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Research Projects
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Research Projects
| War of 1812 Archaeological Survey | Archaeological
research has been conducted by the Research Department on Park property
since the 1983. In addition the Southern Maryland Regional Center,
housed at the MAC Lab, conducts projects throughout the tri-county
area. Several projects have been conducted by SMRC through a
partnership with the US Navy that has existed since the early 1980s.
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| Hampton Archaeological Survey | |
| Goose Creek Archaeological Survey | |
| King's Reach Quarter Excavations | |
| Webster Field Investigations | |
| Sukeek's Cabin | |
| Unusual modified cowrie shell |
War
of 1812 Archaeological Survey - JPPM archaeologists
conducted a survey of War of 1812 battlefield sites in Maryland. Historians
have identified over 20 major engagements that took place in the state.
We are trying to determine which of these battle sites are still intact,
and evaluating whether they could be promoted for tourism as the 200th
anniversary of the war approaches. Our efforts have focused on the
Eastern Shore and the head of the Chesapeake Bay. Unfortunately, we
now know that many of the sites have been destroyed by development
or erosion. However, some are at least partially intact. |
We have recovered
cannonballs, grape shot, and other War of 1812 objects from sites
near Elkton and Chestertown, and traces of fortifications appear to
be present near Easton and Centreville. Sites associated with the
battles of North Point and Bladensburg were also investigated and
we finished up at JPPM looking for the gun emplacements used during
the Battle of St. Leonard Creek. Evidence of these were found in an
area overlooking St. Leonard Creek. Funds for the survey were provided
to the Maryland Office of Tourism Development by the National Park
Service’s American Battlefield Protection Program. |
 Cannonball recovered during War of 1812 archaeological survey |
 Hampton Mansion |
Hampton
Archaeological Survey - JPPM archaeologists have begun
a project designed to locate archaeological resources at the Hampton
National Historic Site in Towson, Maryland. This mansion was built
by Charles Ridgely in the 1780s. A number of historic
structures still stand on the site. We are excavating small test pits
every 25 feet across the 60+ acres of the property. Analysis of the
artifacts and buried remains uncovered in these pits will allow the
National Park Service to determine which parts of Hampton are archaeologically
significant. |
One of the questions
we hope to answer concerns a building known as the Farmhouse. Architectural
evidence suggests that the earliest part of this house may have been
built in the 1740s, making it the oldest structure at Hampton. However,
some preliminary archaeology conducted around the Farmhouse in the
1980s failed to find artifacts dating earlier than the 1770s. One
possible explanation for this discrepancy is that the farmhouse was
moved to its present location in the 1770s or 1780s. Hopefully, our
findings will help to solve the riddle. Anyone interested in volunteering
on the project can contact Dr. Julia King for details at (410)-586-8551
or king@mdp.state.md.us. |
 Hampton Farmhouse |
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Goose
Creek Archaeological Survey - JPPM archaeologists
spent the summer and fall of 1999 looking for sites along the shores
of Goose Creek, which is located aboard the Naval Air Station Patuxent
River (NASPAX). Several sites were found around Goose
Creek, including a quarry where Native Americans mined a natural cobble
deposit for the raw materials used to make stone tools. Quarry sites
like this are rare in Southern Maryland. At another site, part of
a Native American tobacco pipe was recovered. This unusual pipe had
a triangular mouth piece, and was decorated in a geometric pattern.
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A
French Navy uniform button was found at a third site. We believe it
dates to the mid-19th century, but we have no explanation
for its presence along Goose Creek. Analysis of the artifacts from
this project were completed in the spring of 2000. This survey was
done for NASPAX’s Natural and Cultural Resources Branch, using
funds from the Department of Defense Legacy Resources Management Program. |
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King’s
Reach Quarter Site - Since 1996, as part of our Public
Archaeology Program, JPPM archaeologists have been excavating at the
King’s Reach Quarter (18CV84) Site. It is located a short distance
from the c. 1690-1715 home of Richard Smith Jr.(18CV83), which was
excavated in the 1980s. Based on the types of artifacts found at the
King’s Reach Quarter Site, we believe it was occupied by servants
or slaves who worked for Smith. Several buildings have been uncovered
there. One measured 20 feet by 40 feet, and was erected on small posts
set into a trench at intervals of 2.5 feet. This type of flimsy structure
is most often associated with very early settlements, when buildings
had to be hastily erected. Smith’s plantation was nearly 40 years
old, and thus well established, by 1690. However, a shed attached
to his house was constructed in the same style, so perhaps the King’s
Reach Quarter structure was just a simple storage building.
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Alternatively,
18th-century slave quarters found in the deep South have
a similar architecture, so the possibility that the King’s Reach
Quarter building has an African origin cannot be ignored. Nevertheless,
because the trench building doesn’t appear to have a fireplace,
we feel that an adjacent structure, portions of which we have uncovered,
is a more likely quarter candidate. A third building, found a short
distance away, was a large tobacco barn measuring 50 feet by 25 feet.
The massive posts which supported this barn (18CV85) were over one
foot in diameter, and portions of them are still intact despite nearly
3 centuries in the earth. The complex of buildings around the King’s
Reach Quarter Site will continue to be the focus of archaeological
investigations in the future, as there are many questions still to
be answered. |
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| Webster
Field Investigations – JPPM
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Maryland was founded in 1634,
and Jesuit missionaries played a prominent role in the initial development
of the colony. Excavations revealed that site 18ST233 preserved the remains
of the Jesuits’ manor house, occupied during the second and third quarter
of the seventeenth century (c.1637-1660). The richness and diversity of
the artifacts recovered suggests this site was occupied by the relatively
well-off Jesuits who had come to Maryland as investors in the colonial
venture. |
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 The brick floor of a possible storehouse. |
Investigations at site 18ST329 suggest that it was occupied as early as the late 17th century. However the most intensive site use seemed to have occurred from c. 1700 – 1750. The artifacts recovered suggest that this site was also a residence for Jesuit priests. One of the most interesting discoveries at this site was the cellar of a building possibly used as a storehouse, with surviving wooden studs and sills still present below the ground surface. The cellar was later filled in and a brick floor was laid down. |
The
large number of historic artifacts found reflects the extensive colonial
use of the site. They indicate that both food preparation and food consumption
took place here. A number of personal items, such as tobacco pipes, a
small cross, and a copper-alloy thimble reflect the range of other activities
that occurred in this area. |
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 Native American tobacco pipe bowl fragments from site 18ST233. |
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MAC Lab || Public Archaeology || Research || Research Library |
| For additional information and volunteer opportunities contact Ed Chaney at 410-586-8554 or echaney@mdp.state.md.us |
archaeologists
recently excavated a number of test units at a Jesuit plantation known
as St. Inigoes, which was first occupied in the early seventeenth century.
A portion of the plantation is now located aboard the Webster Field
Annex of the Naval Air Station Patuxent River, in beautiful St. Mary’s
County, Maryland. Two colonial sites used by the Jesuits were investigated:
18ST233 and 18ST329. Funds for these investigations were provided by
a generous grant from the Department of Defense’s Legacy Resources Management
Program. The Navy explores its archaeological sites so that it can properly
manage and reserve these rare resources.
A
tour group watching archaeologists work.
