"Ghost Fleet" of Mallows Bay

Susan Langley

On November 5 Dr. Susan Langley, the State of Maryland Underwater Archaeologist, shared stories of Mallows Bay and its "Ghost Fleet" at the Charles County Potomac Branch Library.  The story starts with the Native American use of the bay and occupation of the land adjoining Mallows Bay and continues up through the present.  Mallows Bay which is located in Charles County is the largest ship graveyard in the Western Hemisphere.  The majority of the remains are from ships built in WWI.  Today some of the remains have become home to egrets and eagles as well as a large number of native and endangered species (also a few invasive species).

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) accepted the Mallows Bay nomination for National Marine Sanctuary status in 2015, and the paperwork for the next phase has been submitted.   

Public Archaeology at Stagg Hall - 2016

Charles County continues to hold public archaeology events at Stagg Hall in Port Tobacco (map) with the assistance of CCASM members.  Esther Read is the archaeologist in charge.

Saturday November 5 over eighteen people participated in a Public Archaeology Event at Stagg Hall.  It was a great day to be outdoors.  A new half test unit was excavated looking for the corner of the print shop foundation, and Esther did some clean-up work on one of the older test units that was inside the builidng.

Once again print type was found as well as other eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth century artifacts.  One of the more unusual artifacts recovered was a pipe stem stamped "Peter Dorni", a pipe manufactured during the mid-nineteenth century in Europe.  It was agreed that this should be the artifact of the day.

The previous 2016 Charles County sponsored Public Archaeology Event at Stagg Hall was Saturday May 14 during  Port Tobacco Market Day.  PT Market Day.

Also see 2015 Public Archaeology Events at Staff Hall

October Outreach Committee Meeting

CCASM has formed an Outreach Committee to revise or develop archaeological displays and activities for upcoming public events.  

At the October 23 meeting Doug, Elsie, Gabi, and Carol reviewed changes made to two of the displays, and came up with some additional suggestions.  Also Sami sent information on a number of activities to be used with children, and Barbara indicated that she had the broken pottery for the mending activity.  So things are coming together. 

Anyone with ideas who would like to help is welcome to participate.  The priority for our next meeting if the display at the LaPlata Library for Archaeology Month (April 2017).

Forgot to take any pictures.  Just imagine four people sitting around a table moving pictures of artifacts around on a house layout.

2016 ASM Fall Meeting

On Saturday October 22 the Monocacy Chapter of ASM in conjunction with the Catoctin Furnace Historical Society hosted the Archeological Society of Maryland, Inc (ASM) 2016 Fall Meeting at the Harriet Chapel in Thurmont, MD.

The CCASM members attending were Belinda, Carol, and Jim.  And Esther Read, the Charles County Archaeologist, was also there.  Carol gave the CCASM chapter report during the business meeting.  Jim, the outgoing ASM Treasurer, also was one of the speakers.

It's always fun to catch up with others from around the state and hear what they are doing.  But the highlight of the meeting was the talks.  Below is the list.  If you get a chance to hear them at some other venue, you should try to go.  You won't be disappointed.

• Clear as Mud: Underwater Archaeology in Maryland,  Susan Langley, MHT Underwater Archaeology Program
   
• Soft as Clay - a Comparison of Prehistoric Pottery Resources throughout the Upper Bay,  Dan Coates- ASNV President
     
• Where Water Once Flowed: Terminal Archaic Sites on Relict Stream Channels,  Jocelyn Lee, Citizen Scientist, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center
   
• ASM Field Schools (2014-2015) at the Shaw’s Folly, Java Farm, and Contees Wharf Slave Sites,  James G. Gibb, Research Associate, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center
   
• A Reanalysis of Human Remains from the Cemetery at Catoctin Furnance,  Douglas Owsley and Katie Barca, the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History
     
• Bone Identification Workshop for Avocational and Professional Archaeologists,  David Hunt, the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History
   
• Academic Research Informing Heritage Tourism,  Elizabeth A. Comer, EAC/Archaeology, Inc.
   
• A Forest for the Trees: Remote Sensing Applications and Historic Production at Cunningham Falls State Park,  Robert Wanner, EAC/Archaeology, Inc.
   
• The African American Cemetery at Catoctin Furnace: Bridging the Past and the Future,  Jane I. Seiter, EAC/Archaeology, Inc. and Oxford Tree-Ring Laboratory
   
  
• Technological Toolkit: Using XRF Analysis to Better Understand 19th Century Iron
  Making and Its Implications for the Labor Force,  Joseph E. Clemens, EAC/Archaeology, Inc.

Also congratulations to Wayne Clark, the 2016 William B Mayre Award Winner.

The Monocacy Chapter and the Catoctin Furnace Historical Society did a great job!

2016 Preservation Matters Newsletter

Charles County Planning and Growth Management has just published the 2016 Preservation Matters Newsletter, an annual publication celebrating Charles County's Historic places.

 Click to see newsletter

To entice you to look at the newsletter, here is a list of the articles included in the newsletter.  You will find references to archaeology as well as to CCASM members in several of the articles.

• Documenting a Community's Recent Past: The Pomonkey Historic District Recognized by Debra McClane
  
  
• Beneath the Shady Oak: The Burying Ground -- A look at private cemeteries by Franklin A Robinson
  
  
• From Ship Ballast to Gun Flint: Colonial-Era Flint Technology on the Patuxent Frontier by Aaron Levinthal
  
  
• Beautiful Bones: Rich Hill Revealed by Cathy Thompson
  
  
• 2016 Preservation Awards Event
   
  
• News from the County Archaeologist by Esther Doyle Read