Charles County Archaeological Society of Maryland

July 9, 2026

Living History at Rich Hill

Join CCASM and representatives of numerous local historic sites and organizations for a fun day of music, food, demonstrations and entertainment at

Historic Rich Hill

Saturday July 11 (10am - 4pm)

9135 Bel-Alton Newtown Road, Bel Alton, MD

July 8, 2026

2026 Public Archaeology Days (Jul-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.

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 or too cold.)

Monday, Jul 6  (11am - 3pm) Port Tobacco (lab or field TBD)
  Saturday, Jul 11  (10am - 4pm) in field at Rich Hill Ghost Structure Site

  A 250th Event: Living History at Historic Rich Hill (10am - 4pm)
Note: CCASM members are needed to help out at our table outside Rich Hill.
Contact Elsie Picyk if you can help.
Multiple organizations will have tables there for the Event.

Monday, Jul 13  (11am - 3pm) Port Tobacco (lab or field TBD)
Monday, Jul 20  (11am - 3pm) Port Tobacco (lab or field TBD)
Monday, Jul 27  (11am - 3pm) Port Tobacco (lab or field TBD)

Rich Hill Ghost Structure
ceramics

July 6 was a really hot day. So everyone was inside. Claudia, Denise, Evie, Linda, and Caleb washed or bagged artifacts at Burch House. A tray of ceramics that were collected from a unit/level at the Rich Hill Ghost Structure was chosen as the "artifact" of the day. Really an impressive amount of ceramics.
In the morning Esther and Elsie worked at the Courthouse creating pull slips and doing other paper work associated with Rich Hill artifacts that will be used in a CCASM display July 11 for Rich Hill's 250th Event. Esther had brought a display cube so the artifacts could be displayed securely.
In the afternoon everyone was at Burch House. Tim and Ben the dog had joined us for the day. Tim showed Linda and Elsie how to run a slide show on Linda's computer using the Rich Hill archaeology pictures that Elsie had collected and placed on a flash drive. This would be used at the July 11 event.

Thanks to Elsie for info and to Linda for photo.

July 2, 2026

2026 Public Archaeology Days (Apr-Jun)

Here is what we were doing the second quarter of 2026.
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Mulberry Grove artifacts

On June 29 Elsie and Linda stayed cool in Burch House. Linda sorted and bagged artifacts from Swann and Mulberry grove while Elsie washed artifacts from Swann. The screen shows some of the artifacts recovered from Mulberry Grove. Esther indicated that finding the Rhenish stoneware and the yellow ceramic floor tiles may mean we have found the original 18th century kitchen.
Rich, Denise, Caleb, Claudia and Esther braved the humidity at the Swann site. Claudia and Denise screened while Rich dug and Caleb alternatively assisted Rich or Claudia and Denise. Esther worked on still another plow scar and did some documentation paper work.
After lunch Rich and Claudia went to Rich Hill to cover the units with plastic with the hopes of keeping some of the moisture from recent rains in the units.

Thanks to Elsie for info and photo.

On June 15 Linda, Claudia, and Kathy were in the Lab at Burch House sorting and bagging artifacts from Rich Hill and from the Swann site. I think the drying screens are empty again. These two sherds with an interesting design were chosen for the artifact of the day. They were recovered from Rich Hill and appear to be from the same vessel.
Meanwhile upstairs at the Courthouse Lab Esther and Elsie selected Rich Hill artifacts to be used in a CCASM display at a Rich Hill event in July.

Thanks to Elsie for info and to Linda for photo.

June 8 - in field at Swan site - no info

On June 1 most of us were in the field at the Swann Site. Esther excavated yet another plow scar. Rich continued digging out the unit we had opened last time we were there. Claudia, Elsie, and Mimi mostly screened. Caleb assisted Rich digging but also did some screening and some work on the plow scar. Because of a bad shoulder Linda processed artifacts at Burch House. She chose this brick corner fragment as the artifact of the day.

The volunteers

Brick fragment

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

May 18 - in field Mulberry Grove - no info.

Rhenish salt glazed stoneware
(penny for size reference)

To coincide with the Maryland House and Garden Tours on Saturday May 16 Esther had been asked to investigate a small area at historic Mulberry Grove. Elsie, Melinda, Kathy, Linda, Doug, Denise, Claudia joined Esther to put in 4' X 4' unit next to where the homeowner had found 'blue & white ceramics'. The owners thought it was a privy site, but the soil was like concrete. Denise, Esther, Elsie, and Doug took turns trying to shovel, making very slow progress. Claudia frequently sprayed down the unit with water but that still didn't help much. When not shoveling most of us joined Linda & Malinda with screening. At first we were finding mostly modern artifacts. We eventually stopped skim shoveling, and Linda, Elsie, and Esther troweled,. Sometimes we had to use a brick hammer to break up the soil. Since there was no observable differences in soil color or texture, Esther decided to determine the strata by arbitrary depths as opposed to looking for soil changes. We took half of the unit down through a second strata and began to find much older artifacts - Rhenish salt glazed stoneware, whiteware, two ceramic floor tiles, plus some prehistoric artifacts. We chose the Rhenish sherd as the artifact of the day. Most of the oldest material was found embedded in the northern wall. On Monday we will probably put in a small unit extending one foot to two feet from the north wall of the original unit.

We were digging right next to the visitor parking area and interacted with many visitors.

Trying to trowel unit
(water sprayer in foreground)

Looks like screeners are
having more fun

Thanks to Elsie for info and Esther for photos.

Blue Flow Rim

Due to the weather we could not be in the field on May 11. Linda, Denise, Elsie, Evie, Claudia, and Rich were at Burch House with Esther. Everybody was in different rooms doing different tasks but we did choose this flow blue rim as the artifact of the day. It had been recovered during the recent excavations at the Rich Hill.
Thanks to Claudia for the photo and the info.

April 20 while Esther was away, Linda showed Denise, Elsie, Claudia, and Carol the possible activities she would be using at the "CCASM" talk she is giving at the Library this coming Saturday and next Thursday. We had thought one would be more for children and one would be more for teens and adults, but the library advertised both for children. Then Linda reviewed the new annual Photo contest that SRPT is having. Linda has been quite busy. Then after lunch it was back to cataloging 1970s PT artifacts. Elsie and Denise worked on miscellaneous while Carol and Linda worked on pearlware.

April 13 was an interesting day at Burch House. Outside Linda, Malinda, and Elsie created a flower garden behind Burch House in an area that had been cleared of weeds. They laid down cardboard, covered that with soil, and scattered lots of different types of flower seeds in a relatively small area. It will be interesting to see how this turns out. Inside Carol and Esther looked at nails recovered from behind Stagg Hall and verified that most of the nails had been machine cut - somewhat of a surprise.

The April 6 Lab day was part clean up day and a little bit of lab work at Burch House. The inside of Burch House was in a little bit of disarray after the "Rich Hill" furniture that was being stored at Burch House was finally able to be moved to Rick Hill. Linda, Denise, Elsie, Claudia, Evie, Kathy, Malinda, and Carol were there to help - rearranging the remaining furniture, dusting, and sweeping up (a lot of stink bugs). Elsie and Claudia went outside to weed the area near the road. Linda, Denise, and Evie inventoried the bags and other supplies and did miscellaneous other things. Kathy, Malinda, and Carol started combining and processing three screens for FS23 from Swann Site.

June 23, 2026

Returning to Rich Hill - 2026

In 2021 a mid-nineteenth century Corn House was to be moved to Rich Hill, a historic property owned by Charles County, and we had to find an area away from the house where there were no artifacts. Rich Hill-2021 We found that area and the Corn House was moved. However, while looking for an area with no artifacts, we also found an area with artifacts - mostly nineteenth century. This appears to be the location of a cabin.

In 2025 Esther Read along with CCASM members and other volunteers returned to that site at Rich Hill to learn more about who might have occupied this cabin that was far from the main house but close to an old road. Rich Hill-2025 If none of the artifacts found date after 1865, the cabin could have been a slave cabin. If a number of artifacts found date after 1865 the cabin could have been used by formerly enslaved people but may also have previously been a slave cabin.

In 2026 the Historical Society of Charles County received a check from the Maryland House and Garden Pilgrimage for the building of the Ghost Structure at the Rich Hill Cabin Site. The Ghost Structure at Rich Hill is dedicated to interpreting and preserving the historic landscape, and to honoring the lives and enduring legacy of the enslaved men, women, and children who lived and labored on this property.

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Piscataway
point

Saturday June 20 Esther and Rich finished digging unit 20. The soil is hard - as it is everywhere in the county due to the lack of rain - but we're down almost a foot at the base of the Plow Zone in unit 20. We have to put a small 2x2 ft unit into the corner to finish out the subsoil level. We're still working on units 21 and 22. Unit 18 is almost down to the subsoil. Esther is still trying to figure out exactly where Unit 19 should go - it will be over the door post location.
Claudia and Elsie along with Aaliyah and Trevan from Advanced Agricultural General Contracting screened. There were lots of ceramics, a couple of nails - including rosehead ones, glass, fire cracked rock and a Piscataway projectile point (Late Archaic/Early Woodland). The point was chosen as the artifact of the day.

Advanced Architectural General Contracting, the contractor for ghost cabin, provided mid-morning snacks and lunch. Rich Hill docents Mike and Jane visited us at lunch, and we had another set of visitors in the afternoon.
Thanks to Elsie and Esther for the info and to Esther for the photo.

April 27 Esther was at Rich Hill to dig small units for the Ghost House footers. The dig went well. We opened two units but did not finish. We'll be going back, not sure of the dates yet. We have through the end of July to get this done. Thanks to Ned for mowing around the units. Melinda and Claudia helped with the set up and ran the screens. We have three new volunteers who came out to help.
Thanks to Esther for the info.
(Note: Rich Hill still has poison ivy, and the roots may show up in the screens. Claudia and Melinda were the only ones willing to possibly get poison ivy, and they did.)

May 13, 2026

2026 Annual Business/Potluck Meeting, New Officers plus Talk and Tour of Rich Hill

CCASM held its annual meeting with a Potluck supper on Saturday May 9 outside at Historic Rich Hill.

We sat under a shade tree near the rail fence. Linda brought a table for the food. Ned brought four card tables and twelve chairs. There were nine of us: Mike, Linda and Doug, Denise and Joe, Elsie, Claudia, Peggy, and Ned.

Elsie "volunteered" to be in charge of the annual business meeting and read the President's Report. Of course, she also gave the treasurer's report. Linda provided the minutes for the last meeting (and took minutes for this meeting). Ned read a presentation to Carol, the retiring CCASM president.

The business meeting was first followed by the meal. The food was great. After eating while we were sitting outside, Mike Mazzeo gave a preliminary talk about the rehabilitation of Historic Rich Hill. He gave a great talk when we were inside.

Michael J. Mazzeo, Jr. is the Vice-President of the Historical Society of Charles County and Chair of the Friends of Rich Hill.

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Elections for CCASM Officers and Members at Large are every two years, and this was an election year. Peggy, who was on the Elections Committee, gave the results at the meeting.
The officers for the next two years starting on June 1 2026 are

President - Ned Edelen
Vice-President - TBD
Secretary - Linda Talley
Treasurer - Elsie Picyk
Members at Large - Denise Chelsedine, Carol Cowherd

Thank to Ned for the info and photos

May 5, 2026

Investigating the James Swann Site - 2026

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. We are currently looking for an eighteenth century building associated with an earlier owner.

Check Public Archaeology Lab Days post for weekday schedule.

Troweling and
opening a new unit

Monday May 4 Denise, Linda, Claudia, Elsie, and Carol were joined by Rich, a new volunteer. Rich had previously volunteered with Esther at Rich Hill. Denise, Carol, and Esther troweled down the area around the plow scars so Esther could try to document what was going on in the unit. Rich, Claudia, Linda, and Elsie worked on opening a new unit although Carol and Elsie also screened for those troweling.

Near the end of day

Saturday May 2 Denise and Elsie volunteered with Esther at the Swann Site for a Public Archaeology Day going on during Market Day. Actually Market Day was 9-2 and Public Archaeology was 10-4. I believe this was our first time back this year. We continued troweling two plow scars. Some people did visit, and one boy volunteered for most of the afternoon and got to screen and to trowel. Here is a photo (that is also shown on the Market Day blog).

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Investing the James Swann Site -2025
Investing the James Swann Site -2024
Investing the James Swann Site -2023

May 3, 2026

2026 Port Tobacco Market Day

The Society for the Restoration of Port Tobacco's Seventeenth Annual Market Day was held May 2 in Historic Port Tobacco Village. CCASM was there as well as local craft vendors, the garden club plant sale, a white elephant sale, and tables for various nonprofits. And what would a market day outside a courthouse be without musicians? Everything from banjos to the youth orchestra.

CCASM put out its display highlighting some of the history of Port Tobacco including some of the results from archaeology done around 2008 in the Historic Port Tobacco Village and most of the visitors stopped by to look at this display. We have had the display for a lot of years, but it always seems to attract people. A visit to the CCASM tent would not be complete without there being some activity. This year we had an activity that highlighted the three different type of ceramics- earthenware, stoneware, and porcelain. A potter stopped by to talk to us about some of the ceramics. So we had an opportunity to learn. We also had two flag "plates" for people to mend, but only had one person who tried. We talked to so many people who expressed an interest in archaeology. It was a very good day (in spite of being so cold).

CCASM's Table

Public Archaeology is that way

Since the ASM Field Session will be in Charles County again this year, we made sure to tell everyone about this unique opportunity. In case people didn't know what people do a field session, we had a display showing what to expect, and a number of people scanned the QR code.

Public Archaeology was occurring at the same time at the Swann Site to the southwest of the Courthouse. We directed a number of people to the site where CCASM members Denise and Elsie were assisting Esther Doyle Read, the Charles County Archaeologist.

Esther with CCASM volunteers (some helping, some watching)
and a boy that volunteered most of the day.

Thanks to Linda, Claudia, and Carol for representing CCASM at this event. Also thanks to Linda and Doug for providing the table and the large tent.

May 1, 2026

CCASM Talks at Public Library

April is Maryland Archaeology Month and is also Charles County Archaeology Month. So April was the month CCASM chose to give a talk at the Charles County Public Library.

Linda Talley

Linda Talley put together a talk entitled "Things Left Behind" and gave it on Saturday April 25 (3pm) at the Waldorf West Branch and April 30 (6pm) at the main library in La Plata. The library advertised the talks as being for children and tweens. At least fifteen children and adults came to each talk.

Not only did Linda give a talk, she also brought tools that archaeologist use including a shaker screen. And there were activities at the end suitable for different ages. Elsie, Carol and Doug were there to help as needed.

Thanks, Linda.
(Sorry I didn't get that great a photo. Archaeology is actually lots of fun.)

April 19, 2026

Search for Early Jesuit Mission at Potopaco

Julia King

Dr. Julia King's talk at the April 16 CCASM Meeting was "Is It or Isn't It?: In Search of the Early Jesuit Mission at Potopaco". Julie discussed archaeological investigations done in 2023 and 2024 at St. Thomas Manor, a Jesuit plantation established ca. 1638 along the Port Tobacco River. The investigations revealed a smattering of artifacts from the 17th century. Taking the form of a whodunit, she marshaled documentary and archaeological evidence and invited audience participation to solve this compelling mystery: who were the Jesuit priests who left behind these ephemeral traces and what does this tell us about the first decades of life on the colonial frontier? As always, additional investigations and funding are needed to help validate the possible answer.

Julia King is a Professor of Anthropology at St. Mary’s College of Maryland with numerous publications and awards.

Once again this was a hybrid meeting with most of the people and the speaker attending in person. Thanks to Jim for allowing us to use his Zoom account, and thanks to Peggy and Natalia for providing the hotspot.

All of us ready for meeting to start

Attendance: 15 (3 via Zoom)

April 18, 2026

2026 ASM Spring Symposium

Saturday April 18th the Archeological Society of Maryland held its 61st Annual Spring Symposium at the Maryland Historical Trust in Crownsville, MD.

The talks at the Symposium included

The Richard E. Stearns Memorial Lecture
Transforming Southern Maryland Landforms: 40 years of Archaeological Observations
James G Gibb
Trowels to Teaching: A Case Study in Embedding Archaeology Education in Applied
Archaeology Programs
Katherine Sterner
The Patawomeck Frontier: Migration and Culture Change along Goose River
John Henshaw
The Iris McGillivray Memorial Lecture
The Past Present and Future of Historic Blandair: Saving an Enslaved Landscape
Kelly Palich
ASM Student Spotlight
Subsistence, Seasonality, and Settlement Patterns in the Late Woodland Chesapeake: Insights
from a Shell Midden Outside Baltimore
Reagan Britt
Underwater Archaeology and the Maryland Maritime Archaeology Program
Troy Nowak

2026 program/agenda

CCASM members Ned, Carol, and Jim attended.
(You would think we could get three people together for a picture, but no luck.)

April 14, 2026

April is Declared Charles County Archaeology Month (2026)

Once again the Charles County Commissioners proclaimed the month of April as Archaeology Month in Charles County. This coincides with April being Maryland Archaeology Month.

Elsie, Carol, Ned, and Linda represented CCASM at the presentation April 14 at the Charles County Government Building.

photo from Charles County Government Photo Gallery

The proclamation sites the rich history and heritage of Charles County, exemplified by historic buildings, cultural landmarks, natural features, and local rituals. It recognizes that the county is enhanced by historic preservation associations, groups, and professionals who donate countless hours and dollars to preserve that history. Also it specifically mentions Charles County Archaeological Society of Maryland, Inc, Maryland Archeological Society, Inc., and the Maryland Historical Trust.

CCASM gave the each of the Commissioners a copy of this year's Maryland Archaeology Month mini-poster and booklet. This year's theme was "250 Years, Many Voices: Digging into Maryland's Story". We also mentioned the upcoming ASM event that will be in Charles County this year-- the ASM Field Session.

CCASM thanks the Commissioners for recognizing the importance of archaeology in Charles County.

April 1, 2026

2026 Public Archaeology Lab Days (Jan-Mar)

Here is what we were doing the first quarter of 2026.
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March 30 was a special day at Lab. Remember when we found what we thought was a blacksmith site while investing in the northern part of Port Tobacco during 2023 (Fieldwork for Village of Port Tobacco). We recovered so many iron artifacts, and these were sent to the SERC Archaeology Lab (SEAL) to be conserved and cataloged. Today Jim Gibb and many of the SEAL volunteers that had worked on the artifacts brought the conserved artifacts back to Port Tobacco. Josefa O'Malley, who was the team lead, described how the artifacts had been desalinated and then protected with tannic acid. The effort took three years and three months. Josefa also indicated that examination of the artifacts pointed to this being a blacksmith site. In addition to the artifacts themselves, they provided a catalog as well as thumb drives with numerous photos and 3-D images of many of the artifacts.

Boxes containing
processed iron artifacts

Some of larger artifacts
on top of boxes

On March 23 there was only one school group from Dr. Thomas L. Higdon Elementary School in the afternoon. On a windy afternoon Linda gave the introduction to archaeology and then joined Claudia, Denise , and Esther as the students washed artifacts and mended broken ceramics.

March 16 was another day when the weather forecast cancelled the school visits and lab. The weather didn't turn out to be that bad, but it is always good to be safe.

March 9 started much earlier than usual since we needed to set up for a school visit by second graders from Mary B. Neal Elementary School, and they were arriving earlier than usual. This was the first visit on a Monday for this calendar year. There were two groups of students - one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Linda gave her introduction to archaeology talk with lots of examples. Denise, Elsie, Claudia, Evie, and Ned guided the students through two activities - washing artifacts and mending broken ceramics. It was a great day to be outside.

Once again Lab (Feb 23) was cancelled due to weather. On Monday March 2 only Esther, Linda, Claudia and Elsie were at the Lab in the Courthouse. Linda, Claudia, and Else sorted artifacts from BF1-BF Lot 68 artifacts (all the miscellaneous artifacts that didn't fit into one of the larger categories) into the groups used for cataloging. We picked this engraver's plate as the artifact of the day. We are including it's mirror image in hopes of you being able to read part of it. Esther worked on organizing Rich Hill artifacts and getting Maxwell Hall artifacts ready for storage at the Mac Lab.

Engraver's Plate

Mirror Image

Thanks to Elsie for the info and to Linda for the photo,

Well the snow and freezing rain came. Monday Jan 26 we were either trying to shovel out our driveways or were snow/ice bound. Monday Feb 2 most roads were better but the Courthouse Parking Lot was not plowed, and we couldn't have lab. On Monday Feb 9 the Parking Lot had been cleared, but when got there, the walkway was not cleared. Linda, Denise, Elsie, Malinda, Carol, and Ned joined Esther to gingerly walk over the frozen walkway to the Courthouse, While the rest of us were inside discussing how we could help with several displays Linda plans to put up in the Courthouse, Ned was outside chopping away the ice so we would have a clear path for getting back to our cars. It took him several hours to do this. Thanks Ned!

Tin-glazed Sherd

Monday January 19 we once again divided up. Claudia and Malinda continued to work on more recently recovered artifacts at Burch House. Denise, Elsie, Carol, and Linda were at the Courthouse working on artifacts recovered at Port Tobacco around 1970. Carol and Linda continued cataloging BF1-BF refined earthenware. Denise and Elsie completed cataloging all the BF1-BF glassware!! Yay! Look back through the blog to see how long they have been working on this.
The artifact of the day probably should have been the last BF-BF1 glass artifact catalogued, but instead we chose this tin-glazed rim sherd. The almost pastel bands were unusual.

Monday January 12 after a long holiday break nine volunteers met at the Port Tobacco Courthouse. Of course, we had to catch up on what we had been doing. Then Esther started planning for weekend dates when we might have public archaeology events and also suggested other clean-up projects for the Port Tobacco Village. After lunch we split up and got to chose which activity we would like to do. Evie, Claudia, Malinda, and Kathy went to Burch House to finish processing the few remaining artifacts at Burch House. Carol and Denise stayed in the Courthouse and continued the processing of refined ceramics recovered from BF1-BF. Ned, Elsie, and Tim joined Esther to walk the shoreline from the causeway to the place where years ago a wooden casket had eroded into the river. They wanted to mark the location as a reference for an upcoming river restoration project this spring.

March 31, 2026

2026 April is Maryland Archaeology Month

250 Years, Many Voices: Digging into Maryland's Story

Join
- Maryland Historical Trust's Office of Archaeology,
- Archeological Society of Maryland,
- Council for Maryland Archeology,
- Maryland Commission on Indian Affairs,
- and dozens of other organizations and individuals
in a statewide celebration of Maryland's archeological heritage!

Check out https://www.marylandarcheologymonth.org/ to learn more about Maryland Archaeology Month

View/download 2026 Maryland Archeology Month Articles

View www.marylandarcheologymonth.org/2026-events
to find public archaeology opportunities at various sites throughout the state.

CCASM Events during April
(All events are free.)

Thursday, April 16 (7 pm) - Charles County
(CCASM April meeting)
Topic: Is It or Isn't It?: In Search of the Early Jesuit Mission at Potopaco
Speaker: Dr. Julia King

It can be hard to recognize Maryland's earliest English settlements, especially those on the far frontier. Archaeological investigations in 2023 and 2024 at St. Thomas Manor, a Jesuit plantation established ca. 1638 along the Port Tobacco River, revealed a smattering of artifacts from the 17th century. Taking the form of a whodunit, this presentation marshals documentary and archaeological evidence and invites audience participation to solve this compelling mystery: who were the Jesuit priests who left behind these ephemeral traces and what does this tell us about the first decades of life on the colonial frontier?

Location: La Plata Police Department, 101 La Grange Avenue La Plata, MD
Sponsor: Charles County Archaeological Society of Maryland, Inc
Contact: Carol Cowherd ccasm2010@gmail.com

Saturday, April 25 (3 pm) - Charles County
Topic: Archaeology Basics with Charles County Archaeological Society
Speaker: Linda Talley

Ever wondered how scientists and historians learn about human past? That's archaeology! In this exciting presentation, Linda Talley from the Charles County Archaeological Society of Maryland will explain what archaeology is, what an archaeologist does, and even how you can be involved with it!

Location: Charles County Public Library - Waldorf West, 10405 O'Donnell Pl, Waldorf, MD 20603
Sponsor: Charles County Archaeological Society of Maryland, Inc
Contact: Linda Talley ccasm2010@gmail.com

Thursday, April 30 (6 pm) - Charles County
Topic: Archaeology Basics with Charles County Archaeological Society
Speaker: Linda Talley

Location: Charles County Public Library, 2 Garrett Ave, La Plata, MD 20646
Sponsor: Charles County Archaeological Society of Maryland, Inc
Contact: Linda Talley ccasm2010@gmail.com

March 22, 2026

An Afternoon at the Charles County HITS Expo - 2026

On Saturday March 21 Charles County Public Schools once again held its History, Industry, Technology, and Science (H.I.T.S.) Expo at St Charles High School in Waldorf, Maryland. There were forty-five tables and six classroom activities/presentations sponsored by different organizations and school groups with CCASM having two of the tables. A lot was going on with a variety of hands-on activities to engage the students (and the adults).

CCASM's tables included a display depicting the various archaeological skills related to history and science as well as a display with most aspects of an investigation from digging shovel test pits to writing the report. But most of our table space was devoted to two activities. One was called "Archaeologists Dig for Clues" and the other was called "What is it?" We had fun working with the students and their parents as they completed the activities.

Happy to be at the HITS Expo

Completing What Is It? test

Learning about artifacts

Thanks to Claudia, Denise, Linda, and Carol for being there to interact with the students and their parents. Also thanks to Ned for helping to set up.

Click to see the winner of the special History Day award sponsored by the Charles County Archaeological Society of Maryland, Inc.

2026 Charles County History Day

On March 21, 2026 the combined Charles County Public Schools Annual History Day and the Annual Science Fair (now referred to as H.I.T.S.) was once again held at the St Charles High School in Waldorf, Maryland. CCASM sponsored one of the special History awards. The award was $50 and a one-year membership in CCASM.

This year's history topic was "Revolution, Reaction, Reform in History".

The CCASM special History award went to Amina Ziden for the display “Maryland Women’s Suffrage Movement”. Amina attends Matthew Henson Middle School.

Congratulations, --- Amina!

We normally also sponsor a Science Fair award, but we did not have judges this year. An organization has to provide the judges for their award.

March 21, 2026

Revolutionary Homefront in Charles County

Esther Doyle Read

At the March 19 CCASM Meeting Esther Read reviewed the events at the start of the Revolutionary War and how people in Charles County became aware of the events and how they were affected. Of special interest was the 1774 Articles of Association that banned importation of goods from Britain, Ireland, and other territories in the British Empire because one Port Tobacco man did acquire goods that were banned under the Articles. Esther relayed the story of James Graham, a Port Tobacco tailor, that resided on Lot 4 in Port Tobacco. It turns out that the Swann Oyster House Site that CCASM have been helping to investigate is on Lot 4.

Esther Doyle Read is the Archaeologist for Charles County Planning and Growth. She is also an Adjunct Lecturer in the Department of Ancient Studies at UMBC

Attendance: 20 (5 via Zoom)

February 21, 2026

Archaeology in the Middle School Classroom

Sarah Mason
and Julia Berg

At the February 19 CCASM Meeting Julia Berg and Sarah Mason gave examples of how archaeological evidence could make the past tangible and meaningful for students in grades 6–8 (and possibly for us adults too). Julia showed various lesson examples and hands-on activities that gave sixth graders an introduction to archaeology as well as providing additional information for their ancient civilizations classes. Sarah showed how she used photos and artifacts from Montpelier to blend archaeology and history as eighth graders explored the causes and impacts of slavery in colonial times.

Julia and Sarah talked about more ideas and projects than we can summarize in this blog posting. We would recommend you hearing one of their talks in person.

Julia Berg and Sarah Mason are middle school teachers and educational consultants (Digging Deeper Educational Consultants.)

Once again this was a hybrid meeting with the speakers who live on the Eastern Shore presenting via Zoom but with most of the people attending in person. Thanks to Jim for allowing us to use his Zoom account, and thanks to Peggy and Natalia for providing the hotspot.

Almost ready for the meeting to start

Attendance: 12 (4 via Zoom)

February 2, 2026

Jan 2026 ASM Ink Article

The January 2026 Archeological Society of Maryland Newsletter (ASM Ink) contained the following article about CCASM, but it lacked captions on the photos. (Yes, there are photos toward the end.)
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The ASM Chapter in Charles County
Carol Cowherd

I was asked to write something about the Charles County Chapter of ASM, so here goes.

Since we are also the 501(c)3 non-profit organization Charles County Archeological Society of Maryland, Inc, I will refer to us as CCASM. CCASM like the other ASM Chapters is made up of people with the desire to learn about local archaeology and/or history and to interact with others also interested in learning. Our members include a mix of avocational archaeologists, one professional archeologist, and several newer members with no previous experience in archaeology. Most of our members live in Charles County, but we also have members from other parts of Maryland as well as in other states – South Carolina, Pennsylvania, and New York. Since CCASM was incorporated in 2010, our membership seems to stay in the low thirties with the number of active members currently being around ten.

But what does CCASM do?
Our main priorities are meetings, outreach activities, and volunteering for archeology projects in the field and in the lab. You can check out almost everything we have been doing for the past fifteen years by going to the CCASM blog ccarchsoc.blogspot.com/ .

Here is a brief overview.
CCASM meets monthly September through April on the third Thursday of the month in LaPlata and has a potluck meeting in May. We have been lucky that many archeologists in Southern Maryland as well as others have agreed to talk at our meetings. One of our members lets us use his Zoom account so the speaker does not always have to travel to LaPlata. This also allows members who cannot attend in person to hear the talk. I should mention, we are still learning to conduct Zoom meetings.

For outreach CCASM attends at least four events during the year. We have four displays and a number of hands-on activities so we can tailor the display and the activities to use at a given event. Three of the displays are felt covered, and we can modify or change what’s on the display easily. Also the number of activities keeps growing. Here is a photo from the Charles County Public Schools History, Industry, Technology, and Science (HITS) Expo that occurs in March of each year.

CCASM at 2025 Charles County Public Schools HITS Expo

And, of course, many of our members like to volunteer in the lab and in the field. CCASM members as a group (and sometimes individually) have volunteered with a number of archaeologists for various grants. CCASM members mainly volunteer with Esther Doyle Read, the County Archaeologist for Charles County Planning and Growth. Esther holds a Monday Public Archaeology Lab in Historic Port Tobacco in two buildings owned by the Society for Restoration of Port Tobacco and leased by Charles County Tourism. Most Mondays volunteers process artifacts retrieved from Charles County sites. Some Mondays and weekends volunteers are in the field on various Charles County sites investigating the site or doing rescue archaeology or documenting graveyards. Actually, being able to volunteer locally has contributed to CCASM membership. Most people volunteering for Monday Lab tend to join CCASM.

Washing at Burch House

Cataloging at PT Courthouse

In the Field

In 2024 the Charles County Historic Preservation Commission presented CCASM with a Preservation Service Award in recognition of outstanding achievement in and support for furthering the aims of historic preservation in Charles County.
There are a few other things I could add, but that is all for now. If you want to contact us, the CCASM email is ccasm2010@gmail.com.