

September 18, 2025 (7 PM) 

Strata Florida Archaeology
Field School

Volunteering in Wales

Join us to hear Patricia Vazquez share her experiences from her 2024 and 2025 trips to Wales to volunteer at Strata Florida Archaeological Field School.  She will talk about her experience at that dig and give some tips to anyone interested in volunteering at that site.   Patricia will also touch on the use of archaeology to improve mental health, a practice that is employed at Strata Florida and at several archaeological sites internationally.  

Patricia Vazquez
CCASM Vice President

 

A Zoom link will be sent to CCASM members who can not attend in person.  Non-members will need to email ccasm2010@gmail.com by September 16 to request the link.

Location: La Plata Police Department Community Room, 101 La Grange Ave, La Plata, MD (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.


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 or else be conducted via Zoom if a link has already been set up.
Call the 24-hour information line [301-934-7410 or 301-932-6656] to hear if there are any closure announcements. If there aren't any closure announcements, then CCASM activities will proceed as planned. 

Processing Artifacts from Teagues Point

This year the Tyler Bastian Field Session was held at the Teagues Point archeological site (18CH1005) near Hughesville, Maryland in Charles County.   The artifacts recovered are now being processed at the Maryland Historical Trust (MHT) Archaeological Lab at 100 Community Place, Crownsville, MD.  Check out ASM Field Session to see the some of artifacts recovered.

Normally labs are on Tuesdays and sometimes on Thursdays.  For the status of the lab Zachary Singer (State Terrestrial Archaeologist) sends out weekly emails.  If you would like to volunteer at the Lab, contact Zac at zachary.singer@maryland.gov

 

Sorting and Bagging Teagues Point Artifacts

After processing the artifacts will be stored at the Maryland Archaeological Conservation Laboratory (MAC Lab).