2025 ASM Field Session in Charles County

From May 23 through June 2 people from all over Maryland as well as some from DC and some from Virginia came to participate in the 2025 Tyler Bastian Field Session at the Teagues Point archeological site (18CH1005), near Hughesville, Maryland.   The Field Session was held by the Archaeological Society of Maryland, Inc (ASM) in cooperation with Maryland Historical Trust (MHT).  Dr. Matt McKnight, MHT Chief Archaeologist, was the Principle Investigator. 

The Site

Matt McKnight
(wearing signature bandana)

 

Some of those participating on May 29

Guiding the Drone 

On May 29 a reporter from WMARTV2 in Baltimore visited the site.  Her report is on Facebook https://ow.ly/8eyn50W3KWX .  It includes drone footage of the site that Stephanie Soder (MHT) had previously taken.  
A final drone flyover was done at the very end of the Session. 
https://www.facebook.com/marylandhistoricaltrust/videos/1254998173015261

 

The site was a mystery.  It was only assigned a site number in September 2023 after a resident contacted MHT about a site on which he had collected artifacts decades ago.  The artifacts pointed to a late 17th to mid 18th-century colonial occupation at the site.  MHT conducted a GPR survey of the area the resident identified.  (For more information about this, check out Matt McKnight's Maryland Historical Trust Blog posting on Field Session Planned at Maxwell Hall Equestrian Park).  The Field Session was to ground truth the GPR results and to learn more about see what we can learn about the site.  

We started opening test units over four areas identified by GPR.  By the end we had opened a lot of test units as we tried to find the edges of features.  Here is what it looked like after it was troweled down for the final drone flyover.

What we accomplished

And here are some of those doing the final trowel down (in the sun).

Final troweling down of units
(Largest feature took longest time to finish.)

At the Field Session we did recover late 17th-century artifacts.   The artifacts I recall include lots of hand wrought nails, a pair of scissors, a two-tine fork, a barrel stave, a lead cloth seal, almost half of a North Devon earthenware milk pan, green glazed (Dutch) red earthenware, a tin-glazed earthenware bowl fragment, the top of a English Brown salt-glazed jug, and a olive green bottle glass seal.  There were also lots and lots of oyster shells as well as pig bones and teeth and lots of fish scales. (Have you ever tried to pick up a fish scale?)

Bottle Seal

Dutch Earthenware

We will have to wait for the report when all the data is pulled together to see the bigger picture.   I'm not sure how clear it will be yet since almost every professional archaeologist looking at the features had a slightly different interpretation. The results can also be compared with what has been found at two nearby 17th century sites. 

There were plenty of opportunities to dig, trowel, map, document, work in the lab, and screen whether it was your first time or your hundredth time.  But the Field Session also gave us a chance to reconnect with old friends, and to meet new people.  

The Field Session is also a time to learn, and when better to get everyone together than lunchtime.  On Tuesday Silas Hurry talk was called Sherds for Nerds, and he described and passed around examples of colonial ceramics.   On Thursday Aaron Levinthal talk Revisiting Serenity’s Surprise - an overview of recent archaeological investigations of nearby colonial sites was about previous archeology done at Serenity Farm (just south of Maxwell Hall Equestrian Park).  

Wednesday night was the annual Spencer O Geasey Memorial Lecture.  Esther Doyle Read talk was about Landscape Archaeology at Maxwell Hall State Park.  The Field Session took place in Maxwell Hall State Equestrian Park.  The talk was held inside Maxwell Hall.

apple, strawberry rhubarb, 
blueberry, triple berry, cherry

A Field Session wouldn't be complete without the annual Saturday night "feast".  This year it was held in the Pavillion at Maxwell Hall.  It was John Fiveash's fist year to grill, and he did a great job.  Also the Montgomery Chapter and Zac Singer (MHT) provided pies made by Zac's wife Victoria.  A special thanks to those providing/preparing the food.

 

 

While thanking people, another special thanks to the ASM members that helped make this Field Session happen - from planning to registration to getting t-shirts to .... all the behind-the-scene things that need to happen.   You do so much.  Thanks.  We should also thank Dr. Zac Singer, MHT Terrestrial Archaeologist, and Stepahie Soder, MHT Research Archaeologist, who helped Matt McKnight make this field session "work".

 

Three CCASM members (Carol. Evelyn, and Elsie) attended the field session for multiple days. 
 

CCASM is a chapter of ASM.

Colonial Chesapeake Taverns

Rod Cofield

After a meeting hiatus for the summer CCASM met on September 19 to hear Rod Cofield talk about colonial taverns in the Chesapeake.  Rod shared historic documents that gave us a glimpse into taverns and tavern life in the Cheasapeke during the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries.  We learned the cost of various beverages and also that sharing a bed or stabling a horse actually cost about the same as a quart of cider, the cheapest drink, at one tavern.  It's always interesting to see actual ledgers associated with actual people.

 

Rod Cofield is the Executive Director of Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum. 

This was our second hybrid Zoom/in-person meeting where the speaker also attended via Zoom.  There were a few hiccups at first, but then everything started working.  Thanks to Jim for using his account to set up the Zoom meeting.

Before the Meeting - Setting up and Catching up

Attendance: 15 (including 3 via Zoom)

 

The Discovery of St. Mary's Fort

Dr. Travis Parno

CCASM returned to Zoom for the December 9 meeting.  Travis Parno described the documentary and archaeological history of the search for St. Mary's Fort.  St. Mary's Fort was the palisaded enclosure built by the first English colonists who arrived in Maryland in the spring of 1634 .  It was occupied for about nine years.  Travis took us through how the fort was recently rediscovered using geophysical and archaeological surveys. 

There are years of work ahead as the fort as well as two nearby earlier indigenous sites continue to be investigated.  We are looking forward to learning what stories these excavations and the artifacts recovered from them will tell. 

Current Perception of St. Mary's Fort

Earlier Indigenous Sites Near Fort

Dr. Travis Parno is the Director of Research and Collections, Historic St. Mary's City, and the Director of the People-to-People Project.

We would like to thank James Gibb for hosting the Zoom meeting.  Sorry no photo of the Zoom attendees that included at least two members now residing outside Maryland.

Attendance: 14 people

Digging St. Clement's Manor and Award of Special Certificate

Julia King

At the May 13 CCASM Zoom meeting Julia King told about archaeology relating to the search for Thomas Gerard's manor house that was located near the mouth of the Wicomico River. Thomas Gerard was a colorful figure in 17th-century Maryland and one of the wealthiest men in early Maryland. 

The story starts with homeowners in 2000 finding seventeenth century artifacts followed by limited investigations by St. Mary's students as well as a geophysical survey. The story is continuing with more investigations planned this year by St. Mary's students.  Currently they think the manor may be under a twenty-first century horse barn.  Here a composite photo of some of the artifacts*.

Dr. Julia King is a Professor of Anthropology at St. Mary's College of Maryland

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The CCASM Annual Business Meeting followed Julie's talk.  

At the Business Meeting in grateful appreciation for his support of Charles County Archaeological Society of Maryland, Inc. Dr. James G. Gibb was granted a Life Membership in CCASM. 

James Gibb

A snapshot of those at the meetings -

Attendance: 13

 

*Note: I forgot to take photos during the presentation.  So the artifacts shown are from Julia King's and Scott Strickland's presentation on St Clements Manor given to St. Mary’s County Board of County Commissioners in 2019.

Westwood Manor - Being Fashionable in the 17th Century

Patricia Samford

At the February 9 meeting Patricia Samford talked about the reanalysis of artifacts excavated in 1996 at Westwood Manor in Charles County.  Of all the interesting artifacts found, Patricia's interest in one artifact, a decorated ivory handle of a walking stick, led her to learn more about fashion in Maryland in the 17th Century.  So the title "Walking Softly and Carrying a Big Stick: Being Fashionable on Maryland’s Western Shore in the Late 17th-Century.  Patricia is the Director of the Maryland Archaeological Conservation Lab at Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum.

The reanalysis was done by Julia King's students at St Mary's College. Patricia also brought a copy of the report.

The Artifact

The Report

A few of the People

Attendance: 24 including 2 young boys