Remote Sensing at Port Tobacco

Peter Quantock

At the January 10 CCASM meeting Peter Quantock presented some of the geophysical results from the remote sensing he did in Port Tobacco in 2011.  Both magnetometer and ground penetrating work was done around the Courthouse.  Peter shared part of the results which showed the location of the Wade House.  Also in some areas he found evidence of several feet of sedimentation "hiding" any possible artifacts in the area.

Peter is completing his M.A. in Anthropology from the University of Denver.  The work done at Port Tobacco will be included in his thesis, and he will provide us a copy when it is complete.  Prior to his going to graduate school, many of us worked with Peter on the Port Tobacco Archaeological Project.

We also had a raffle for an ASM sweatshirt.  The money will eventually be used for CCASM to acquire a projector.  (We have a long way to go.).  Doug won the raffle. 

 Attendance: 22

War of 1812 at Nottingham

Mike Lucas

At the December 13 CCASM meeting Mike Lucas spoke about the Archaeology Project being done at Nottingham and how it relates to the War of 1812.  In the 18th and 19th Century Nottingham was a small village on the Patuxent River.  During the summer of 1814 the British spent the night at Nottingham on their way to Washington.  They also left behind a rear guard.  Mike showed slides of objects left behind by the British and found by the project.  He also showed us the results from shovel test pits that indicated where some of the houses in the village had been.  And he also shared some of the information gathered about local slaves that joined the British during the War.

This multi-year project was started by Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission in October 2011.  There are plans to continue the work in 2013.   Mike Lucas is with the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission in Prince George's County.  If you are interested in the project, you can contact Mike at Michael.Lucas@pgparks.com

Joshua Eller gave an update on the reconnaissance he and Rich Gorski did on a site near the Maryland Welcome Center.  Several members also provided historic information and photos they had gathered about the area.  Joshua will be preparing a MHT Site Form for this site to meet one of the requirements for ASM's Certified Archaeological Technician (CAT) program.  Several of CCASM members are in the CAT program, and three members have completed the program.

Also we had a raffle for an ASM sweatshirt.  The money will eventually be used for CCASM to acquire a projector.  (We have a long way to go.).  George won the sweatshirt that his wife Elsie is holding up in the photo. 

Attendance: 18

Finishing STPs at Native American Site

On December 2 CCASM members finished digging/screening STPs at the Native American Site near Bryans Road.  Yea! 

The day started out foggy but it turned out to be really nice.  We had enough people to have three crews.  CCASM members helping were Jim, Annetta, Rich, Steve, Barbara, Josh, Peggy, and Carol.  Scott Lawrence stopped by to help some and also to tell us about an interesting site he will be starting soon.  Although Jim had to leave at 2pm, Rich, Steve, and Carol were able to stay and finish the final six STPs. 

Now we just need to finish washing and cataloging the artifacts so Jim Gibb will be able to identify possible locations for excavation units.

Following are pictures from work done in September.
For more pictures and notes of work done on the site, see posting Investigating Native American Site

September 30 was another beautiful day for digging.  We had two crews and finished STPs for two additional transects on the northern part of the site.  One person even traveled from Gaithersburg to help.  CCASM members helping were Jim, Fran, Peggy, Steve, Josh, and Carol.  We still will need another day or two to finish the STPs.

Sunday (September 23) was a beautiful day to be outside, the first really nice day we have been in the field, and we finished the STPs for the southern part of the site.  We had two crews (Jim, Barbara R, Rich, and Carol).

Thank you for Supplies and Books

Once again Annetta Schott, one of CCASM's members,  has donated items to the Charles County Archaeological Society of Maryland, Inc.   This time it is supplies, books, and manuals.  Pictures are supposed to be worth 1,000 words.  So here are photos of what Annetta has donated.

Supplies including four Marshalltown trowels

Reference Books

Manuals and Workshop Materials

CCASM would like to thank Annetta for her donation.  We are slowing acquiring the equipment and supplies that will allow us to conduct archaeological surveys and excavations.  

Thank you Annetta.

Archaeology and the Citizen-Scientist at SERC

Jim Gibb

On October 8 Dr. James Gibb of Gibb Archaeological Consulting talked about the on-going excavations he is conducting on Sellman’s Connection, a 500-acre tract that is now part of the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) in Anne Arundel County.  This August SERC added this archaeological pilot study that combines students, interns, all sorts of volunteers, and professional scientists in the study of human-environment interaction on its 2600-acre preserve.  Jim showed some of the archaeological results that is beginning to show how a single family (the Sellmans, 1729-1917) adapted to environmental changes.  For an overview view SERC blog posting

If you would like to volunteer to work with Jim at the site, you can see the volunteer schedule as well as tentative findings at Volunteer at Sellmans Connection.

 
We would especially like to thank Jim for agreeing to give this talk on such short notice.

Also at the meeting there were photos of a possible site that CCASM plans to visit.  CCASM would like to start identifying more archaeological sites in Charles County and submitting the Maryland Historical Trust Site Forms so archaeologists will be aware of the sites.

Attendance: 10