It has been nearly three weeks since our excavations at the Market Master's backlot finished. Artifacts have been taken to the lab and are being washed, analyzed and catalogued.
The last day of work saw us carefully drawing the soil profiles we revealed in our test units, puzzling at what appeared to be the dark cultural soil of an occupation that left little other than the traces of artifacts. If a structure did stand here during the 18th and 19th centuries, it left little evidence of its shape and size. In contrast to the heavy stone sturdiness of the Market Master's house it is difficult to imagine structures so transient that they simply, nearly, disappeared with time! And yet we know that much of Bladensburg was occupied by such structures, and that the four buildings that stand from this time period (George Washington, Magruder, Market Master and Bostwick houses) are exceptional as masonry constructions.
The new issue of the CRab Bulletin is available for download. The CRaB is the State Highway Adminstration's Cultural Resources Bulletin and it is filled with details about some of the projects the folks at SHA are looking in to. Check out this season's issue for articles on the Scorpion Project and a "mystery building" unearthed in Frederick, Maryland. It can be dowloaded here: http://db.tt/snUX7Gr
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