Looking for Newtowne Chapel

Scott Lawrence

At the April 12 meeting Scott Lawrence told the known history of the 17th century Jesuit Chapel and highlighted the search for its location in the St. Francis Xavier Cemetery.  He showed some of the artifacts - both historic and Native American - that had been found this year.  The work was done by Scott,  Jim Gibbs, and a number of volunteers (including a few from CCASM).  And as often happens, on the last day, they found evidence of a building that may have burned.

Scott will let us know if he receives funding for additional work, and CCASM members will be welcome to participate.

One of Scott's activities is doing historic cemetery restoration, documentation, and research through his company Grave Concerns.

Attendance: 17

Washing Artifacts

Sunday April 1 CCASM members washed artifacts in front of the Port Tobacco Courthouse.  The artifacts were from the shovel test pits (STP's) excavated at a Native American site in Charles County.  There were a lot of fire cracked rocks (which tend to be a result of cooking), lots of flakes, and a number of sherds from at least three types of Native American pottery - cord-marked (Potomac Creek), fabric-impressed (Pope's Creek) and one that was incised.  Now we can start cataloging what was found.

Steve, Josh, Phil, Brogan, Barbara

April is Maryland Archaeology Month

Events in Charles County

• April 1   1-4pm
  Washing Artifacts at Port Tobacco Courthouse
  for more details go to Washing Artifacts
  
  
• April 12   7pm
  CCASM Meeting at La Plata , MD
  The Search for Newtowne Chapel, Scott Lawrence, Grave Concerns
  
  

Other Maryland Archeology Month Events of note

• April 14   10am - 4pm
  Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum. St. Leonard, MD
  Discovering Archeology Day--Discover the what, where, and how’s of archaeology!  Also watch people making stone tools the way they have for thousands of years.
  CCASM will have a table there.
  
  
• April 21   9am - 3:30pm
  ASM Annual Spring Symposium on Archeology at Crownsville, MD
  Three Centuries of Conflict: The Archaeology of War
  Click to view Symposium Program

CCASM sponsors Charles County History Day Award

On March 24, 2012 the 14th Annual Charles County History Day competition was held at McDonough High School.  There were 1st, 2nd and 3rd place prizes for individual and for group submissions at both junior and senior levels in the following categories (1) historical paper, (2) exhibit, (3) performance, (4) documentary, and (5) website.  Also there were special awards presented by twenty-one local organizations that were mostly historical oriented.  Charles County Archaeological Society of Maryland, Inc was recognized as one of two organizations sponsoring awards for the first time this year.   Elsie Picyk represented CCASM at the awards ceremony.

The CCASM award of $50 went to Adrienne Minor of Westlake High School for her documentary (DVD) presentation "Reaction to Prohibition in America".  Adrienne, a sophomore, placed third in the Individual Documentary category for the senior division.  Congratulations, Adrienne.

2012 Workshop in Archeology

March 10 the Maryland Historical Trust and the Archeological Society of Maryland, Inc  hosted their 21st Annual Workshop in Archeology in Crownsville, MD.

CCASM members attending included Carol Cowherd, Josh Eller, Jim Gibb, Elsie Picyk, Carole Raucheisen, and Belinda Urquiza.   Jim also gave a one-hour workshop on animal bone identification.  (Sorry I didn't get a picture. There were multiple sessions, and we never seemed to be at the same place at the same time.)

Dr. Julia King, the keynote speaker, talked about "Finding the Zekiah Fort" in Charles County.   She thanked CCASM for their help.  Analysis on what was found is still going on, and she plans to finish the reports by the end of the summer.

Other sessions included a CAT workshop with an overview of Native American archeology in Maryland, a talk on the manufacture of shell buttons, and a variety of presentations on local archeological projects, both terrestrial and underwater.