Bladensburg Archaeology Project

Bladensburg Archaeology Website

2012-02-10T13:52:00.002-05:00

At the moment there are no excavations being conducted in Bladensburg. The analysis and results from the 2008-2010 excavations are nearly complete. To showcase some of the findings, the State Highway Administration created a fantastic multimedia website about the history of Bladensburg, complete with interactive paintings and maps. Check it out here!

http://www.bladensburgarchaeology.com/index.html

Bladensburg Archaeology Presentation, June 15, 2011 - Anacostia Watershed Society

2011-06-01T12:33:00.007-04:00

The Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA) and the University of Maryland will present on the archaeology of Bladensburg. The event is hosted by the Anacostia Watershed Society and will be held at the George Washington House. All community members are encouraged to attend!

The evening will include the first public viewing of a recently completed painting on the Battle of Bladensburg. The scene depicts Commodore Joshua Barney being paroled by Admiral Cockburn and General Ross on the battlefield. After the unveiling of the artwork, Dr. Julie Schablitsky, SHA Chief Archaeologist, will present on the archaeological findings from the Magruder House, Market Master’s House, and the Indian Queen Tavern.
WEDNESDAY, June 15, 2011
Time: 7:00 PM

The Anacostia Watershed Society
George Washington House:
4302 Baltimore Ave.
Bladensburg, Maryland 20710

RSVP this event at the Anacostia Watershed Society by calling:
(301)-699-6204 (extension 109) or
email: mkoenig@anacostiaws.org

New Issue of the CRAB newsletter/ Post-excavation work continues

2010-10-19T09:23:00.002-04:00

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

Market Master's house backlot, Day 10: "Last Day, Well Almost...."

2010-09-24T18:18:00.004-04:00

Just a quick update for the day. It was hot today. Really hot! A record breaking day for the 24th of September in this area. Luckily, our favorite ice cream truck, Mister Magic, showed up to provide us with some cold sweetness.

We rushed to finish up our units, and finished all the excavation for the rest of this year in Bladensburg. We still have a little bit of profiling to do next week. We will also post some blogposts to sum up the preliminary site findings and showcase some of the really unusual artifacts we found this past field season. Keep in touch!

Market Master's backlot, Day 9, "One Day Left!"

2010-09-23T20:08:00.014-04:00

This post is from Janet Donlin. Janet has worked on almost all of the sites here in Bladensburg, and has also done her share of artifact analysis and preparation for the project:

Tomorrow is our last day here at Market Master’s, and we have our work cut out for us. We have three units left to dig, two of which we opened up yesterday. Frank, Jen, and Courtney are about a foot into unit 18, and Rick, Molly, and Nicole are blasting their way through unit 17. There’s some good news for me and Mike in our unit…we’ve finally got a unit with some cool artifacts! Today we pulled out a bone button, the neck and mouth of a bottle with an applied lip, a fancy looking piece of iron that could possibly be part of a gun or door hardware, a pewter utensil, and a very nice piece of a bowl with a multi-chambered slip featuring horizontal tri-colored twigs and green glazed rilling. Put this all together, and it looks like we are well into the early 19th century. We’ve also recovered a lot of big chunks of bone, some of which are burnt.

Unit 17 is already into the prehistorics. The unit was opened up yesterday, and dug through pretty quickly. There was a 20th century feature in the southwest corner, and they have recovered a lot of 19th and late 18th century ceramics, but few colonial artifacts. They are finding a lot of rhyolite and some quartzite flakes, all debitage so far. It is really interesting to see which units are yielding the colonial artifacts and which are showing a strong prehistoric presence. Most of the colonial artifacts seem to be concentrated in units closest to and directly behind Market Master’s house. We have yet to find a privy, though, and it’s still a mystery to where that might be.

Unit 18 is still at a more modern level. They’ve been recovering a lot of nails, more modern ceramics and glass, and some pretty large pieces of shell edged wares. Unit 18 is right between two units that found lots of great prehistoric points and flakes, so perhaps this unit will find that as well.

We have one more day to dig and three units to finish up, but we have a lot of great archaeologists out here and we should have no problem wrapping things up. We’ve found a lot of really neat things, but I have to say my favorite is probably the little plastic dinosaur from the first day. It’s just so cute!

Market Master's house backlot, Day 8: "Julie's Assesment"

2010-09-22T19:19:00.007-04:00

Only two more days left to dig in the Market Master’s backyard. As expected, we may have the ephemeral remains of an outbuilding. In several of our units, we discovered dozens of badly decomposed nails and fasteners associated with the colonial stratum. Although it is a bit too early to make conclusions about our findings, it appears that when Christopher Lowndes built his stone house in 1760 he eventually added an outbuilding behind the house. The building does not appear to be residential since there are so few personal items.

Other updates include the conclusion of one of the most disturbed units on the site. To the far south, we discovered numerous 20th century intrusions and metal pipes. (see picture, left) It is amazing that only 15 feet to the north there is a beautifully stratified prehistoric site with colonial artifacts sprinkled on top. The last decision of the day is whether or not to open another unit….it only gives us two days to excavate, but we can spill over to next week to finish this last unit. The new unit will connect the prehistoric tool production area and the area with beautiful colonial artifacts such as featheredge creamware, debased scratch blue stoneware, (picture, left) and a French gun flint.

Market Master's house backlot, Day 7: "Unit 15 Update"

2010-09-21T23:15:00.006-04:00

Today we have an update from University of Maryland student Jen Allen who spent the day working on Unit 15 where they have been point proveniencing all the flakes coming out of the unit. This means they mapped in the location, including depth of each piece of prehistoric stone tool-making waste for later analysis. Jen had this to say:

"It’s been an exciting day today at the Market Master’s House. I have been helping Frank excavate TU 15, the unit directly west of TU 12, which yielded so many rhyolite flakes last week. TU 15 has not disappointed as the concentration of rhyolite flakes clearly continues. In one level alone 100 rhyolite flakes were recovered along with 2 sherds of Native American ceramics and a large quartzite cutting or chopping tool. (see picture below, left) The plan for the next level was to take a pollen sample and after only a few trowel cuts into the soil what we think could be an archaic bifurcate quartz point was found. (picture below, right) I’m looking forward to see what else this unit has to offer and how far back in Bladensburg’s past we’ll go."

Market Master's house backlot, Day Six: "Looking Back at Five Excavations in Bladensburg"

2010-09-20T20:03:00.006-04:00

This post is from Mike Roller, from the University of Maryland:

In the last two years I have taken part in five excavations in Bladensburg. Each site has been distinctly different, with its own revelations, quirks and mysteries. Speaking from an excavation conditions standpoint, we all agree that this site has been a pleasure to dig. The pleasant weather, the sandy smooth soils, the shady backyard and the accommodating land owners have all contributed to this. This time we have employed a strategy of grouping our units closely this time, in order to open a larger space clustered in the back of the Market Master’s house. This has allowed us to discuss our findings and compare our soils as we dig. It has really helped us to create a more cohesive picture of the historic landscape of this area. That doesn’t mean there aren’t many mysteries to solve….

Retrospectively, however, there are a few things from this site that have been consistent with many of the sites we have excavated here in Bladensburg.

-The material culture of conflict in the form of Civil War or War of 1812 bullets, uniform buttons and gunflints. As yet we have not tabulated how many of these we have collected throughout Bladensburg or what they can tell us about the town during these conflicts, but future research may reveal new facts. This site has been no exception, with a musketball, gunflints and military buttons.

-Evidence of prehistoric lives have been found at almost all the sites we have excavated in Bladensburg suggesting long and extensive Native American occupation in this location dating back as early as six thousand years ago. As discussed in previous blogposts, the ecological richness of this area, at the junction of two streams with a rich floodplain and numerous natural springs, would have made the Bladensburg area very attractive to prehistoric inhabitants.

-Late-nineteenth and twentieth century efforts to modernize or otherwise modify old features to meet modern needs. In this section we could include the extensive efforts by the early twentieth century occupants of the Bostwick house to modernize and fashionably remodel the architecture and landscape around the house. This included removing older structures such as outbuildings and, probably, slave and servant’s quarters. At the Magruder house and Indian Queen Tavern we saw drainage systems put in an effort to keep the Anacostia floodwaters at bay. At the Indian Queen we saw a historic well reconstructed as a system for draining the house. Here in the backyard of the Market Master’s House we have seen some evidence of twentieth century construction, including the possibility of a similar effort. (more on this in a future blogpost?)

One question we can begin to ask now is: “What have we not seen in Bladensburg that we might have expected?”. We have not seen much evidence of what we know was probably a big business in Bladensburg, the trade in enslaved peoples from Africa. Neither have we seen much evidence of the lives of those that lived in Bladensburg in forced servitude. Additionally, we do not have a good sense of how the laboring classes in Bladensburg might have lived. Though four brick or stone eighteenth century structures have survived Bladensburg’s 250+ year history, we know that the majority of structures in Bladensburg were modest wood frame dwellings. Who lived in these houses and how did there lives differ from the lives of those that lived in the wealthier portions of the town? Archaeology and additional research and analysis conducted in the future may have the answers to some of these questions...

Market Master's House, Day Five. Porcelain Doll Parts!

2010-09-17T17:56:00.005-04:00

This post is from Nichole Sorenson-Mutchie from the Maryland State Highways:

Three units have are now complete (TU 9, 10 and 11) and new units (TU 13, 14, and 15) have been opened based on shovel test results. Within the first few levels, each of these units found various doll parts. Mike reminded me that I did a blog post about dolls last year from the Magruder House, so I decided the tradition must continue!
The cluster of peach colored pieces in the upper left of the picture represents two different unglazed bisque porcelain heads. One piece shows a portion of a large eyebrow and eyelashes. Given the size of the painted eyebrow, the doll head must have been quite large, like the example pictured below. Bisque porcelain dolls were introduced in the 1860s.

The doll on the nearly complete doll on the right is also an unglazed bisque doll. The body was found in the first level of TU 14 and the head found in the following level. This doll is known as a “penny doll”, “Frozen Charlotte”, or “bathing dolls”. These were produced from the late 1800s to about 1930. The body is all bisque whereas the doll described above would have had a fabric torso with porcelain limbs. Below is another example of a bathing doll.

The last doll has me a bit stumped. The porcelain is glazed, unlike the other dolls. The attached arms, size, and porcelain torso makes it look like a penny doll, but it shouldn’t be glazed. Early “China dolls” with white glazed heads had fabric bodies so our example doesn’t fit. What these dolls do tell us is that children played in this area during the 19th and early 20th century. These children may not have had a big impact on the history of the site, but these few doll pieces are clues to their presence amongst the nails, animal bone, and bottle glass.

Market Master's House, Season Two, Day Four, A Day of Transitions

2010-09-16T22:44:00.003-04:00

Quiet around here after the excitement of yesterday. A brief post from Molly Russell today:

Hi from the Market Master’s House! It has been a fairly slow day here – well, at least it has for one unit. Unit 9, the one I have been gracing with my presence, has featured a whole lot of digging and not much artifact-ing. We’ll be finishing it up today and opening up a new unit next to it, so hopefully tomorrow will be a more interesting day. Units 10 and 12, however, have been finding a ton of prehistoric flakes. Mike and Janet pulled a really nice point out of unit 10 this morning, while Jen and Frank have had bag after bag of flakes come out of their unit. It has been said that this is becoming more of a prehistoric site rather than a historic one, and I am starting to agree!

After closing out their unit (10) just before lunch, Mike and Janet opened up a new one (14). So far they have found a mixture of artifacts from different centuries, which makes us wonder how intact the historic material will be in that unit. That question will most likely have to wait until tomorrow. So, I guess you could say this site is a ‘to be continued…’

Top photo, by Janet Donlin, of a caterpillar on a screen. Below, Top: Courtney Singleton digging out the bottom of Unit 9. Middle: Nichole Sorenson-Mutchie profiling the wall of the same unit. Bottom: View of the site from the east.

Market Master's House, Second Season, Day 3, What a Surprise Today!

2010-09-15T21:09:00.006-04:00

Everyone came in feeling a bit tired for our third day of fieldwork. We have had an interesting few days, but are already coming towards the bottoms of our first units. Luckily, we found some pretty neat stuff! Another piece of the puzzle we are putting together about Bladensburg's history. We asked Frank Mikolic and Zak Andrews to talk about what they were finding in Test Unit 12, located in the central portion of the site. Here is what Zak had to say:

"When I arrived at the Market House in Bladensburg this morning, I thought I knew what to expect; glass shards, maybe some nineteenth century ceramic, bits of bone. To my surprise, not even an hour into one of the central units here, we came upon a discovery of a prehistoric stone point found at its’ northeast corner. 30 minutes later, a second stone point poked its head out of the past into our hands. The two points were accompanied by a few dozen stone flakes, none much larger than the size of my pinky fingernail. Prehistoric/archaic artifacts were the last thing I was expecting to find among the colonial theme of things, so naturally I am thinking, “What does this all mean!?” With the help of my Maryland colleagues and the fine staff at the SHA, I’m sure we can come to the bottom of this mystery. This was my first discovery of a worked stone since my emerging practice into the field of historic archaeology and has surely caught my interest. Just goes to show you that you can never be too sure of what you might find out in the field; the past might just surprise you."

And Frank:

"Test Unit 12 produced excitement from the beginning of the morning until late into the afternoon. We kicked off the unit excavation by finding a 1865 2-cent coin along with various late eighteenth century ceramic types, including English Brown, Scratch Blue, Jackfield, and White Salt Glaze. Although there seemed to be some intrusions of nineteenth century artifacts, including the 1865 coin, the majority of artifacts recovered today within TU 12 dated to the late eighteenth century. Below this layer we began to recover a large amount of rhyolite flakes along with two rhyolite broadspear-type projectile points. Finding so much rhyolite in Prince George’s County is significant as much of the prehistoric lithics recovered in PG County and neighboring Montgomery County are from quartz and quartzite materials. Two fragments of prehistoric ceramic were also recovered during excavation of TU 12; it seems to be grit-tempered, but further analysis will be need to confirm both the temper and type. Our excavation of the test unit is approaching the sub-soil and we will likely complete it tomorrow morning. I am looking forward to the excavation of the adjacent unit so we can chase this rhyolite artifact concentration."

Market Master's House, Season Two, Day Two

2010-09-14T22:09:00.004-04:00

This message was written by Rick Ervin from the Maryland State Highway Administration:

It’s been a hectic week. I just returned to the area following a week in Detroit, and started fieldwork at the Market Masters House the following day. My excursion to Dearborn, Michigan involved a reunion of WWII veterans who flew B-26 Marauders during the war (my interest stems from the fact that my late father was also a veteran). (see this website for more information: http://www.b-26mhs.org/) I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Courtney, one of the crew, had a grandfather who flew in the B-26. A small world!

We started a test unit at the back of the Market Masters property on Monday. So far, we’ve had a mix of everything between about 1800 and late 2008. Late this morning we started excavating a feature – the boundary appeared somewhat amorphous, but it was obviously different from the surrounding matrix. As it turned out, we had a trench for a water pipe. Although I had hoped it might have turned out to be a little earlier, we are starting to find some earlier ceramics, including edgeware and various transfer print sherds.

We also found a small cross, about which Courtney may have more to say in the near future. We’ve heard that the cinder block garage situated within 20 feet of our unit was once part of a small service station or auto repair shop. We’ve found a few artifacts that appear to be tool parts and may relate to the garage.

Earlier today, another unit produced a lead musket ball that probably relates to the Battle of Bladensburg. A quick measurement indicates that the diameter of the ball is slightly more than one-half inch, suggesting that it may represent an American round that was fired into the British positions within the town of Bladensburg. Most of the American militia units were armed with .58 caliber muskets that fired a ball with a slightly small diameter (about .52 caliber). See a picture of the musket ball below, along with a thimble found in the same stratum, possibly dating to around the same time:
Earlier, the family that lives here stopped by to see the site. Unfortunately, we had not found much at the time they stopped by. Hopefully they will come back soon so we can show them the good stuff – we appreciate their hospitality!

The weather of course has been perfect now that the heat of summer is dissipating. Despite the traffic noise, we have quite an idyllic setting here under the trees. However, we just heard the call to start packing up for the day, so its time to sign off for now.....

2010-09-13T21:59:00.002-04:00

Today, archaeologists from the Maryland State Highway Administration and University of Maryland students returned to the Market Master’s House. Over the next two weeks we will be excavating south of the house and in the backyard in an attempt to find the remains of out buildings and refuse deposits. Our work is especially important this year since we are trying to understand how the area behind the house was used by the occupants. Last year we encountered post molds that suggested buildings may lie behind us to the south. Old maps and historic descriptions revealed nothing about how this area was developed and that is why archaeology is so important.

After excavating almost 20 shovel test pits, we opened up three five foot by five foot units and just made it through the first stratum. After finding a plastic dinosaur, we soon came down upon 19th and some colonial artifacts. There is nothing too out of the ordinary yet, but we hope to connect the post molds from last year to see if we can recognize a structure.
Research Update

After our excavation last year, we hit the old records to learn what the Market Master’s house was really used for and who lived here. What we learned is that there is no documentation for the building being lived in by a “market master”. Instead, the building appears to have been Christopher Lowndes’ store and one of the first mail stops in the country. It is possible people lived above the store, but based on the probate inventory the store was packed with a long list of items that would have made for camped quarters. By the late 1850s, Dr. Anderson bought the lot with Lowndes’ old store and he lived with his wife in a separate residence to the southeast on the same lot. We are not sure if the old store was used as a doctor’s office or rented out. The 1860 slave census does show Thomas Anderson owning a 51 year old female and 12 year old male slave. Did they use the Market Master’s House as a slave quarter? We may never know for sure, but is something to keep in mind as we examine the mid 19th century artifact assemblage.

Searching for the USS Scorpion

2010-08-05T14:52:00.005-04:00

The following post was written by SHA lab director, Nichole Sorensen-Mutchie.

The Bladensburg Archaeology Project has now branched out into the waters of the Patuxant River in Upper Marlboro. The Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA) in partnership with the US Navy and Maryland Historical Trust has begun the search for Commodore Joshua Barney's flagship, the USS Scorpion. With the British in pursuit, Barney (pictured below) ordered the burning of his flotilla. It was better to have the ships destroyed than have them fall into enemy hands. After the ships were scuttled, Barney and his men went to Bladensburg on foot and fought in the battle there.

I spent the last two days assisting in the underwater archaeology operations underway to confirm the location of the USS Scorpion. This was a new experience for me, I had never worked on a shipwreck site. I couldn't help but think about how both terrestrial and underwater archaeologist have the same mission, but with completely different methods. First, you are confined to a metal barge! As you can see from the lower right picture, a lot of equipment is needed, which doesn't leave much room to move around. Then there is the various dangers the divers could potentially face. For one diver in the water, there are several people assisting them up top to communicate with them and be ready to jump in should the diver get into trouble. "Digging" is done with dredge, a motorized vacuum system that sucks water, sand and artifacts from the river floor to the surface. The sediment and artifacts then flow into a screen on the surface, which is inside a metal tub as seen in the lower left picture. Another hose is inside the tub to pump out excess water and sand into a holding tank to later be disposed of. No artifacts associated with the shipwreck were found while I was there, however the divers have come down on the wooden planks. Although there is very low visibility in the water, a lot is being learned about where exactly the ship is and how it is oriented.

There is a separate blog for the USS Scorpion project. Please visit http://www.scorpionarchaeology.blogspot.com/, as well as the Facebook page, USS Scorpion Project.

The Crab Bulletin, Special Bladensburg Edition

2010-07-20T08:19:00.005-04:00

The Cultural Resources Section at the Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA) produces a quarterly newsletter. The summer edition of the Cultural Resources Bulletin (CRaB) is a special extended issue.

It includes in-depth articles on the Bladensburg Archaeology Project, as well as information on other SHA projects. Click on the newsletter link below to read the full edition:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1914151/Summer10CRaB_final.pdf

The Volunteer Experience at the Indian Queen: "Why we do what we do..."

2010-07-02T09:41:00.007-04:00

This blogpost was written by Olivia Lane, who volunteered her time to help us out in the field this past week. Thanks Olivia!:

Finding the remains of lives long past is a humbling experience, and I would like to thank the State Highway Administration’s Cultural Resources department for allowing me to participate. Sifting through the dirt taught me, contrary to my recent college experiences, that not all PhD’s are afraid of getting dirty. Some actually enjoy their work, and the opportunity to share it with others—mud included. The artifacts uncovered at the site challenge the validity of word-count value of even the best photograph. There is something almost sacred about discovering and holding a tiny piece of a past life in your hands. A shard of pottery with an intricate, hand-painted flower design speaks to the eternal human need for aesthetics and beauty. A child’s marble tells of a simple childhood full of companionship and games. A pig’s jaw bone with teeth intact announces what may have been for dinner.

These artifacts can tell us as much about ourselves as they do about their previous owners. What things will we leave behind, and what will they say about us? Our legacy is everywhere—from plastic water bottles and McDonald’s® wrappers to outdated electronics. But uncovering these items may not hold the same value as the items unearthed at the Indian Queen Tavern, nor will their discovery be as difficult. The trash of the modern world is everywhere, and the half-life of a Dunkin Donuts® Styrofoam coffee cup is much longer than that of a hand-made children’s toy.

Archaeology may be partially about uncovering and preserving the past. It may be partially about learning about the details of the lives that came before us. But to fully understand the field, we must understand that we are finding out about ourselves. As technology and science advance at rapid speed, many things in our lives may change. Our basic needs never do. If we choose to focus on the similarities uncovered in Bladensburg, we may still have a fighting chance.

Indian Queen Excavation, Day 15: Last Day of Excavation

2010-06-30T18:11:00.005-04:00

Posted by Dr. Julie Schablitsky, Principal Investigator for the Bladensburg Archaeology Project and Chief Archaeologist at the State Highway Administration:

Today we closed up the Indian Queen Tavern site and by mid July, the Anacostia Watershed Society’s parking lot will be restored. Looking back over the last several weeks, I can say that this has been one of the most complex and intriguing archaeological sites SHA and the U of MD has ever excavated. We recorded almost 50 features that included a brick foundations, a brick well, stone foundations, and numerous post holes and molds. The majority of the artifacts ranged in age from the mid 20th century through the mid 18th century; however, we also recovered quartz and quartzite stone flakes and a projectile point from the first residents of Maryland. Based on our excavations at the three archaeological sites in Bladensburg, it is very clear that the Native Americans lived and fished along the Anacostia River for hundreds, and perhaps even thousands, of years.

The history of the Indian Queen Tavern site suggested that we should encounter archaeology from the first tavern on this lot. Jacob Wirt, a German immigrant, and his heirs owned the property from 1763 through 1785 and operated a tavern here. It is unclear how the site was used between the mid 1780s and 1856 (historic research is still pending). By 1856, Francis Gasch, also a German immigrant, owned the property where he operated a cabinet maker/coffin maker shop between 1860 and 1907. The Gasch funeral home is still in operation just up the road (http://www.gaschs.com/). Between 1940 and 1960 the buildings on the lot were demolished.

The diversity of occupants and site use for 200 years gave us very complex archaeology with multiple soil strata and intrusions. Our field observations revealed that although we have intact Colonial structures and strata, many of the earlier structures have been truncated or churned due to the manipulation and use of the property. For example, on the very western side of our trench we encountered a brick well. This could be very exciting for archaeologists since these vertical shaft features can hold artifacts from the date the well or privy was abandoned. Indeed, we found mid 20th century bottles and artifacts in the well that confirms abandonment of the lot only 60 years ago. Perhaps most interesting aspect about the well was the reuse of this 19th century structure sometime in the mid 20th century as a cistern or small septic tank as evidenced by three courses of newer brick on top and a pipe sticking into it running from the George Washington House.

Over the next year, we will be busy washing and analyzing all of the artifacts from the site. We will also be pouring over all of the notes, photographs, and drawings trying to figure out the evolution of buildings and structures on the site. Although we have left the field for the laboratory with more questions than answers, I am sure that the data we collected from the Anacostia Watershed Society’s parking lot will give us an amazing story about German immigrant archaeology and the way people in Bladensburg lived during the 18th and 19th centuries.

Indian Queen Tavern, Day 13: Two Visits Rock the Day

2010-06-28T15:20:00.007-04:00

Posted by Mike Roller:

An archaeology site can be an interesting place to work. Inevitably, we are always dealing with local conditions, be it weather or social environment. Though we did do some interesting archaeology today, I would have to say two unexpected visits were the most exciting thing today!

First we had a visit from Mr. Magic, the elusive local purveyor of ice cream, and magic, on wheels. Did I mention it was hot today? Mr. Magic drives a remodeled vintage ice cream truck and serves soft serve ice cream sandwiches and other treats. My orange creamsicle float sure beat the heat! Of course that was until the storm hit....

Yes, about 2:30 we looked up into a sky turning all kinds of purple green and blue, and it was moving fast! We packed up our tents and buckets and paerwork about as fast as we could and headed home. This photo was taken from the window of my car.

Other than this, the morning was productive. Frank finished Unit 6, and removed the western section of unexcavated soil to reveal the rest of his brick feature. Strangely, it terminated just past the edge of his feature, leaving just this corner of a brick structure. The unit immediately to the west (Unit 7) contained a large 19th century architectural feature that may have obliterated the remainder if this earlier brick structure.

In Unit 9 Julie began removing the stone feature that we believe is twentieth century. We are hoping it will reveal more about the deep artifact rich depression we excavated deeper in this unit. We are hoping it is a cellar.

In Unit 11 I came down on something I was expecting, but in a different configuration. A stone foundation was identified running north to south, terminated by the later well. The dark soil I mentioed finding at the end of last week turned out to be charcoal rich soil that may be related to either a burn event or to kitchen refuse. At the end of the (shortened) day we found some small surprises in this charcoal: burnt corn cobs. Later in the lab, we will carefully examine samples from this soil to look for signs of other faunal and floral material, the remains of an ancient tavern meal?

Actually the archaeology part of the day was pretty cool too....

Indian Queen Tavern, Day 11: Unit Updates

2010-06-26T10:47:00.022-04:00

Today we have updates on the findings from the three units we have opened upduring this last week of investigations at the Indian Queen Tavern site. First is the eastern most unit excavated by Julie, Nichole and Lisa:

My unit is on the far eastern side of the site and would be closest to where the Indian Queen Tavern would have stood during the 18th century. Just below the surface is part of a rock foundation that dates to the early 20th century, its use is not known. About a foot below the foundation we discovered a pit feature full of brick, rubble, clay, and some artifacts. At this time, the feature appears to be an older cellar, but it is too early determine a function. In addition to the pit feature we also encountered a post hole and post mold mixed with 18th and mid 19th century artifacts. The most exciting artifact to come out of our unit today was a complete pipe bowl. Next week we will be disassembling the 20th century foundation to better expose the pit feature.

The second unit sits in the center of trench three and is being excavated by Frank:

Today was a nice cool day compared to yesterday and I continued work on Test Unit 6. Work in the unit continued on the brick masonry feature that was identified on Wednesday. Having cleaned the bricks off completely it was determined that the brick masonry was likely the corner of a structure. A post hole was located within the south eastern corner of the test unit and it is unknown if the post hole and brick masonry feature are related, however, they both produced nineteenth century domestic and architectural artifacts. The excavation of the unit was completed today and the walls will be profiled on Monday.

The third unit is in the westernmost portion of the site, and has been excavated by Mike:

This unit was intended to expose the 18th century stone foundation discovered in the units just to the east during the previous two weeks of investigation. We hoped that we could learn more about the dimensions and function of the structure that related to the earliest occupation of the site. However, the last week has seen lots of surprises appear in this unit. There was clearly a lot of late 19th and early twentieth century construction activity in this area. Besides a large well that looks to be late 19th and possibly twentieth century in construction there is a post hole with an intact wooden post sticking up in the center of it. At the end of the day I encountered fill soils with a mixture of 19th and 18th century artifacts: a bad sign when we are looking for intact deposits. I was happy to find a beautiful quartz projectile point mixed in with everything, but it just underscores the level of mixing in these soils. Though activities from the latter occupations of the site are very interesting, we hope that some of the 18th century feature is intact below us. We will see what next week brings!

Indian Queen Tavern, Day 11: Another Hot Day

2010-06-24T17:55:00.005-04:00

Today we have a couple of posts from two volunteers who joined us for the day from State Highways:

My name is Gary Monroe, a Creative Artist that works in the Public Involvement Section of OPPE for the Maryland State Highway Administration. I volunteered to help out with the dig at the Indian Queen Tavern in Bladensburg, MD. As soon as I arrived I started sifting through the dirt given to me by the Archaeologists. I was very surprised to find so many things in the dirt and clay from the dig. It seems that every so many inches down represents a different period of history. Today I found numerous nails, bone matter, glass and ceramic pieces, pottery bits, and other artifacts. It was amazing just how many different items in a chunk of earth that you can find in there. Of course I had to accept helping the [cultural resources] people on the hottest day of the year so far. At least I had control of the water hose that I was using to separate the mud from the artifacts. If I got a little hot I would just spray myself off. This is proving to be more interesting than I first thought. I will come back tomorrow to finish up with my help and will surely take some memories back to PI with me. I wish to thank the Cultural Resources department for giving me the opportunity not only to help them, but to broaden my curiosity and knowledge for what they do.

To all, I am Dr. Jawad P.G.bdullah Project Engineer with the MD State Highway Administration OPPE Highway Development division volunteer for today 06/24/2010 on the dig into the past of yesteryear. It has truly been an amazing experience to uncover the remnant utility pieces of a time many moons ago. Revealed to me were corroded nails, earthenware, glass, other pieces of artifacts, and of certain mention were the myriad of colors uncovered in the unearthed stones. What a joy this day to reminisce on an era of Maryland’s colorful and eventful archeological history.

Thanks Guys! We'll have updates on the features we are excavating tomorrow. As we work our way down through upper levels, 18th century artifacts and features are appearing, revealing a very complexly stratified site. Just what we were hoping for!

Indian Queen Tavern, Day 10: An Interesting Start to our Fieldwork

2010-06-23T20:56:00.012-04:00

Posted by Mike Roller, from the University of Maryland, Department of Anthropology:

We had an interesting start to our fieldwork today. First of all, it was hot! Real hot! But we all managed to stay cool and hydrated. We are lucky to have tents to block out the sun, and shade the soil so we can see delicate soil stains easier. We had a visit from our Gradall friends from State Highways. They helped us open new trenches and set up silt fencing for our water screening operation.

Frank’s unit, picking up from where we had stopped three weeks ago, picked up the traces of more 19th century postholes, then uncovered the corner of a brick foundation. Numerous 18th century artifacts coming out of this unit suggest we may be into the earlier eras of the property’s history.

Julie and Nichole worked on the stone foundation in the east side of the site. Right now it is showing signs of the remnants of a fire in later levels, dating to the early twentieth century. We still do not know the age of the stone foundation or it’s function. Maybe the next week will shed some light.

In the western-most unit, we cleared part of the trench off to reveal an exciting architectural arrangement. It appears to be a well, possibly dating to the 19th century. It is made of mortared bricks. Unfortunately, it looks to have been filled in with paving debris sometime after the 1960’s. Removing some of it, I quickly came upon the water table. Besides the well, several other curious soils stains look interesting in this unit.

Our work went smoother today with the help of Jeremy, who volunteered to help us out with artifacts on this hot day. Thanks! Tomorrow looks to be another very warm, and exciting, day.

Work Continues in Work Continues In Coming Days/ Journal Article Published About Bladensburg

2010-06-21T14:16:00.005-04:00

The crew is planning on spending one more week out at the site starting Wednesday, the 23rd of June until the 1st of July. We'll be blogging our finds every day, so stay tuned.

In other news, Mike Roller of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Maryland published a short article on the project's work in Bladensburg in the National Park Service journal CRM: The Journal of Heritage Stewardship. The article was published in the Winter of 2010 issue, and is available free at this website: http://crmjournal.cr.nps.gov/Journal_Index.cfm.

Following Artifacts from Field to Lab

2010-06-18T07:31:00.007-04:00

Post by Tom Wingate, University of Maryland student.

It has been several weeks now since leaving the soiled sweat and sun burn of field work for the air conditioned luxury of the lab. Since Monday, I have had the pleasure of artifact washing at the Maryland State Highway archaeology lab in Baltimore. Artifact washing is a thoughtlessly tedious task, but it is one that I find enjoyment in. Carefully scrubbing and arranging artifacts on the drying racks has an aesthetic appeal that I had not anticipated. It has also been a great opportunity to practice my identification skills. With Nichole’s help, I feel much more confident distinguishing between the cream, white and pearlwares, the ironstone and the porcelain sherds.

While cleaning, I also had the opportunity to rediscover a piece of a Bromo Seltzer bottle that Rick and I had uncovered in Unit 1. The bold blue of the Bromo Seltzer bottle is immediately recognizable and distinguishes it well from the other glass pieces. An example is pictured on the left. Before this project I had never heard of Bromo Seltzer. I am a little embarrassed to admit that now, having been born and raised here in Maryland, but I finally know the name and story behind that memorable clock tower down by the Baltimore harbor. I could tell you all about it if you don’t already know but you’ll have more fun looking it up yourself, so have at it.

The Bromo Seltzer bottle was certainly interesting and I love the nicely painted pottery sherds as much as the next aspiring archaeologist, but my favorite artifacts to clean are the bones. I have had some opportunity to use what I learned in school to identify some bone fragments and this makes me very happy. While my talents are certainly still amateurish, identifying half of the distal end of a large femur as such was an exciting accomplishment.

Working with this project has been an incredibly fruitful experience for me, both the in the field and the lab. I have been fortunate to work with such accommodating and helpful professionals, willing to help me through paper work with patience, describe why it was a given artifact was suddenly rousing everyone’s interest, or provide impromptu pottery lectures. So thank you to everyone for that.

Uncovering the past… with a toothbrush and sieve

2010-06-11T09:52:00.005-04:00

Blog post by Victoria Lane.

Yesterday I had my first experience with “the washing of the artifacts” with Quentin. Coming on the heels of several days dry- and wet-screening in the field, getting as dirty as a five-year-old whipping up mud pies and digging in the back yard for buried treasure, I expected this latest venture into the world of archaeology to be tamer stuff...which it was. It was also surprisingly engaging, and after hours of scrubbing everything from corroded nails to fragments of ceramic and glass, I found the experience rather Zen: staying in the moment, carefully removing soil from whatever I pulled from the labeled bag, watching the artifact emerge like a butterfly from its cocoon…well, I caught the occasional glimpse of nirvana.

I also flashed back to those childhood years when my mother dragged me through every antique store and junk shop in a tri-state area. Recognizing “flow blue,” “blue willow,” “Depression glass” and Colonial crockery in muddy bits and pieces scrubbed back to beauty with a toothbrush was like rediscovering a native language unspoken for decades and believed forever lost. (Thanks, Mom!) Favorite finds? A serving spoon with shell-shaped bowl and rather elegantly bent handle; part of a plate from the Municipal Hospital (a psychiatric facility, I’m told); a small piece of scalloped, blue-edged ceramic; a few animal bones (Ah! Mortality); and an oddly shaped piece of corroded metal I still say looks like a miniature fertility goddess—I dub thee “Bladensburg Venus.”

In this full-speed-ahead, high-tech age of cyber-this and virtual-that, it’s reassuring to know that some things still require the human touch; that tools can be as simple as a Dr. Du-More’s toothbrush, a common kitchen sieve, a plastic pan of water, and a pair of willing hands. And even though yesterday’s four-hour stint left me with blanched hands and puckered fingers better suited to the corpse of someone tragically lost at sea, I’m ready to head back to the lab and give it another go next week.

Indian Queen Tavern Project Plans

2010-06-10T13:25:00.009-04:00

Blog posted by Michael Roller, graduate student from the Department of Anthropology, University of Maryland:

Mike Roller, reporting from Scotland where I am currently working on an archaeology project for a couple weeks before returning home to Riverdale, Maryland. As many of you know, our fieldwork at the George Washington House revealed intact archaeological deposits present relating to two and a half centuries of occupation. We decided to return for one more week of work during the last week of June to examine further a few aspects of the property we weren’t able to examine to our complete satisfaction. We are grateful that the Anacostia Watershed Society has been kind enough to welcome us back as hosts.

Three particular areas interest us. These include the stone wall mentioned in an above blogpost by Zach, which relates to the late 19th and early twentieth centuries’, and could shed light on what occurred in the eastern portion of the property closest to US Route One. (see picture below) We also wanted to examine a portion of Trench 2 that featured a few postholes relating to the early to mid- 19th century. Adjacent unit excavation revealed the presence of several postholes that appeared to relate to one or more 19th century structures in the area. One of our hypotheses includes a horse stable listed on a historic deed. The third item on our agenda is to extend our view of Feature 4, an 18th century foundation identified in the western side of Trench 2. The last few days of excavation resulted in large amounts of 18th century ceramics, bones and glass fragments removed from within and adjacent to the foundation. We were lucky enough to catch the southeast corner of the feature but do not have a sense of its dimensions. We are hoping that one last unit may reveal the length, as well as more clues about the function and temporal affiliation of this early feature. (see picture below)

We’ll be blogging sporadically in the next couple weeks about the labwork being conducted at the State Highways lab in Baltimore, before blogging everyday about our fieldwork when it begins again on the 23rd of June. Stay tuned!

Indian Queen Tavern, Day 9: "The Last Day in the Field, For Now...."

2010-05-27T22:52:00.008-04:00

It was our last day in the field at the Indian Queen Tavern Site, though some of us will be back here in late June to finish up a few things....

Meanwhile all the archaeologists that joined the excavation have different projects to work on through the summer: some are off to digs in Scotland at a castle, or at a 19th century plantation in Maryland, or at a quarry in Frederick, and to Belize. Some are off to work on the cultural resources outreach for the ICC, some to help the National Park Sevice catalog the material culture for the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial or organize the civic engagement program for the Nations Park's. I am looking forward to hearing about all their summer adventures!

Here is a posting from Jenna Zimmerman, a graduate student at the University of Maryland, talking about what she learned out at the site:

The past two weeks here in Bladensburg have certainly been an adventure – rain, blistering heat, incredible artifacts, amazing people, and of course many sore muscles. Although I’ve worked on multiple archaeological excavations over the past three years, I always find that every site is different – new people, new artifacts, new information about the past, new methods of archaeology, and even new lessons on archaeology. As a student of archaeology, I am constantly looking to learn something when I step onto a new field site, and Bladensburg has been nothing short of a learning experience. On my first day alone, while working with Jenn, I had to learn an entirely new way of filling out paperwork. For all the non-archaeologists out there, you may not realize that everything you do in the field must get written down – measurements for every layer you dig, the number and types of artifacts you find, the types of soil you are digging in, etc.

This week I have spent a lot of time wet-screening, which may have left me covered in mud at the end of each day, but was well worth it during the heat we experienced over the past two days. While working in Unit 7 with Lisa and Zac, we kept gradually approaching the water table and all of our soil got sludgy and mixed with clay, which required a lot of water-screening. Digging in this unit also proved difficult because it was difficult to see the various changes in the soil. We discovered a feature ( Feature 31) that gradually got wider as we dug deeper. Lisa hypothesized that this could have been a builder’s trench as it was located next to a possible stone wall. Artifacts that came out of this feature included a variety of ceramics, buttons made of metal and glass, and a glass goblet.

I have certainly enjoyed my time working here in Bladensburg, and I am sad that is coming to a close today. The team of archaeologists working here undoubtedly has a wealth of knowledge about all historical artifacts, and I will carry this knowledge with me to my next field site this summer. I would like to thank all of the archaeologists and volunteers who worked at the site – all of you made this excavation not only educational, but also interesting and enjoyable!

AND BTW!

We'll have lots more to say as we start to look at the tremendous assemblage of artifacts we collected over the last two weeks. We also have video and photos from the field to sort through as we organize documentation from ten test units, thirty archaeological features and thousands and thousands of artifacts. We'll also talk about other aspects of Bladensburg history we have come across that relate to our projects in town. We are also planning a fourth workshop at the George Washington House early this Fall to talk about the archaeology and history of Bladensburg. So stay tuned!

This morning we had a visit from Bladensburg Mayor Walter James. For those of you who have been following us over the year, you might remember Mayor James helped us out at the Market Master's House excavation last spring and wrote a blog post: (http://bladenarch.blogspot.com/2009/06/day-9-very-special-guest-field-tech-and.html).

Here are a couple of photos from this morning's visit. Thanks again for visiting, Mayor James!

Indian Queen Excavation, Day 8: "Thanks to our Volunteers/ A couple artifacts from today"

2010-05-26T21:11:00.019-04:00

Posted by Chrissie Sheckells, from the SHA, who has been volunteering at the site this week:

I am an environmental analyst at the Maryland State Highway Administration Headquarters in Baltimore. I write documents to make sure our projects comply with the National Environmental Policy Act. Cultural resources review and archeology are a big component of my documents but I have never experienced an actual dig before. I was excited to be able to get out from behind my desk and help out on the site.

Today I have been wet screening because the soil is too wet or has too much clay in it to be dry screened. Wet screening involves putting the soil in a screen and basically spraying it down with a hose so the artifacts can be seen more easily. My fellow volunteers and I have found many different types of artifacts. There were pieces of glass and pottery/ceramics. I love to find the pieces of ceramics in all different colors. There are whites, blues, greens, purples, yellows and many different patterns. Sometimes the pieces are extremely small but they are usually easy to see because of their colors. We have also found many nails in the screens. These are usually very corroded but easy to identify. Animal bones of all shapes and sizes as well as numerous oyster shells have also frequently turned up in our screens. Some of the more rare items that we have seen today are pipe stems, two intact cut nails which looked like they had been burned and a very small pin. We also found an animal tooth.

Another activity that took place today included recording the stratigraphy of the site. The archeologists record the different layers of soil they see in the walls of the pit they have dug and this can help them determine the time period and activities of that layer. This is my third day on the site and it is amazing to see all of the progress that has been made since last week.

It has been really interesting to learn about the methods of digging and cataloging (lots of counting) all of the artifacts. I have never really put much thought into archeology and it is fascinating to think that we are finding things that can tell us about activities that occurred at this site over 200 years ago. I am sad that this is my last day to be on site and I hope I have the opportunity to volunteer at another dig in the future!

And now an artifact from today:

This is one of the largest pieces of tin-glazed earthenware we have found at this site, in fact from any site many of us have worked at! (The piece on the right is about 3 inches across) It is also the oldest of the ceramic types we have been finding out here, being common on Maryland sites from the first years of European settlement through the third quarter of the 18^th century. The piece is hand-painted in several different colors. (see: http://www.jefpat.org/diagnostic/Historic_Ceramic_Web_Page/Historic%20Ware%20Descriptions/tin_glazed.htm 20Descriptions/tin_glazed.htm for more info)

Indian Queen Tavern, Day Seven: "Some Help Drying Things Out/ Time is Getting Tight!"

2010-05-25T20:05:00.012-04:00

Posted by recent University of Maryland graduate Zac Singer:

Today (Tuesday March 25th) we continued excavations in the new units we started yesterday while Rick and Tom continued work on unit 1. Units 3, 4, and 5 were still inundated with water so we called in the big guns! The state highway’s administration brought us an industrial-sized water pump to allow us to transform units 3, 4, and 5 from bathtubs to workable, albeit very muddy, archaeological units.

Lisa tried to continue to excavate the recently drained unit 3 but found only mud. After working in unit 3 Lisa continued to excavate unit 7. She excavated 19th century deposits and a post mold. The most exciting artifacts excavated from her unit today were buttons made of bone, glass, and metal.

Julie had a bit more luck excavating unit 4 after it was drained. Battling the mud, Julie managed to uncover a brick footing. The brick footing contained some tin-glazed ceramic which suggests that the footing is from the 18th century. Another interesting aspect of the brick footing is that one of the bricks was marked with an “X” on one side.

Draining the water also allowed Mike and Molly to continue to excavate unit 5, which contains an 18th century foundation made of rock. Today they excavated a feature in the center of the unit and discovered that it was an intrusion from the 19th century. Disappointing! After excavating the feature in unit 5, Mike and Molly started an adjacent unit in order to learn more about the stone foundation. While excavating the upper levels of unit 10, Mike and Molly found a toy tea-cup from the mid 19th century.

Frank joined me in unit 9 today. Unit 9 yielded many 20th and late 19th century artifacts including a clay marble, pipe-stems, a glass insulator, and a belt buckle. Yesterday, Janet mentioned that I had come across some rocks in the Eastern third of unit 1. Today, more rocks appeared leading me to believe that there is a rock wall feature in the eastern third of unit 1. After excavating two strata, unit 1 was closed so that more help could be provided to other units.

Jenn continued to excavate unit 6. Some key artifacts found today include: a worked bone needle, a button that says “Treble Standard” on the back, and some tin-glazed earthenware. While excavating unit 6, Jenn uncovered a 19th century post-hole feature that is exactly 8 feet from the posthole feature in unit 7. Unit 6 also contains part of a 19th century structure that has been found in other units. The South West corner of the unit contains a lot of architectural debris, including brick and mortar. Charcoal and ash have been found in the southeast corner. The north half of the unit has different levels of fill. Tomorrow Jenn hopes to gain more insight into the fill in unit 6.

Janet continued excavating late 19th century deposits in unit 8. Today, she excavated two features. One feature was a thin oyster midden. The other feature was in the center of the unit and contained pockets of pure sand. This sandy feature also had an iron rod in it. Janet’s interesting finds today include lots of pearlware and some Staffordshire ceramic, an 18th century variety.

Rick and Tom continued to excavate in Unit 1. They spent most of the day excavating through early to mid 19th century deposits that included like flow blue, white ware, and some pearlware. During this time, they noticed that the artifacts located underneath the floor feature in their unit were different from the artifacts excavated outside of the floor feature. At the end of the day, Rick and Tom had excavated into a level containing artifacts from the late 18th century artifacts. Julie exclaimed “Welcome to the 18th century!” The 18th century deposits include scratch-blue stoneware sherds, creamware, and increasing amounts of pipe stems.

There is still plenty of excavating left to do tomorrow and Thursday so please wear your pajamas inside out and ask for good weather for the rest of the week!
P.S. I want to thank all of the screeners who have been screening buckets of dirt for artifacts all week. We would not be nearly as productive without your help!

Indian Queen Excavation: Day Six "After the Rain...."

2010-05-24T21:25:00.010-04:00

Posted by archaeologist Janet Donlin, University of Mayland graduate and veteran of the Market Master's House excavation:

Welcome back! Hopefully you all had a nice weekend. I know I enjoyed the break from the sun and the dirt, but I’m glad to come back to work. After all the exciting things we found last week I could only imagine what would be in store for us this week. We began our second week on the job bailing rainwater that accumulated over the weekend from the units. Unfortunately, units 3 and 4 are pretty much flooded and will probably stay that way for awhile. However, this meant we got to open up some more units today! We opened up four more – units 7, 8, 9, and 10. Three are in trench 3: unit 7, which Lisa got started on, unit 9, which Zac started, and unit 10, which Molly and Mike moved to after their unit (unit 5) became too inundated with water to continue. Janet (the humble archaeologist who is writing this now) began unit 8 in trench 1. We’ve all barely scratched the surface, but we’ve already got some awesome artifacts coming out of our units.

The most exciting thing to come out of my unit today is a round brass button with an eagle crest on the front. This was found among other late 19th-century artifacts, including a lot of whiteware, which leads us to believe it may be Civil War-era, maybe even as early as the War of 1812. I’ve only gotten through one strat so far, but I’ve already come across two features—a circular pocket of yellowish sand in the center of the unit, and a concentration of oyster shells in the NW corner. Tomorrow I will begin on these features to see what information I get out of them.

In unit 7, Lisa also found a concentration of shells, but hers were clam shells. The curious thing is that her concentration is almost directly north of mine, separated by the wall between the trenches. She also found a concentration of coal ash in the SE part of her unit with a brick inside, which she plans to excavate tomorrow.

Zac is still in the 20th-century in his unit, which is directly north of unit 1. He has found a large amount of plate glass in his, and he has recently come down on some large flat stones in the eastern side of his unit. We are still waiting to see if these may be associated with the brick floor in unit 1.

Molly and Mike began unit 10, which is to the west of unit 5, their other unit. In the eastern part of their unit is a rock footing which may be a continuation of the footing found in unit 5. They also had an exciting find today. They uncovered a large fragment of flow blue ironstone that was obviously part of a large vessel, possibly with handles. They also have another large piece of ironstone waiting to be excavated.

As for our older units, Rick and Tom have finally gotten through the brick floor and the clay supporting it and are into the early 19th-century/late 18th-century in unit 1. The artifacts coming out of their unit include pieces of flow blue, transfer print, and shell-edge whiteware and pearlware. They have dated the brick floor to the second or third quarter of the 19th-century. Frank is finishing up unit 2, having hit what he believes to be subsoil. His unit is getting a little flooded as well, so we’ll all have to hope for clear skies tonight and maybe a little drainage for our flooded units.

2010-05-21T22:05:00.006-04:00

Posted by Molly Russell, graduate student from the University of Maryland, Department of Anthropology:

What a day! What a week! A lot has been going on around here at the Indian Queen Tavern. Dirt is piled high all around the site – dirt that has been chock full of interesting information!

Mike and I have been digging for the past three days in Trench 3, Unit 5. Let me tell you, this is one confusing unit. Yesterday we thought we had evidence of two different post holes from the 18th century. Post holes are formed when a small hole is dug, a wooden post is placed in the hole, and the wooden post rots to leave a dark stain in the soil. So when an archaeologist comes across dark circles in the soil, post-holes seem like a likely explanation. However, the farther down we dug the less they looked like post holes because the dark soil veered off in a different direction the deeper we went. It seemed as if the investigation of these post holes would not be an open-and-shut case – that would have made our day too easy! Mike was digging one of these post holes out and found ceramics dating back to the 19th century. That could possibly help explain the mystery of the amorphous post hole. These 19th century artifacts may have been part of a later intrusion that cut into the initial 18th century post hole. Only time (and more digging!) will tell if this theory is correct.

In our unit we also found some interesting artifacts. There were a few sherds of some beautifully decorated blue and white Chinese porcelain dating back to the mid 18th century. Mike, however, truly had the find of the day. He had been digging through a lot of mud when pulled out a mysterious brass object. Modern technology (i.e. a cell phone with the internet) confirmed that this object was most likely a cask-tap from the 18th century. Talk about an artifact that truly speaks of the site’s tavern past!

Jenna and Jen opened up a new unit today. So far they are finding a lot of building materials, glass, and ceramic that date back to the late 19th and 20th century. They have been working through the heat to learn more about the information that these artifacts and the soil contain.

Nicole is working in a mucky mess! Her’s is the unit farthest west in the first trench. So far you can see a brick footing for a former outbuilding, but the high water table is making it difficult to dig through the mud and water.

Lisa, in the unit right next to Nicole’s, has found evidence of some post holes (remember those?). As I am typing this, though, the dug out holes resemble small ponds rather than features. Water has interfered yet again!

The soil in Frank and Janet’s unit has not been dug down as far as Lisa and Nicole’s unit, so a lot of their artifacts date back to the mid-18th century. They too have some post holes, and they too have encountered water during their excavation. Maybe next week we’ll all have some drier conditions.

Rick has continued to take up the brick layers that line his unit. We are hoping that once he is able to get down past these we will be able to gather some useful information about the transformation of the site over the past few centuries.
Finally, we would like to thank all of the volunteers who have been working hard over the past few days! They have been digging, screening soil, and generally getting very dirty! They have been a huge help, and we are all very appreciative of their work.

Thanks for checking in, and check back next week to see what we’re doing over here in Bladensburg.

2010-05-20T20:13:00.012-04:00

Posted by Richard Ervin, Senior Archeologist,

Maryland State Highway Administration:

Day 2 of excavations with a full crew: Thursday. After our rainout on Tuesday, and mild cloudy weather on Wednesday, we had full sun and temperatures in the 80s today – enough to get a good sunburn if you don’t watch it!

Tom and I are working in Test Unit 1 at the far east end of Trench 1. Although we are mired in the 20th century (possibly the late 19th by the end of the day today), we are finding some interesting material. Yesterday afternoon we came down on a brick surface, (see photo above) and by the end of the day it was apparent that it covers most of the floor of our 5-by-5. Today, we found that a second course of bricks lies under the top layer – and that we appear to have some sort of structure floor. It’s also possible that it may represent a paved work area or drive.

The stratum above the bricks in TU 1 contains mostly early 20th century diagnostic artifacts – a crown bottle cap, wire staples, a .22 cartridge, a molded glass tumbler, and ceramics that appear to 20th century, or late 19th at the earliest. We also found two clay marbles and 3 blue glass beads – each of which was found as two separate half-spheres. Were they manufactured in two pieces, or were they all split while I was troweling? I didn’t think I was being that heavy-handed! However, we’ll have to see if we can find any information on such beads.

We left one quadrant of the bricks in place and took out the rest of the upper course of bricks. Mixed into spaces between the brickwork, we found a copper rivet, a stud clothing fastener manufactured of milk glass, undecorated and polychrome whiteware, along with various nails, window glass, and the like. After taking some record photos and completing our paperwork, we started removing the lower course of bricks from three quadrants of the unit. Here, we started to find what appears to be earlier 19th century material (probably around mid-century) including one blue transfer print whiteware and one piece that may be annular ware. At the end of the day, under the lower brick course, we found a small figurine. Was it placed here intentionally? At this point we can’t say.

Frank and Janet have gotten down into the 18th century in TU 2 immediately to our west – some creamware, Rhenish blue stoneware, white salt-glazed stoneware, and tin-glazed earthenware. They also have some interesting features in their unit – in particular, a postmold that lies just west of our brick floor. The posthole and postmold feature contained later material, generally late 19th century artifacts that appear to match well with the brick structure. Perhaps the brick floor and post feature are related.

Lisa found the biggest honkin’ piece of delftware we’ve seen, although they may have found something larger at Londontown ... also a piece of Whieldon Ware. One postmold was excavated – unfortunately nothing was recovered in the fill, but there are several areas of brick and mortar that appear to indicate other structural features in the unit. The good news is that they are finding lots of pipe fragments and wine bottle glass – both very much what would be expected in a tavern assemblage!

Julie was working at the far west end of Trench 1, in TU 4. She has another feature, an a brick pile or foundation. As expected at this depth at the west end of Trench 1, she has early artifacts – a clay marble, Rhenish and white salt glazed stoneware, tin-glazed earthenware, and creamware, along with some nice pieces of bone.

In Trench 3, excavated to the north parallel to the first trench, Mike and Molly have been working on a strange configuration of rocks that, at the end of the day, was starting to look like a stone foundation. (see photo below) The artifacts from the inside of the structure all date to the 18th century stuff: tin-glazed earthenwares, nicely hand-painted in polychromatic flowers and stripes. Early stuff! This probably dates to the earliest days of Bladensburg’s history. We’ll see what tomorrow brings...

Indian Queen Tavern: Day Three, "Bits and Pieces of the Picture"

2010-05-19T19:10:00.008-04:00

Today we began excavating test units in the trench we opened on Monday, and also had the Gradall dig a second trench parallel to the first. These trenches are five feet wide and about twenty five feet long, and are also stepped; that is, they were excavated in levels, so the first unit starts in the 20th century, the unit in the middle begins in the 19th century, and at the end we’re starting at a depth that corresponds with the early 19th or late 18th century. This allows us to sample three centuries of site occupation simultaneously.

In Unit 1, Rick and Tom found artifacts representative of the early 20th century (and maybe a few things from the late 19th century). These artifacts included a huge piece of broken window glass, several small glass beads, glass bottles, ceramics, two clay marbles, and architectural debris (brick fragments, mortar, and nails). At the end of the day, they discovered an articulated brick floor!

Janet and Frank excavated Unit 2, which has arguably been the most interesting and productive unit so far today. The artifacts dated, for the most part, to the mid-to-late 19th century. Everyone’s favorite artifact of the day was found here: a ceramic lid depicting a cow and bearing the legend “Genuine Beef Marrow Pomatum.” This was essentially the Spam of the late 19th century (the lid dates to around 1870). In addition to the Pomatum lid, Unit 2 yielded a ceramic marble, several large ceramic fragments, numerous pipestems and bowls, and an assortment of other items.

Lisa excavated Unit 3, which offered an assortment of early 19th century and late 18th century artifacts. There were a variety of ceramic types represented here: Tin-Glazed Earthenware, Nottingham, English Brown Stoneware, and a number of patterns on Pearlware, Creamware and Whiteware. Animal bone was also present, as well as lamp glass, wine bottle glass, a large quantity of nails and bricks, and quite a lot of oyster and clam shells.

Mike and Molly began the day excavating Unit 4 in Trench 1, but Unit 4 needed a bit more time to dry out after Tuesday’s rain, so they moved to Unit 5 in Trench 3. A number of large, possibly architectural stones have been found, which may indicate that Mike & Molly are working at the site of the stable or possibly another outbuilding from the mid-to-early 19th century. They have also found a number of ceramics, including a fragment of “Scratch Blue” and a small piece of Nottingham-type pottery.
Each test unit excavated today represented a different use of the site, from the earliest to the latest historic occupation. The only major concern is that we may have only scratched the surface of the Indian Queen Tavern period – where are all the pipestems and liquor bottles? With any luck, we’ll start turning them up in the next day or so!

Indian Queen Tavern: Day Two, "One for the archaeologists, one for the rain"

2010-05-18T20:40:00.012-04:00

Today the weather did not cooperate with our excavation plans. Pouring rain filled our trenches. Luckily we laid down plastic the day before to protect the soil. For any of you who followed our Market Master's house excavation this may sound very familiar!

We decided to make the best of our time, so the crew headed to the University of Maryland archaeology lab to wash and examine our finds from yesterday. (See picture of L - R: Molly Russell, Lisa Krauss and Nichole Sorenson-Mutchie) Despite the cold wet weather and lost field time, looking over the artifacts from yesterday reignited our excitement to start digging. A close examination of the artifacts confirmed what we had hoped for the day before: the site seems to be largely intact.

Below the gravel we found artifacts from the early twentieth century including colorful printed and gilded dinner plates, liquor bottles and milk glass cold cream jars. Below that we found artifacts from the late nineteenth century including slightly more subdued plate fragments, medicine bottles, and porcelain tchotchkes (see photograph). A few inches below that we found even older ceramics, brass decorative elements that might be related to a cabinet/ coffinmaker that occupied the lot (more on that in an upcoming blog post!). Finally down at the bottom of the trench we found the kinds of ceramics that definitely identify the mid to late 18th century including white salt-glazed stoneware and scratch blue. At the moment the weather is looking up for tomorrow. We are hoping to get a great start on four test units placed along the length of our first trench, and excavate a second trench parallel with our first one. Our team will expand to a group of nine. More to come tomorrow!

Indian Queen Tavern Excavation: Day 1

2010-05-17T17:41:00.019-04:00

After a year, we're out in the field again in Bladensburg. It was a good feeling despite the rainy, cool weather we had today. Julie Schablitsky, Mike Roller, and I (Nichole Sorensen-Mutchie) spent the day monitoring the backhoe excavation of two trenches in the gravel parking lot of the George Washington House. The first trench located north of the GW House, was placed based on ground penetrating radar results. Multiple anomalies were found in that area, perhaps related to the tavern or associated kitchen, shed, and stable. After the compact gravel was removed, we found wonderfully intact deposits from the 20th, 19th, and 18th centuries. Artifacts found included oyster shell, porcelain, nails, bottle glass, and scratch blue stoneware. Three units were placed in the trench, ready to be dug tomorrow.

A second trench was dug perpendicular to the first. About twenty complete bottles were found, likely dating to the early to mid 20th century. A horse shoe was also found, perhaps associated with the stable. Trench 2 had to be filled back in because we hit the water table.

All in all, it was a very good day. We weren't sure there would be anything left from the 18th and 19th centuries and now we know that there are! Tomorrow should be exciting as we start to dig units and hopefully find features related to the tavern.

Brief History of the Indian Queen Tavern

2010-05-06T13:11:00.000-04:00

Tavern Definition: A house that offered alcoholic drink, food, and overnight accommodation for a price.

Around 1763 a tavern was built on the north half of Lot 6 by Jacob Wirt and his wife Henrietta. Jacob was a Swiss immigrant and Henrietta emigrated from Germany. They raised their three sons and three daughters in this tavern. In 1774, Jacob Wirt died and left this property, including the brick store (George Washington House), tavern, stable, and counting house before the tavern door, to his heirs.

Although the tavern was still owned by the Wirt heirs, it was rented out. By 1798, the tavern was being operated by Richard Ross. The tax records described the tavern as a two story, framed dwelling house measuring 46 ft by 28 ft. The property also supported a 12 ft by 16ft framed kitchen, a 26 ft by 20 ft framed stable, and a 26ft by 9ft shed.

Perhaps the most significant mention of the tavern came in a letter dated March 26, 1797 from George Washington to Elizabeth Willing Powell. In the letter he noted that although Spurrier’s Tavern in Jessup was popular with travelers, “the lodging is bad-the eating tolerable…better for lodging than eating. At Bladensburg nine miles beyond a good house is kept by one Ross (sign of the Indian Queen). We believe that Washington was likely referring to Richard Ross’ tavern.*

The last known tavern keeper was Patrick Daugherty who took over the operation in 1802 and may have kept the Ross name for his business. Ross’ Tavern is not mentioned again until 1814. Joshua Barney’s daughter, Mary, reports that after the Battle of Bladensburg, Commodore Barney was taken to Ross’ Tavern at his request. Here he oversaw the capture and parole of 80 wounded American soldiers. Additionally, a letter written from Ross’ Tavern about the Battle of Bladensburg from Henry Thompson to Brig. Gen. Stricker also suggests the use of the tavern as a head quarters following the battle. This is the last known reference to the tavern. Based on the chain of titles, it appears that the property ceased to support a tavern by the 1830s.

By 1861, a German cabinet maker, Ernst Franz (Francis) Gasch, operated a cabinet shop on this property where he also made coffins and served as a local mortician. Although Francis and his wife, Sophia, moved across the street in 1895, they continued to operate the funeral home at this location until 1902. By 1939, the property is vacant.

The Indian Queen Tavern archaeological excavation will begin May 17th, 2010.

*A tavern believed to be the Rossborough Inn is noted on an 1802 map as the Indian Queen Tavern in College Park. It is believed Richard Ross built and operated this inn after leaving his Bladensburg establishment in 1802.

Discovering Archaeology Day

2010-04-20T12:36:00.000-04:00

On Saturday, Jenn Babiarz and Nichole Sorensen-Mutchie from the Maryland State Highway Administration participated in the second annual Discovering Archaeology Day at Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum. They showcased artifacts recovered from the Market Master’s House, including a wide range of ceramic types, as well as toys dating from the 19th and 20th century. Several people who stopped by the table said they were from the Bladensburg area and were familiar with the houses where we have been excavating. They were surprised by the early history of the area and were interested in following the Bladensburg Archaeology Project as it continues.

About three hundred people attended this growing event. Tours were given of the Maryland Archaeological Conservation (MAC) lab as well as an active archaeological site at the park. Several people brought in objects for the experts from the MAC lab to identify. Other participants included the National Park Service, University of Maryland and Archaeology Society of Maryland.

Excavations will begin next month at the George Washington House/Indian Queen Tavern. Stay tuned for more information.

Third Workshop/ Project Update

2010-04-19T19:28:00.001-04:00

The Bladensburg Archaeology Project had its third workshop last Wednesday night, April 14th. About 35 people came to the George Washington House to drink juice and eat cookies, hear a lecture about the Battle of Bladensburg and talk about local history. Mike Roller started the talk with a short overview of the project to date. He then gave an update on upcoming plans including the excavations at the George Washington House and the current investigation of battlefield resources from the Battle of Bladensburg. Nichole from State Highways passed around two War of 1812 musket balls found during fieldwork in the last few weeks.

Ranger Jim Bailey from the National Park Service gave a fantastic presentation on the Battle of Bladensburg. Jim is part of the historic interpretation unit at Fort McHenry and also leads the reenactment volunteers at the fort. His talk was animated and detailed, providing great maps depicting the movement of troops during those fateful couple of hours of Bladensburg history.

Fieldwork in the parking lot adjacent to the George Washington House will commence during the last two weeks of May. We will be updating the blog daily with a narration of our excavation. We are hopeful that the remains of the Indian Queen Tavern will be found here. Early this fall we will be returning into the field to investigate a portion of the property adjacent to the Market Master’s House. Hopefully we will expand our understanding of some of the older structures that stood on the lot next to the old stone house.

We can't wait!

Third Workshop, April 14th, 2010

2010-03-17T10:51:00.000-04:00

On Wednesday, April 14th, 2010 we will host our third Public History Workshop. It will be hosted by the Anacostia Watershed Society, and held at the historic George Washington House in Bladensburg. This workshop will feature a talk by Ranger Jim Bailey of the National Park Service Historic Interpretation Division of Ft. McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine. He will talk about the events leading up to the Battle of Bladensburg. This will be followed by a brief talk by Rick Ervin of the State Highway Administration about the archaeology of the battlefield.

Please RSVP to the event at bladenarch@gmail.com or call the Anacostia Watershed Society at (301) 699 6204 (ask for Jeri).

Third Public History Workshop: The Battle of Bladensburg

Date: April 14, 2010 WEDNESDAY

Time: 7:00 PM

Where: The Anacostia Watershed Society

George Washington House

4302 Baltimore Ave.

Bladensburg, MD

Please RSVP:

Contact Person: Michael Roller

Email: bladenarch@gmail.com

Phone: Anacostia Watershed Society, 301-699-6204 (ask for Jeri)

Ecology, Commerce, Conflict and Transportation along the Anacostia River, Part V, Transportation and Conclusion

2010-02-23T21:43:00.000-05:00

While excavating at Bostwick we encountered an artifact that led us to research one of the more interesting occupants of the house. Archaeologists excavating on the terraced side-gardens to the southeast of the house found an unusual looking bullet. Bullets are a common find in rural or formally- rural areas, though this one was unusually large. Later that afternoon a member of the Bladensburg police force dropped by to see how the excavation was progressing. As we usually do when the public visits our excavations, we showed him what we were finding, and asked him what he thought about them. It turns out that the officer was the firearms- training expert for the police force. He was excited to see the bullet. He carefully examined it, compared it with the bullets in his belt, measured it, and concluded that it most likely came from a big game hunting rifle from the turn of the century.

Later, we found that Bostwick, unoccupied since the 1990s, is furnished almost exclusively with taxidermied big game trophies from the occupants of the house between 1904 and about 1930. James and Hettie Kyner moved to Bladensburg when it was a sleepy rural exurbia reachable from Washington D.C. by trolley. James Kyner, a Civil War veteran, politician and railroad contractor had retired to Bladensburg after a long career building transcontinental rail lines in the West. It was here that he acquired the many big game heads that grace the walls of the house.

Before his career in the railroad industry Kyner served two terms in the state legislature of Nebraska. As a politician he was an ardent advocate for the railroad industry, opposing all measures to regulate it, at a time when this was a pressing issue in the country. For the aid he delivered to the industry he received his first contract constructing a branch line for Union Pacific for settlers in Nebraska in 1881. After more than twenty years in the business the Kyners moved east to a quiet town in the hinterlands of Washington D.C. (Kyner 1937)
In 1937 Kyner wrote an autobiography of his long and fascinating life called End of Track. Bladensburg is mentioned very briefly at the end, where he fondly describes the peace of his retirement home:
"…going East with my wife and very young daughter, I bought an old colonial home just outside the

District of Columbia, within six miles of the White House... Here, with seven acres of garden and orchard and lawn to interest me, I have stood aside for the past thirty years and let the world go by. Busying myself with bees and dogs, with chickens and with a horse or two, modernizing and reconstructing this old, old house of mine, I have played no part that could be felt so very far beyond the pillars at my gate. I have seen, as from a seat in a theater, the drama of the world. Here and there it touches me, of course, but mostly it does not."

Ironically, it is the congestion of unbridled growth that began in the late 19th century that would eventually overtake the Bladensburg that Kyner hid from in his house on the hill. Today, the historic core of the town is crisscrossed by the commercial developments and transportation routes that snake along major commuting arteries leading in and out of Washington D.C. It was these transportation routes that had brought people to Bladensburg throughout the years, by river, by road, by rail, by trolley, each leaving a bit of themselves behind in the archaeological record. For the public, the obliteration of the historical landscape is one of the major concerns expressed at public events. They hope that the archaeological and historical work being undertaken by SHA and U of MD will help them to recreate a walking city within this cultural landscape that is commensurate with the complexity and depth of Bladensburg history as we are coming to understand it. Above all, this is what the public has asked from our archaeology project.

Using a combination of public outreach and traditional scientific methods the Bladensburg Archaeology Project has made our work meaningful to the communities of Bladensburg. Inviting the public to take part in the archaeological process aided us in making the physical discoveries meaningful to the town. It has helped us, and the community, relate the data we find underground to themes that are relevant locally and nationally, historically and in the present. Through the narrative of archaeological research, we can connect the complex history of a small locality to broader national themes of contemporary importance. Through the themes of ecology, conflict, commerce and transportation we can highlight the complexity of a history that the community can be both critical and proud of.

"Ecology, Commerce, Conflict and Transportation along the Anacostia River", Part IV, Conflict

2010-02-12T12:27:00.000-05:00

This paper was co-authored by Mike Roller and Julie Schablitsky and presented at the 2010 Conference for the Society for Historical Archaeology. It is based upon their work in Bladensburg. Here is part IV:

After the river silted in and rendered the port unnavigable, Bladensburg’s economy suffered. However it continued to serve an auxiliary role as a way station for travelers. In the 19th century its location at the intersection of major roads to Annapolis, Baltimore, Georgetown, Upper Marlboro, Alexandria and Washington D.C. made it a major stopping point for travelers. The bridge over the Anacostia River also served to make it a strategic spot during the War of 1812 when the British confronted limited American resistance in their march to burn Washington in August of 1814. At our workshops and public events many people ask if we have found anything from the battle. For the town this singular event and its historical context is the most significant to Bladensburg’s heritage. As enthusiasm has been growing in anticipation of the bicentennial, tour groups from all over the country have visited Bladensburg and the rest of the DC area tracing the path of the British.

In fact, the battle itself took place to the west of town, but it is likely that many of the buildings in town, including the Magruder house, served as field hospitals for British troops. While excavating at the house, SHA archaeologists recovered a British 1774 King George halfpenny like the one pictured. For the public and the press, the coin was a palpable connection to the period of time just before the American Revolution and the subsequent tension that led up to the forgotten and fascinating event that made the town famous again, the Battle of Bladensburg. We cannot be certain where the coin came from, whether it was dropped by a wounded British soldier or was simply amongst the pocket change of Mr. Henderson, the occupant of the house at the time. A variety of foreign currency was used in the American colonies, as were valuable commodities such as tobacco and sugar. However, it serves to remind us, and the community, of the political ties that connected Bladensburg and the rest of the fledgling nation with England in its first century. These ties, broken by revolution in 1776, came back to Bladensburg in a conflict in which it would serve a pivotal role. Many residents of the town hope that event, with the upcoming bicentennial in 2012, will bring attention back to the town.

"Ecology, Commerce, Conflict and Transportation along the Anacostia River" Part III, Commerce

2010-02-02T21:33:00.000-05:00

This paper was co-authored by Mike Roller and Julie Schablitsky and presented at the 2010 Conference for the Society for Historical Archaeology. It is based upon their work in Bladensburg. Here is Part III:

The Market Master’s house is a ca. 1760 stone structure built by Christopher Lowndes, a prominent merchant and slave trader in the region. He operated several businesses including a ropewalk and an import business in the structures he built in the town of Bladensburg. Among the artifacts recovered at the Market Master’s house was a fragment of black transfer-printed creamware printed with an inscription. Research resulted in finding an image of a matching teapot, helping us to complete the inscription. It reads: “When this you see, Remember me, And bear me in your mind; Let all the world, Say what they will, Speak of me as you find”. On the rear of the teapot is a poignant image of a couple parting, the man gesturing towards a three-masted sailing ship. Transfer-printing on creamware, often with a nautical theme to commemorate a sea voyage to the colonies, was mass-produced for export to the American colonies by Wedgewood in the third quarter of the 18th century (Nelson 1980:93).

The poignant message and image reminds us of the ties of commerce that connected Bladensburg to a global network of trade that reached across the ocean to England where tobacco was sold and goods, as well as people, were collected for export. This network also extended to Africa where human labor was collected for the long sea journey that resulted in death for many, and misery for the rest. Bladensburg would have been a major destination for global trade, with its deep harbor and location convenient to the dispersed tobacco growing population of early Maryland. Traces of these ties, and the society they engendered are revealed by the archaeology, and serve us as a way of engaging the public about this history. The nautical scene made us think of the many people that made their way to Bladensburg and to other American colonies, some with fortunes, some with dreams, and many against their will.

“Ecology, Commerce, Conflict and Transportation Along the Anacostia River”, Part II, Ecology

2010-01-29T09:57:00.000-05:00

Chartered in 1742 as a port town, Bladensburg is located on the Anacostia River south of the confluence of the Northeast and Northwest branches. This location was chosen for its suitability as a port for the export of tobacco from plantations spread across Maryland in the 18th and 19th centuries. But, archaeology revealed that the ecology of the Anacostia River near Bladensburg attracted inhabitants much earlier. One of the findings that stirred excitement was a Bare Island quartzite biface dating to the Late Archaic period.

Throughout our excavations we encountered evidence of Native American occupation dating from the Late Archaic to the Woodland Periods. Previously, no recorded Native American sites had been documented. One of our visitors, a representative of the nearby Piscataway tribe and a former resident of Bladensburg, was enthused that the archaeology corroborated the findings of oral narrative. Piscataway oral history describes the shores of the Anacostia River as heavily populated; taking advantage of the rich resources of the wetlands on the edges of the riverbanks and migratory fish in the deep estuarine waters. During the Woodland Period forests were burnt to maintain grassy meadows for corn farming, attracting game and the construction of palisaded villages. By the time of European arrival, complex regional politics had developed and the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed were used as “avenues of commerce and communication”. European settlers would eventually dominate, and completely replace the Native American occupants of the region, settling often in the same spots that offered congenial environmental advantages. These remains were hidden below centuries of silt from the flooding waters of the Anacostia.

The early inhabitants of Bladensburg began, in small degrees, an ecological alteration of the river that, during subsequent European occupation would completely change its ecology. Silt from intensive tobacco farming rendered the river unnavigable by the mid 19th century. Flooding, already a problem in the 18th century was exacerbated by the altered water channel and the routing of runoff from impermeable surfaces into the river. The natural curvatures of the river, which produced the resource-rich floodplain environments used by its prehistoric inhabitants, were straightened and surrounded by dikes by the Army Corps of Engineers beginning in 1952.

The comments we get from the public when we present this evidence from our excavations are often something along the lines of “You found that here, right in town!?” The river’s environment has been so radically changed by its long succession of inhabitants that earlier history, before the concrete, strip malls, and toxic silt, has been essentially unimaginable. But for many residents and Native Americans in the region, finding that Bladensburg history reaches as far back as 5,000 years or older is both a surprise and an affirmation that the river that wound through town was once a rich natural resource that brought people to settle here.

“Ecology, Commerce, Conflict and Transportation Along the Anacostia River”, Part I, Public Outreach

2010-01-26T10:05:00.000-05:00

This paper, co-authored by Mike Roller and Julie Schablitsky, was presented at the annual Society for Historical Archaeology conference in January of this year. Here is Part I of the paper:

The Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA) and the Center for Heritage Resource Studies (CHRS) at the University of Maryland designed the Bladensburg Archaeology Project as a collaborative partnership to investigate the historic resources of the town of Bladensburg, Maryland in anticipation of the upcoming War of 1812 Bicentennial. Bladensburg, a seemingly ordinary suburban community located approximately two miles to the northeast of the Washington, D.C. border, has a rich history that stretches back to the Colonial period. Since that time, Bladensburg has rapidly changed as a result of broad regional and national changes in ecology, economy, political geography, and demography. Today, the historic landscape is invisible behind the dense fabric of transportation corridors, commercial development and industrial spaces. Through archaeology and community outreach, this modern veil has parted to reveal a complex history that spans from the prehistoric period to the mid 20th century.

The project incorporated a civic engagement component that directly involved the community in discovering its past. In engaging the public through addressing their questions about our work and our finds, sharing in their enthusiastic reactions and joining in their civic functions, we were better able to share the experience of our work, and its findings in a way that was meaningful and relevant to the community. Additionally, in demystifying the process of doing archaeology we helped the public understand how it works, why it is important, and how it can be useful to them in their community today.

Since the initiation of the project in the spring of 2009 archaeologists and historians investigated three archaeological sites, conducted documentary and deed research, and compiled architectural inventories in the town. The outreach component of the project began a few weeks before excavations commenced. An initial public history workshop presented the plans and goals of the project to the community. The workshop included a talk by local historians followed by a community discussion in which attendants were encouraged to provide feedback and communicate their interests in the project.

The Maryland State Highway Administration began excavations at the Magruder house, a ca. 1746 stone house built for William Hilleary, in May of 2009. Public site tours, a press conference, and news releases accompanied this work. Throughout the process, staff maintained a project blog with daily updates collected from each member of the field crew. Through the blog, researchers answered questions from the community and from a wider public audience. In June of 2009 CHRS joined the State Highway archaeologists to investigate the grounds of the Market Master's house. Like the Magruder house, open site tours, electronic documentation and public presentations accompanied the archaeology work. Upon completion of the excavation, a second workshop allowed members of the community to provide feedback, view artifacts, and discuss local history. In order to engage and initiate dialogue from the community, project staff also attended numerous community events, celebrations, and meetings where they presented artifacts and released preliminary interpretations from the work. Although insufficient time had passed to reveal results from the excavations, these opportunities to publicly demonstrate the process of archaeology was key to project goals.

If These Sherds Could Talk

2010-01-20T08:34:00.000-05:00

Nichole: I learned about a new ceramic type today that I have never seen before. I was curious about two small rim fragments from the Market Master House collection that looked pretty unusual. They were thinly potted redware sherds with yellow and dark brown/black transfer printed decoration on both sides. (See bottom left photo.) With only having very small pieces, I was having a hard time imagining what the rest of the pot could possibly have looked like. The odd color combination and wild pattern made me think it must have been a gift that was only displayed when the person who gave it came to visit.

At a colleague’s suggestion, I looked for the mystery sherds in a wonderful reference book; Hume’s If These Pots Could Talk. Sure enough, there it was; a picture of a beautiful Portobello ware milk pitcher. Our once complete milk pitcher was imported from Scotland in the late eighteenth century. Since Bladensburg was a port town, its residents could easily access foreign goods. Portobello ware has also been found at Riversdale.

Conference Paper Presentation on the Bladensburg Archaeology Project

2010-01-17T16:27:00.000-05:00

Early in January of this year two members of the Bladensburg Archaeology Project presented a preliminary conference paper on their work with the public. The paper, entitled “Ecology, Commerce, Conflict and Transportation Along the Anacostia River”, was presented at the annual Society for Historical Archaeology conference held this year in Amelia Island, Florida. (conference and society website: http://www.sha.org/about/conferences/2010.cfm) It was co-authored by Michael Roller and Julie Schablitsky. The conference session it was featured in was entitled “Big History at Small Places”. It focused on projects like Bladensburg that contain long and diverse archaeological histories in confined geographical areas. Papers were delivered from projects as far away as Iceland, Mongolia, Alaska, California and Massachusetts. We’ll post the paper on the blog in increments.

We are also planning our upcoming field season starting this May. We will kick it off with a workshop to be held in mid-April. The topic is yet to be decided. We look forward to seeing you there! Keep your eye on the blog in the meantime.

Upcoming Events: AWS lecture and Bladensburg Archaeology Talk

2009-11-06T14:28:00.001-05:00

There are two events in the next two weeks in Bladensburg that might be of interest.

First of all the Anacostia Watershed Society, who hosted the projects history workshops will continue its lecture series next week with a talk from Howard Ernst, Associate Professor of Political Science at the U.S. Naval Academy. He will talk about the political side of environmental efforts to clean up the bay.
Here is some info:
Who: Howard Ernst, author of Fight for the Bay and Associate Professor of Political Science at the U.S. Naval Academy.
When: 7:00PM to 8:30PM
Where: George Washington House, 4302 Baltimore Ave., Bladensburg, MD [map]
RSVP: RSVPs are required. Please contact AWS at info@anacostiaws.org or call 301-699-6204.
For more information about Professor Ernst, visit his Web site at www.howardernst.com.

On Thursday, November 19th at 3:00 the Bladensburg Archaeology Project will present a short talk about the project at the Bladensburg Library. Here is a link to library activities:
http://www.prge.lib.md.us/Current/NovDec09/History.html

See you there!

If you have any questions you can email bladenarch@gmail.com

Artifacts in Focus: A Little Bostwick History as Seen Through a Bullet

2009-09-29T23:17:00.000-04:00

Bullets are a common find on archaeological sites, especially in rural or formerly rural areas such as Bladensburg. Their recovery suggests something of how radically the landscape of Bladensburg has changed, from a sparsely occupied hamlet to the urban bustle it is today. Civil War-era bullets are also common. Several were found at the Magruder and Market Master’s house suggesting the likelihood that troops may have camped on the grounds.

While excavating on the grounds of Bostwick this summer we found a bullet unlike others we had seen before. (for more on the Bostwick excavation: http://bladenarch.blogspot.com/2009/06/introducing-bostwick-house.html#links). It was a large-caliber rifle bullet, copper-jacketed and grooved. Its appearance suggested to us that it dated to the late nineteenth century at the earliest. It just so happened that a member of the Bladensburg Police Force, specifically the firearms training officer, came to visit us out in the field that day. We decided to show him the bullet to get his professional opinion as to its origins. His assessment was that it was between .46 and .48 caliber, and belonged to a big game hunting rifle. He estimated its age to the early part of the twentieth century. It turns out that James Kyner, who purchased the house in 1904, was an avid big game hunter. For anyone who has been into Bostwick, the sight of the many large trophy heads on the currently empty walls is not easily forgotten.

The Historic American Buildings Survey report describes Mr. James Kyner as an adventurous man who made his fortune building railroads in the west. He was also a Civil War veteran, losing his leg in the conflict. Bostwick has come to absorb and reflect the aesthetics of its long succession of owners, and Mr. and Mrs. Kyner are no exception in this regard. Besides the trophy heads, the interior walls are decorated with cabinets and wallpapers that were fashionable at the time. A large colonial revival porch was added to the front of the house by the Kyners’. Numerous brick outbuildings were also, at this time, demolished. In 1937 Kyner wrote a biography of his long and fascinating life called “End of Track”. In it he recounts his experiences growing up in the Midwest of the late 19th century, the adventures and difficulties of railroad work and his latter life as a politician. Bladensburg is mentioned very briefly at the end, where he fondly describes the peace of his retirement home:

“…going east with my wife and very young daughter, I bought an old colonial home just outside the District of Columbia, within six miles of the White House. The old house appealed to me in part, perhaps, because the date high up one of its tall chimneys is 1746, which antedates my own arrival in this world by just one hundred years.
Here, with seven acres of garden and orchard and lawn to interest me, I have stood aside for the past thirty years and let the world go by. Busying myself with bees and dogs, with chickens and with a horse or two, modernizing and reconstructing this old, old house of mine, I have played no part that could be felt so very far beyond the pillars at my gate. I have seen, as from a seat in a theater, the drama of the world. Here and there it touches me, of course, but mostly it does not.” (Kyner 1937: 276).

Through his narrative we can understand one of the many ways the landscape of Bladensburg has been conceptualized by its occupants. Here is an amazing photograph of James Kyner I received from Susan Pearl showing Mr. Kyner standing in front of the large hearth at Bostwick:

Bladensburg Day/ Mexican Independence Day/ Port Towns Day Celebrations

2009-09-23T20:41:00.000-04:00

The Bladensburg Archaeology Project sent representatives to two different community gatherings in the last two weeks to share details of their project and to receive feedback from the community. On the 12th of September project members attended Bladensburg Day/ Mexican Independence Day. It was an excellent opportunity to share information about the project with Bladensburg’s Spanish speaking population. On the 19th of September project members attended the Port Towns Day at the Bladensburg Waterfront. Music, food and conversation were in abundance at both events. Project members distributed information about historic resources in Bladensburg and Prince George’s County and details about the project. A display of artifacts from the Magruder and Market Master’s House excavations were presented. At the Port Town’s day celebration children were given the opportunity to take part in a mock dig. Here are some photos from the events.

Artifacts in Focus: "Home Rule" Pipe Bowl Fragment

2009-09-01T09:34:00.000-04:00

For the next few entries we will talk about interesting artifacts we have encountered while cataloging and washing. This first artifact was found at the Market Master's House earlier this summer. Janet Donlin from the CHRS lab writes:

"While washing artifacts in the Center for Heritage Resource Studies lab, we discovered a fragment of a pipe bowl with the words “HOME RULE” and a graphic below the words depicting a Celtic harp with clovers bordering the bottom. This artifact was uncovered from Test Unit 6 on the eastern side of the house and tells us a little bit about the person who might have owned it.

“Home Rule” refers to the Home Rule Movement in Ireland during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This movement was a reaction to the Act of Union, which was enacted in 1801 by the Irish Parliament, uniting the country with Britain. In the 1830’s, an Irish lawyer named Daniel O’Connell began a “Repeal of the Union” movement which inspired the Home Rule movement in later years. In O’Connell’s time, many people argued for a repeal of the Act of Union. The Home Rulers took a lot from the arguments of those who supported repeal, but argued more for a strictly Irish parliament to govern their country and less for a total split from Britain. The Home Rule movement was most active from the 1870’s and on, and eventually led to the Government of Ireland Act of 1920, which created two home rule parliaments in Ireland, one for the North and another for the South.

Finding this slogan on a pipe bowl in America shows that some Americans, many of whom were themselves of Irish birth or descent, were in sympathy with and supported the Home Rule movement in Ireland. University of Maryland Department of Anthropology Professor Stephen Brighton has written a paper about tobacco pipes with Irish-related symbols depicted on them. In his article, entitled “Symbols, Myth-Making, and Identity: The Red Hand of Ulster in Late Nineteenth-Century Paterson, New Jersey”, he tells us that pipe smoking was a popular social activity in the nineteenth century and that often smokers displayed causes they were sympathetic to or things that they supported on their pipes. Whoever owned our piece of pipe, therefore, was in some way connected to the Irish Home Rule movement. Whether they were Irish emigrants, had family or friends in Ireland, or were just a supporter of the cause is all up to conjecture, but little clues like this give archaeologists like us a small piece of insight into the lives of those who passed through the town of Bladensburg."

Second Public History Workshop

2009-08-20T13:03:00.000-04:00

The Second Public History Workshop was a great success. It was held in the George Washington House at the Anacostia Watershed Society on the 12th of August. It was attended by nearly 40 interested citizens and historic preservation professionals from all over the Washington-Metro area. It began with a presentation of Bladensburg history by Prince George’s County historian Susan Pearl. She covered many topics of interest including historical stories, figures, and buildings of Bladensburg’s past. Her visual presentation included many fantastic maps, photographs and paintings related to Bladensburg’s history most of us had never seen before.
Some of the topics included:
-Photographs of the 18th century houses that stood in Bladensburg until the mid-Twentieth century including “the Parthenon”, “the Ross House”, “Blenheim”, and “the Dieudonne House”.
-The story of Margaret Adams, an African-American innkeeper of Bladensburg, whose inn was favored by George Washington
-The story of the portrait painting of Elizabeth Tasker Lowndes by American portraitist Charles Willson Peale
-Images and descriptions of the 18th and 19th century mills that used to exist near Bladensburg
-Maps of the train lines, trolley lines and roads that connected Bladensburg to both nearby communities and national transportation networks.

Her presentation provided many details about Bladensburg history, while also demonstrating how much there is to learn.

Michael Roller gave a presentation describing some of the preliminary findings of the excavations of the Market Master’s and Magruder Houses. The presentation began with a description of the process of site excavation. While analysis of site soil stratigraphy, field notes and artifact collections has not yet begun, a few interesting artifacts noted during recovery or washing were photographed and described in the presentation. Among them were:
-A Native American stone tool dating back to 5000 years ago
-A creamware teapot fragment dating to the 1790’s with a portion of an inscription reading “When this you see, remember me, And bear me in your mind. Let all the World say what they will. Speak of me as you find.”
-A Civil War-era Bullet and Navy Button

The night ended with a question and answer session that included the recollections of a few long-term resident of the town or surrounding community. Many thanks must be given to the Anacostia Watershed Society that contributed space, logistical help, and promotional materials for the workshop.

Second Public History Workshop Tonight!

2009-08-12T09:48:00.000-04:00

The Second Public History Workshop will be held tonight, August 12th, at the George Washington House. It will be hosted by the Anacostia Watershed Society. The event starts at 7:00 PM. It will feature a lecture by Prince George's County Historian Susan Pearl and a short presentation on the archaeological excavations.

When: Wednesday, August 12, 2009; 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Where: The George Washington House, 4302 Baltimore Ave.; Bladensburg, MD 20710
RSVP: bladenarch@gmail.com

Special Assistance at the State Highway's Lab

2009-07-31T15:53:00.000-04:00

Nichole: "Today Tara and I had some special helpers at the Maryland State Highway Administration archaeology lab. Marcell Thompson (left) and Javon Epps (right), Towson High School seniors, are participating in the Summer Youth Employment Program. They are interning with the Project Planning Division and get to experience different careers within SHA. They helped us wash artifacts from the Magruder House. Tara also gave them a lesson in prehistoric tool making and hunting practices. Marcell said he’s surprised how much archaeology can be found in our own backyard. He so insightfully said that if you learn about the past, you can better understand the future. Before today, Javon also didn’t know that there was so much archaeology in Maryland. He said today he learned about the important roll archaeologists play within State Highways. Both Javon and Marcell said that history is their favorite subject in school so we might have some future archaeologists!"

Anacostia River Flood Control Part 2/ AWS Lecture Series

2009-07-24T15:38:00.001-04:00

A few older residents we spoke to at our Public Day and other outreach events had strong recollections of the flooding of Bladensburg. These floods continued until 1955, when the Army Corp of Engineers, in collaboration with several state and county agencies, commenced work on the Anacostia River Flood Control and Navigation Project. The collaborating agencies included the Prince George’s County Commissioners, Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission, the Maryland-National Park and Planning Commission and the State Roads Commission. This project was described by the WSSC: “The former twisting, winding stream has been freed from kinks, straightened and dredged to a depth of six feet at mean low tide; levees ranging from three feet to 18 feet in height and up to 118 feet in width guard both sides of the river; drainage channels and pumping stations have been built, and new bridges and highways constructed”.

The following images are excerpted from a publication by the WSSC created to explain the project to the public. The document is entitled "Taming A River: Anacostia Flood Control and Navigation Project". The first image shows the engineering plan (dotted line) superimposed over a photograph of the Anacostia River stretching from the northern end of Bladensburg up to Riverdale. (#3 on the map is Baltimore Avenue, #2 is Decatur, #1 is Riverdale Road).

The next image shows a flooded scene from the Peace Cross. This picture is from the Washington Evening Star and was taken after a storm in the summer of 1955.
The last image, also from 1955, shows the flooded landscape around the Decatur Street bridge.

Hopefully we have seen the last of the flooding of the Anacostia River. Though it has not asserted itself in quite so dramatic a way as it last did in 1955, the river is still central to life in Bladensburg. To understand the history, the geography, archaeology and the cultural life of Bladensburg, we can't forget the effects this mighty river has had on its history. By the same token, we must also examine the many ways that human contact has deeply affected the river throughout history.

On Thursday, July 30, the Anacostia Watershed Society (AWS) will host a lecture series event featuring Dr. Harriette Phelps, Professor Emeritus at the University of the District of Columbia's Department of Biological and Environmental Science. Dr. Phelps's research focuses on active biomonitoring of the Anacostia River using the Asiatic clam (Corbicula fluminea) to identify areas where river sediments have been heavily polluted by toxins, including pesticides and heavy metals.

The lecture, which will include a slide show and question-and-answer period, will take place on Thursday, July 30, 2009 between 7:30 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. Light refreshments will be served. RSVPs are appreciated (see below for more information).

When: Thursday, July 30, 2009; 7:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Where: The George Washington House; 4302 Baltimore Ave.; Bladensburg, MD 20710
RSVPs: Please call 301-699-6204 or write to info@anacostiaws.org. Please let us know how many people will be joining you at this event.

Bladensburg Community Partnership Networking Meeting

2009-07-22T13:01:00.000-04:00

Yesterday (July 21st, 2009) representatives from the Bladensburg Archaeology Project attended the Community Partnership Networking Meeting at Bladensburg Town Hall. It was attended by more than 40 people representing the diverse interests of the town. Business leaders from the town of Bladensburg were joined by representatives from governmental, educational, spiritual, and charitable organizations. The goal of the meeting was to brainstorm the future and present needs of the town, and to make local connections between service providers and those in need of them.

Local community-based organizations included the Port Towns Community Development Corporation, the Anacostia Watershed Society, and the Bladensburg Rotary Club. Local business’ including Ken’s Auto Repair, C&M Exterminators, Suntrust Bank, Long Fence, Stephen’s Pipe and Steel, and PEPCO sent representatives. Federal, State and County organizations and agencies including the National Park Service, the State Highway Administration, the Maryland-National Park and Planning Commission, the Health Department of the Town of Bladensburg, Bladensburg High School, Bladensburg Elementary School and the Bladensburg Branch Library also sent representatives. Pastors from several local churches also attended including the Seventh Day Adventist Church and the Decatur Heights Baptist Church.

State Highway representatives Richard Ervin and Mike Roller spoke about the archaeology project and the goals of the community outreach component. Invitation was made to the community to help with the planning for best use of the recently acquired National Park Service Battlefield Protection Grant (see post: http://bladenarch.blogspot.com/2009/07/national-park-service-battlefield-grant.html#links). Community Members were also invited to attend the Public History Workshop, on August 12th. (see post: http://bladenarch.blogspot.com/2009/07/second-public-history-workshop.html). Connections were made with Bladensburg High School for the planning of a school presentation or a curriculum based upon the archaeological work conducted at the Magruder and Market Master’s Houses. Additionally, further planning was conducted for a presentation to be given at the Bladensburg Branch Library later this fall.

Taming the Anacostia: Flood Control in Bladensburg Part 1

2009-07-15T09:48:00.000-04:00

A recurring theme in Bladensburg history is the flooding of the Anacostia River. Local accounts from as early as 1738, before the founding of the town of Bladensburg, talk about the damaging affects of the floodwaters. An account from Beall Town, an early settlement located just north of Bladensburg, describes the floods: “The freshes [floods] have brought down trees and trash which is lodged in and choak’d up the channel in said branch so that boats and other craft cannot be brought up to lod or relod goods at the usual landing place”

William Wirt, born in Bladensburg in 1762, and who later became Attorney General of the United States, wrote the following in his memoirs:
“At the lower end of the town, towards Baltimore, the house nearest the Eastern Branch, was occupied by old Mr. Martin, whom we used to call Uncle Martin- I know not why. The Eastern Branch is subject to heavy freshets [floods], which have flowed up to Mr. Martin’s house and sometimes overflowed the whole village. One of the surprising and interesting spectacles to me in those days was this old man wading up to his waist, during a freshet, and harpooning the sturgeon”

This long history of flooding was in evidence in our archaeological investigation in several ways. First of all, flood borne soils were ubiquitous. River cobbles and silt were observed throughout the soil profiles. Excavations at the Magruder House, located lower and closer to the river than the Market Master’s, exhibited a long history of efforts to drain and dry the lower half of the house. Drainage pipes and trenches, mixed with artifacts from throughout its occupation, were observed in the test units excavated below the house.

The floods continued in Bladensburg until efforts to control it were accomplished in the 1950s.

Time Team America Premieres/ Gazette Article

2009-07-13T08:58:00.000-04:00

The PBS show "Time Team America", featuring our own Julie Schablitsky, premiered on PBS last week. It was great! It manages to depict archaeology in a very entertaining way, while also showing the work, the patience and the rigorous method that must go into a successful excavation. You can watch it on PBS, Wednesdays at 8/7 central or online here:
http://www.pbs.org/opb/timeteam/about/

Also, the Gazette posted an interesting article about the SHA and community effort to research and preserve the War of 1812 battlefield. Dick Charlton and Rick Ervin were interviewed for this article. Read it here:
http://www.gazette.net/stories/07092009/hyatnew184200_32521.shtml

National Park Service Battlefield Grant

2009-07-08T20:20:00.000-04:00

For today's post we asked SHA archaeologist Richard Ervin to talk a bit about the recently awarded National Park Service Battlefield Grant:

"The Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA) is pleased to have received a National Park Service American Battlefield Protection Program grant for the Battle of Bladensburg.

SHA has been working with local elected officials, historic preservation groups, the Maryland Historical Trust, the University of Maryland, and other partners on ongoing historical and archeological investigations around the town of Bladensburg. The project will involve public outreach and will produce interpretive information about Bladensburg to assist with Maryland’s bicentennial commemoration of the War of 1812. Archeological work has started at two of the surviving eighteenth century structures in Bladensburg, both located adjacent to state roadways. SHA had also planned archeological work along our right-of-way adjacent to US 1, which crosses the battlefield. The NPS grant will allow SHA to conduct additional research and investigations in other areas of the Bladensburg battlefield. This important battle led to the burning of the nation’s capital, but also involved a brave stand on the part of sailors and marines under Commodore Joshua Barney. Barney and many of his men were native Marylanders, and earned the respect of hardened British troops for their determined defense.

SHA will be working with local preservation groups to provide interpretive information about this battle, which galvanized the successful defense of Fort McHenry in Baltimore. We look forward to working with the National Park Service on this exciting project."

Second Public History Workshop

2009-07-04T13:47:00.000-04:00

The Bladensburg Archaeology Project will hold its second Public History Workshop on August 12th, 2009 at the George Washington House. The Anacostia Watershed Society will kindly lend its space for this event. The purpose of the workshop will be to present a lecture about local history, share updates and information about the archaeological investigation, and hold an open discussion about local history with the public.

The lecture will be given by Susan Pearl, who recently retired from her position at the Maryland National Park and Planning Commission to devote full time pursuing research topics of diverse interest as Prince George’s County Historian. Recently she has presented lectures on the Stier art collection from Riversdale mansion and the postal and road system of historic Prince George’s County. For the workshop she will present a lecture on transportation and change in Bladensburg.

The workshop will run from 7 to 9 PM. Please RSVP: bladenarch@gmail.com.
The address of the George Washington House is 4302 Baltimore Avenue, Bladensburg.

In other news: The Anacostia Watershed Society is holding a lecture series. The next talk will take place on the 30th of July at 7:30PM. It will be given by Harriet Phelps, a retired professor from UDC. It will describe her method for monitoring water quality in the river using mussels. Please RSVP the society to attend: http://www.anacostiaws.org/

Introducing the Bostwick House

2009-06-30T23:31:00.000-04:00

The Center for Heritage Resource Studies of the University of Maryland began a small excavation at the Bostwick House this morning. It is scheduled to last for about one week. For this post we decided to write a little bit about this fantastic 18th century structure. Its history is closely related to that of the Market Master’s House, having a common owner and builder.
Christopher Lowndes, who we have mentioned in previous posts, was a major merchant, manufacturer, importer, slave trader and postmaster of Bladensburg. He was among the signers of a petition drawn up to commision the founding of the town. He also served as a court justice for Prince George’s County and town commissioner of Bladensburg.
The main body of the house was built sometime between 1742 and 1746, making it one of the first buildings constructed in Bladensburg. The main body of the house is a two-and-a-half story high early Georgian-style house. A long grassy terraced garden runs between the house and 48th street in Bladensburg. Currently, the architecture of the house reflects the tastes and fashions of the long succession of owners that owned and lived there throughout the last 250+ years. Porches, exterior kitchens, and buttresses were added to the exterior. Decorative elements such as plaster wall decoration, stained glass windows, Victorian wallpaper, larger staircases, extra doors and hunting trophies have also added their distinctive style to the building.
The Center for Heritage Resource Studies of the University of Maryland conducted a survey of the property surrounding the Bostwick House in the Spring of 2008 (http://www.gazette.net/stories/08282008/hyatnew173812_32470.shtml). The results of the survey only touched upon the huge amount of archaeological research potential present at the Bostwick House and the other 18th century buildings in Bladensburg.

Day 14: Soil Chemistry/ The Discoveries of the Week

2009-06-24T20:16:00.000-04:00

Soil Chemistry Explains Crumbling Ceramic Sherds
Julie:"While excavating out at the Market Master’s House site, we have noticed the very poor preservation of the ceramic artifacts. Many of the 18th and early 19th century ceramic fragments flake apart in layers as they are removed from their context. We suspected the poor preservation may be a result of the alkaline soil. This morning I stopped at the local hardware store and picked up 4 pH soil test kits for $1.50. I tested three strata in Test Unit 6 and found that the soil pH was very alkaline; the only neutral stratum was the 19th century layer that was filled with ash, coal, and artifacts. Based on our soil test, we found that the poor preservation of our 18th century ceramics was the result of the high alkalinity of the soil. Although this pH level is not good for the preservation of ceramic, glazes, lead, glass and fabrics, the alkaline soil seems less destructive to bone, lithics, shell, plaster, iron, and copper-alloy artifacts. "

Here is an interesting resource that desribes the effects of different soils on the preservation of artifacts:
http://www.nps.gov/archeology/collections/field_02.htm

The Discoveries of the Week Mike:"It was our second to last day at the site today. We finished all but one of the four test units we set out to complete this week. Our last week of fieldwork left us with some interesting finds. Postholes popped up in the bases of several units around the house, up to three feet below the surface. This suggests several things. First of all, the historic living surface of the Market Master’s House is much lower than the present surface level. A careful examination of our artifacts and fieldnotes will indicate to us, in coming months, how well preserved these early historic strata are. It also suggests that the historic landscape around the house was crowded with architectural features such as fences, awnings, and smaller impermanent wooden buildings. I now see the lone solid frame of the Market Master’s House differently, imagining it surrounded not by grassy lawn and gardens, but by a very different landscape of dense domestic, industrial, commercial and agricultural activities and their respective constructions.

Another interesting discovery made this week resulted from the shovel test pits we excavated below the asphalt of Market Lane, to the north of the house. The recovery of deeply buried artifacts from the 18th and 19th centuries suggests that some intact resources from that part of Lot 37 survive below the blacktop. All this suggests that, despite the long hours of work spent out at the Market Master’s House and the Magruder House, much remains to be learned about these resources."

Stay tuned for more at this blogsite as we report on the washing and analyzing of artifacts and the results of the architectural and deed research that is being conducted of the sites. We’ll also announce public events of the Bladensburg Archaeology Project and other local organizations, and report on what else is happening in archaeology around the region. The University of Maryland team will begin a small excavation at the Bostwick House starting Friday.

Here are some photos of the day including some of the delicious celebratory banana cream pie we ate from Clement’s in Bladensburg:

Day 13: Closing up the Units/ More Work to Come

2009-06-23T22:10:00.000-04:00

Dave Gadsby writes:

"Archaeological activities are beginning to wind down at the Market Master's house. We spent a fairly mild summer day recording unit profiles and finishing excavations of the last few units. Mike, Janet and I also finished up some STPs in the lower parking lot area. By tomorrow, Rick and Jenn will likely have finished the remaining two units and shortly afterward, the piles of backdirt scattered throughout the yard will tumble back into the holes from which they were excavated.

While the recording phase of archaeological research is an extremely important part of the process, it doesn't often result in exciting finds. The most notable object I saw today was a fragment of shell- tempered prehistoric pottery. The acidic soils at the site had leached all of the calcium from the oyster, and only the baked clay fabric - pocked with holes where the shells had been - remained. We also recovered a large fragment of a large canning jar, still attached to the zinc top and white glass lid liner.

While this particular chapter of the project is drawing to a close, archaeologists will remain a presence in Bladensburg for some time to come. Starting Friday, we'll be doing some test excavations at Bostwick, and excavations at the George Washington house will take place in the more distant future."

Day 12: Back in the Field Again, Multiplying Postholes!

2009-06-22T22:10:00.000-04:00

Crew member Janet Donlin wrote about her exciting day:

"Hey everyone! Today we headed back out to Market Master’s House after a week of processing artifacts in the lab. We still have four open units that we have to finish and we hope to be done by Thursday so it looks like we have our work cut out for us. The good news is that Mike and I have almost finished our second unit, Test Unit 7. Today was pretty exciting because we found our first legitimate features! We found what originally looked to be two post holes, but two turned in to three as we dug them out. Feature B was a very square and rather shallow post hole near the southeastern corner of our unit, and just above it to the north was Feature C. As we dug out Feature C, we found that it was actually two post holes (and their post molds) that were right next to each other. We guess that one was dug originally and then another was dug right next to it as the first fell into disrepair. In them we found some nails, a couple pieces of glass, and a few early 19th-century ceramics, like ironstone and pearlware. What the post holes were doing there is still open to debate. Since the soil on the west side of our unit was a little different from what was on the east (where the post holes were), we thought that maybe they were put in as part of a structure that was located in our unit, the soil on the west being the interior and the east being the exterior. However, we haven’t found very many artifacts to prove this, and like all archaeology there is a lot of conjecture involved. Still, our three post holes were pretty cool finds!"

Here is a picure of the two features. The one being excavated is Feature B. The one to the left of it is the double posthole, Feature C.

The second photo shows a detail of Feature C showing the two dark round stains representing the remains of posts and the outline of the holes dug before placing them in the ground. The one on the left was placed after the one on the right. Artifacts recovered from the soil affirm this interpretation.

Guest Blogger: Paul Shackel, University of Maryland/ Star-Spangled Trail Project and Blog

2009-06-17T22:27:00.001-04:00

Today we asked Dr. Paul Shackel, Chair of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Maryland, and one of the many participants in the Bladensburg Archaeology Project, to post a comment. Here is his posting:

"This research project sponsored by the State Highways Administration (SHA) and the University of Maryland (UM) is a wonderful example of cooperation and professionalism among two very important organizations in the State of Maryland. I am struck by the dedication and enthusiasm the archaeologists have for sharing their knowledge of the recent and distant past with the local community. This project began with a joint presentation lead by community leader Dick Charlton and University of Maryland graduate student Michael Roller. The presentation occurred several weeks before the research project began.

Engagement in the community provides an avenue to discuss what the archaeologists are doing in their neighborhood. It also allows for the research team to hear about the community’s concerns and interests. SHA and UM team members have attended local town meetings, making contacts with residents who are more than willing to share their experiences, concerns, and dreams for their community.

While this summer’s weather has made us dig out our old umbrellas and rain gear, there is a lot more work to do, building bridges with the community and learning more about the towns that are near the university. Pooling resources and talent from two of the state’s premier institutions in the state has allowed for a more fruitful and beneficial experience for the community as well as the institutions involved. I applaud Julie Schablitsky, section chief for the cultural resource section, Maryland SHA, and the rest of the project members from UM and the SHA for their enthusiasm and making this project an overwhelming success."

Here is a picture of (from L to R) Paul Shackel, Julie Schablitsky and Cindy Chance taken on our Public Day.

We wanted to inform you about another project related to the Bicentennial celebration of the War of 1812. University of Maryland graduate student Kristin Sullivan is working on the Star-Spangled Trail project for the National Park Service. Her project is concerned with connecting the historic celebrations with living communities along the Trail, such as Bladensburg. She has set up some electronic resources such as a blog: http://www.starspangledbannerblogger.wordpress.com/,

a Ning site: http://www.star-spangledbannertrail.ning.com/

and a Twitter page: www.twitter.com/ssbblogger. She is actively looking for feedback, opinions, advice and suggestions from the Bladensburg community. Please feel free to contact Kristin through these sites.

Guest Blogger: Architectural Historian Melissa Blair

2009-06-16T21:04:00.000-04:00

We are taking a short break from fieldwork but will be resuming next week. The trenching at the Mango Cafe has been rescheduled for a later date. In the meantime, labwork and research are continuing and muscles are resting. We asked State Highway Administration architectural historian Melissa Blair to talk a little bit about her involvement in the project and share some early photos of the Magruder House. Here is her entry:
"Hi! I’ve been an architectural historian at SHA for 5 years. One of my favorite things about the job is partnering with archaeologists on projects and learning about a discipline that I have very little training in. In overly simple terms, architectural historians look at cultural resources above ground level and archaeologists look at cultural resources below ground. Of course there are plenty of resources that don’t fall neatly into one category or the other, such as ruins or cemeteries, and in truth, most historic resources have both an above ground and below ground component – so you would think that archaeologists and architectural historians worked closely together all the time. Sadly, this is not the case. We get trained in separate academic departments, go to different conferences, read different journals, and generally get stuck in the silos of our own disciplines. Because of the structure of our federal historic preservation compliance laws, transportation-related Cultural Resources Management (CRM) is an arena where archeologists and architectural historians do work closely together. It’s a good thing, because ultimately we are all passionate about the past and strive to make history a relevant part of today. We just go about doing so in very different ways.
The Bladensburg project is a great example of integrating archeology and architectural history. All of the digs are happening around buildings that are still standing. The buildings give clues to the archeologists about where to dig, and in turn, the artifacts and features they uncover expand our understanding of the buildings.

All of the buildings that are part of the Bladensburg project (Magruder House, Market Master’s House, George Washington House/Indian Queen Tavern, and Bostwick) are listed in the National Register of Historic Places, all have Maryland Historical Trust preservation easements protecting them, and all are in good to excellent states of preservation. Not bad, considering how little of the rest of Bladensburg’s colonial past remains.

Here are a few historic photos of the Magruder House. The earliest photo we found so far, taken some time around 1900, shows the rear of the house, the area where most of our recent archaeological excavations took place.

A picture from 1922 shows the façade with a gable front entry porch.

By 1936 (the date of the third picture), the porch had been altered and the wood shingles on the roof had been replaced. The last picture, taken around 1989, shows the house after an extensive restoration. Note how the porch and roofing materials have been restored to the earlier appearance.

Day 11: You'd Think We Have Had Enough of This Place...

2009-06-12T22:47:00.000-04:00

Though it was the last scheduled day for the Market Master’s excavation, there is more to come! Firstly, we will make up for our rain days with three or four days of fieldwork during the last week in June. We will finish some unfinished units that turned up some exciting things, and open up some additional units. Additionally, the University of Maryland team will dig trenches in the parking lot of the Mango Café next week to determine if intact resources exist beneath the pavement. On August 12th the Anacostia Watershed Society will kindly host us for a Public History Workshop in which we will have a guest lecturer, historian Susan Pearl, give a talk about transportation and change in Bladensburg. Additionally we will give a short presentation of preliminary project results. Stay tuned for more updates on this exciting project.

Here is a posting from Tara Giuliano about her experiences at the site:
“I got the chance to work on Test Unit 1 and Test Unit 8, both on the south side of the house. The units were both unique and different- even though they were 6 feet from each other! We have been getting a lot of smoking items, such as pipe stems and pipe bowls. Most of them were made of white ball clay called kaolin, but we did fine one special pipe that was made of stoneware and is smaller and thicker then your average tavern pipe. All these pipe steams and pipe bowls suggest the Market Master house was definitely an area that was used by the public. I can't wait to get these artifacts into the lab and cleaned!
Today was my unofficial last day doing field work in the state of Maryland, and my last day on the Bladensburg project. This fall I will be attending the University of West Florida in Pensacola, and I am gearing up for a rather large move next month. Working with the Maryland State Highway Administration has giving me a great opportunity to do many things in the field of cultural resources, but I am really glad I got the chance to work on the Bladensburg project. Both the Magruder house and the Market Master house gave us so much information into the town of Bladensburg and what these houses were used for in the 18th and 19th centuries.”

We also asked Vincent Shirbach to write a bit about his experience at public day, which was a fantastic experience for all of us. His narrative is followed by a few great photos:

“Hi everyone! I would like to thank everybody who came out for public day last Saturday. The turnout was fantastic and way more than we expected. I absolutely enjoyed talking to folks about archaeology and what we’re doing. People from all over got a chance to talk one on one ad hoc with archaeologists with different backgrounds on the same project, and we embrace the curiosity. I'll tell you, archaeology is no big secret, so ask us anything!
Aside from the three rainy days in which we were forced indoors (or outside playing in the puddles with the neighborhood kids…), we are actually coming across so much evidence of the trade market and even prehistoric artifacts that we are constantly stopping and running over to see what people have found. It’s a good thing, trust me! In TU 4, we have found the iron frame to a double barreled pistol, which is surprisingly heavy and could not have been practical considering its weight alone without the rest of the firearm’s assemblage. A beautiful porcelain tea set was found early in the unit, along with gold-leafed porcelain creamer which the house’s residents (who I must also thank for their unbelievable hospitality and generosity) possessed the matching piece! Talk about a stroke of luck! I have to say that it’s the complex plethora of ceramic artifacts that intrigues me the most. Sensible enough considering this was a trading port and possibly one of America’s first post offices. Seriously: the porcelain, redware, yelloware, pearlware, stoneware, creamware… it’s gorgeous.”

Day 10: "Featuring" Julie

2009-06-11T22:00:00.000-04:00

When people think of archaeology they automatically envision artifacts but, we find so much more than broken bits of glass and ceramics. Today, the Market Master’s House is only one of four 18th century buildings still standing in Bladensburg; however, over 100 years ago barns, offices, and houses stood all around this humble stone building. Indeed, these structures likely left behind traces of themselves and activities related to their function. Sometimes, we find stone foundations, brick lined outhouse holes, and trash middens. These remains are called features. The difference between a feature and an artifact is that you can’t take a feature into the lab, you have to photograph, map, and take notes before you bisect, dig, and remove it from it’s original context.

Over the last two weeks, we have found an amazing artifact assemblage that dates from the mid 18th through the mid 20th century. But, we have also found features in every unit. Some of the features are only subtle changes in soil color and texture. For example, we found the archaeological signature of a roof drip line in two of our units that suggests the 18th century Market Master’s House either had a roof that extended a few feet beyond the current roof edge or that another structure was nearby, perhaps a covered work area or porch. We also found a beautiful mid 18th century posthole and post mold behind the house in Test Unit 1 that indicates a nearby building. We opened up new excavation units this week and I am sure we will find more features, and of course, artifacts.

Day 9: A Very Special Guest Field Tech and Blogger

2009-06-10T19:17:00.000-04:00

This morning we had to do a bit of clean up as a result of last night's storms. We ended up having a great day, nonetheless! We had a guest volunteer help us in the field, Mayor Walter James, Jr. of Bladensburg! Following his fieldwork, in which he helped dig, screen and identify artifacts, we asked him to write a blog posting for us. Here is his narrative, followed by some photographs of the day:

"My name is Walter Lee James, Jr. I am the Mayor of the wonderful and historic Town of Bladensburg. Who would have thought that you could have so much fun digging in your own backyard? Well, that is exactly what I did today. Today I joined a team of archaeologists excavating around the Market Master’s House in Bladensburg. It was an experience of a lifetime. I learned a lot about “strats”, levels, ceramic pottery, pipes and historic nails. The experience today has given me a new found appreciation for the work that goes into gathering pieces of history to be placed in our museums. It was not only fun, but educational. Our students at all grade levels could benefit greatly from being apart of such a wonderful project. I am truly grateful for the time, energy and commitment shown by the Maryland State Highway Administration in promoting historic preservation in our community. Therefore, on the behalf of the residents, council and staff of Bladensburg, I say thank you all for all the great work you have done and are continuing to do, in order to ensure that we never forget the rich history of our world . This project is a great example of what can happen when we work together."

Day 8: Morning Rain/ Artifacts, Artifacts, Artifacts

2009-06-09T15:31:00.000-04:00

We were rained out again this morning! Though with the unpredictable weather, the sun came out. After bailing water from some of the test units with buckets, the crew went into the labs to wash and document the artifacts from the Magruder and the Market Master’s House excavations.
Here is a collection of four ceramic sherds from Test Unit 1 at the Market Master’s House. They range in date from about 1720 to 1830. The one on the far left is a piece of a white salt-glazed stoneware plate. This type of stoneware dates to between 1720 and about 1770. It frequently has a molded decorative pattern on it, particularly after 1740. This particular piece, a rim fragment, has “barley” and “basket” patterns on it. The second two sherds are Whieldon ware. Whieldon ware, or “Clouded ware” is an earthenware that dates from 1740-1770. It has a cream-colored body and is frequently decorated with green, brown, purple, yellow or grey spattered decoration. The piece on the left, another plate rim, has a “barley” pattern molded decoration and is green-glazed. This innovation was achieved in 1759. The plate rim sherd on the far right is shell-edged white earthenware. It has a scalloped-rim with impressed straight lines and a green hand-painted decoration. It dates to a bit later than the other pieces, between about 1800 and 1830.

These are just a few of the ceramic types we have been finding at Market Master's. They demonstrate the ways the occupants or propriators of the house engaged in a global trade of consumer goods and lifestyles. Later, when we have collected, assembled, counted and compared all of the artifacts from the site, we will be able to draw some interpretations from these bits of data.

Day 7: A Tour of the Market Master's/ Hard Work Pays Off In Unit 2

2009-06-08T20:23:00.000-04:00

Another hot but exciting day in the field. Interesting features and artifacts were found (see below). We also received a tour of the Market Master's House from John and Ellen Pliska who are currently living in the house, and who also kindly treated us to a delicious lunch of Bratwurst! We asked them to guest blog for us today about the history of the Market Master's House, and what it is like to live in it circa 2009:

"Hi. We’re Jon and Ellen Pliska. We’ve lived in the Market Master’s House for almost 4 years. We’re thrilled to have the archeological project going on. It’s a great way to teach the public about all of the interesting things that have gone on here since 1760."
Jon: "The history Market Master’s House goes back to 1742 with the founding of the town of Bladensburg. In that year, the lot next door was set aside for the Market Square. Later that century, a large tobacco warehouse was erected there. We believe the “Market Master’s House” has a strong relationship with the Market Square. The building was constructed between 1760 and 1765 by Christopher Lowndes, a local merchant and one of the wealthiest men in the Maryland Colony. The house, most likely, served a commercial purpose for Lowndes, possibly a warehouse, store, a residence for the market master, or even a stop for the local mail, as Lowndes was one of the original 13 Postal Officers appointed by Benjamin Franklin. In all likelihood, the house served a variety of functions at the same time.
The house remained in the Lowndes family until 1883, at some point transitioning into a residence. Unfortunately, by the 1920s, the house was in a severely dilapidated condition. At this time, it was saved by Raymond Evans. Evans repaired the house and added a new bedroom on the top floor and a kitchen and a small dining room on the first floor. He turned an upstairs closet into the only indoor bathroom. Evans lived in the house with his wife and three children. That must have been very cozy. We can’t imagine living here with three other people!!!
Following the departure of the Evans family, the house was owned and rented out for over 50 years by Susana Christofane, the then mayor of Bladensburg (and ardent preservationist) and later her daughter Susana Christofane Yachtman. In 2004, the Market Master’s House was purchased by the Aman Memorial Trust, a local group dedicated to historic preservation in and about the town of Bladensburg."
Ellen: "Living in the house can be interesting at times. Our friends say it’s like being inside Alice in Wonderland, with all of the funny shaped doors, low ceilings, and curvy stairs. Taking a shower can be a bit of a challenge for people over 5’8”. Jon has to bend a bit to fit in the shower. I’m only 5’6” and while I can stand, I have to bend to get the top of my head wet. Despite these things, it’s like living in a story-book house."

Also on the site today persistence paid off, as we found an artifact to help us date the prehistoric component of the site.

Janet Donlin writes: "Hard work really does pay off! Mike and I have been working hard in the sun to finish up Test Unit 2. Just this morning we hit what we thought was sub-soil, and were ready to finish up the unit. As we went through it, however, we kept finding little pieces of cultural material here and there, from the 19th- and 20th-centuries. It started to turn up less and less as the afternoon wore on, and Mike and I were both ready to close up the unit. Around 3:00 Julie came over to see the unit and Mike was telling her how we were nearly done. No sooner had he said this than I discovered a stone projectile point. It’s about 2 inches long and we think it dates to the Archaic Period, (between 7500 B.C. – 1000 B.C.) This is just the kind of thing that our unit was looking for, and I’m so glad we didn’t call it quits before finding it. This is definite proof of Native American occupation in the area. We’re going to keep digging tomorrow, and hopefully we can find some more like this!"

For info on the archaic period please see:

http://www.jefpat.org/diagnostic/Prehistoric_Ceramic_Web_Page/Prehistoric_Prehistory.htm

Day 6: A Very Successful Public Day

2009-06-07T19:16:00.000-04:00

From Jenn Babiarz:

"Yesterday we opened the Market Master archaeology site to the public so they could get a look at how we conduct our research, and even try a hand at it themselves. We ended up having quite a few visitors (I would guess at least 75) of all ages, and many of them were from the area. I spent the day with Dave Gadsby showing the artifacts that we’ve found on the site in the last week, and explaining what we do with them after we dig them out of the ground. It was a lot of fun showing people how much a tiny piece of broken plate can tell us about the daily lives of people in the past. Most people didn’t know that the Market Masters house even existed, and all those from local communities were excited to see a bit of their local history being celebrated. Although I only got to see from a distance, I think that all the visitors had a lot of fun helping us screen the dirt that Ben spent all day shoveling out of a unit by the from the front door of the house. Their work will play an important part in how we understand the lives of those who lived in Bladensburg’s past. Many thanks to everyone who came by to see us; I had a lot of fun and learned a lot about the community that we’re working with!"

Mike Roller: "It was really exciting, and moving, to meet people who came out to the public day that had grown up in the neighborhood. We heard memories and anecdotes of Bladensburg life dating back to 80 years ago! We collected contact information for some of these people and hope to meet with them and record some of their memories of Bladesburg geography, history and community. These memories, like archaeology, can help us fill in the gaps of history, and connect it to the people who lived through it.

I was really surprised when I told a gentleman that we were finding .22 rifle shell casings dating back to the mid-twentieth century in our unit. He then told me he had learned to fire a .22 rifle in the yard of the Market Master's House when he was a young boy right around this time! He commented: 'They were probably mine!'."

Day 5: Rained Out Again!

2009-06-05T19:04:00.000-04:00

The rain kept us in again today. There was so much rain that we had to bail the water from out of our test units with buckets! We'll be ready for public day tomorrow, though. Here is a bio and narrative from one of the crew members at the Center for Heritage Resource Studies:

"I’m Cindy Chance, a graduate of the MA program in Anthropology from the University of Maryland, College Park (May 2008) with a Certificate in Historic Preservation. I’ve been lucky enough to participate in several archaeological projects, beginning with Field School at Wye House on Maryland’s Eastern Shore; then two months last spring on Fleet and Cornhill Streets plus the Market Square for the city of Annapolis; and now this Market Master’s House in Bladensburg.

On much of the property surrounding the Market Master’s House, the archaeology seems to be intact and I am hopeful we’ll find ample undisturbed artifact collections. The crew is diligent and work proceeds rapidly. Tomorrow, we’ll host our Public Archaeology Day. Although the work is early in the process, this is a great time for the public to view our site for two reasons: first, we have impressive finds; and second, a visitor will get a great sense of the process of archaeology. Rather than visiting a finished site, visitors will experience a “work in progress”.

This is a gem of a project: a slice of colonial life in an urban environment, an intact and significant historic property, and an abundance of artifacts to shed light on a lifeway since buried."

Here is a link to a neat public archaeology project across the continent in San Jose, California by the Anthropological Studies Center of Sonoma State University. They have finished their excavations and are deeply involved in labwork. This week you can read a great post about processing artifacts:
http://heinlenville-nihonmachi.blogspot.com/
Enjoy!

Day 4: The work must go on!

2009-06-04T15:18:00.000-04:00

Due to the rain we went to work in our labs at the State Highway Administration in Baltimore and the University of Maryland in College Park.

Here is a posting from Tara Giuliano, of the SHA:

"When there is a rain day, the work still continues in the lab. When we are in the field, all artifact bags are collected and assigned a bag number. This helps us keep track of the artifact bags when we begin to process them in the lab. Lab work is just as important as field work. In the lab, we get a bigger picture of the artifact assemblage from around the site. We clean all the artifacts using only a toothbrush and a bowl of water. This method might be slow and time consuming, but it is the best way to clean fragile artifacts like bone and shell. Today we have washed artifacts from some of the Shovel Test Pits and Test Units from the Market Master's house. We have washed items like marbles, thimbles, ceramics, buttons and a spoon. From these artifacts, we are able to tell what age the soil is and how much deeper we need to go!"

And Janet Donlin, of CHRS:

"Hi everyone! My name is Janet Donlin. I just recently (only two weeks ago!) graduated from the University of Maryland with a BA in Anthropology and a major in History, and I’m very excited to be a part of the Bladensburg Archaeology Project. I’ve been doing archaeology for only a year, but I’ve had the opportunity to work with a number of great projects, including field and lab work with Archaeology in Annapolis, a field school run by the University of Maryland, lab work with Hampden Archaeology, and work on the Bostwick House, located just down the road from the Market Master’s House in Bladensburg. I am very interested to find out more about the history of Bladensburg, and particularly interested to see how archaeology at the Market Master’s House connects to my work at Bostwick last year.

Today was a rain day, so we spent some time in the lab washing the artifacts that we’ve recovered so far. This has given me the opportunity to see not just what I’ve gotten out of my unit, but what the others have recovered as well, and I’ve seen some pretty cool things. We’ve gotten a lot of 20th-century artifacts, but mixed in with those are historic pieces. Today I washed some Jackfield, a ceramic that dates to the 18th-century, buttons, and even prehistoric flakes! The unit that I am working on is located near a Shovel Test Pit that turned up a couple of these flakes, so I’m really excited to see if we what else we find down there!"

Day 3: Market Master's Long History Being Revealed, Ever So Slowly...

2009-06-03T19:59:00.000-04:00

A great day in the field today, though unrelentingly hot! We have four test units open right now, each offering us a different dimension of the site. Artifacts from all eras of the Market Master’s long life have been showing up in our screens, however at this shallow stage in our excavations the nineteenth and twentieth-centuries predominate. In a unit on the northeast corner of the house a small collection of early-twentieth century glass and ceramics including a porcelain teacup, a decorative elephant’s head and a small glass bottle was observed. Here is a picture of them in situ (in place):

They were mapped and photographed exactly as they were found before being carefully removed by Ben, Vince and Cindy.
In the north of the house a high density of nineteenth century ceramics were recovered. Hopefully they will tell us a bit about this poorly documented period of time in the Market Master’s history. Here they are shown on the back of an upturned bucket, where field technician Susan was counting them for her test unit documentation forms:

On the far eastern edge of the site, field techs from the University of Maryland were digging through the top layers of jumbled fill soil where shovel tests turned up a deeply buried American Indian component. Shovel tests turned up stone flakes of green quartzite very similar to those we found on the east side of the Magruder House only weeks before. On the way down they found two shiny mercury head dimes dating to 1943 and 1944. Hopefully they will bring us good luck in the week to come.

Don’t forget, this Saturday is the Public Open Site day. Visitors will be given a self-guided tour and a chance to help us screen for artifacts. (see post for Tuesday May 26th for details)

Day 2: Let The Fun Begin!

2009-06-02T21:07:00.000-04:00

"It was a hot and humid day of excavation today at the Market Master’s House. The sandy soils made the completion of 26 shovel tests a little bit easier in the 90 degree weather. Based on what was found in the shovel tests, we opened our first four test units. Three of these were placed on the north, east, and south sides of the house. Previous shovel tests uncovered large quantities of domestic artifacts such as nails, bottle glass, a variety of ceramic types, bone and oyster shell. The fourth test unit was opened near the edge of the lot, east of the house. At this location, three shovel tests revealed a prehistoric component.

Tomorrow, we will start digging in the paved parking lot to the north. Thanks to the help of the District 4 maintenance crew, the blacktop was removed where we want to place a few more shovel tests. A trench will also be excavated in the parking lot where the GPR suggests a cultural anomaly. Hopefully the blacktop capped and protected cultural material underneath related to the many functions of this property throughout history." -Nichole Sorensen-Mutchie

Day 1: Market Master's House and Square, Shovel Testing

2009-06-01T21:10:00.000-04:00

My name is Dave Gadsby, and I’m Assistant Director of the Center for Heritage Resource Studies at the University of Maryland. I’m also a doctoral student at the American University in Washington, DC, where I’m writing a dissertation on community archaeology in North Baltimore. I’m ALSO an archaeologist at the Washington, DC office of the National Park Service. So, I wear a number of hats and live a full and happy life. I hold a Masters of Applied Anthropology from the University of Maryland, and I’ve been an archaeologist, working mostly in Maryland, since 1994. My research interests range from 17th-century Puritan sites to 19th-century industrial workers’ houses and beyond and I’m most interested in the ways that people form and maintain communities, and how our understanding of communities in the past helps us to create them in the present. I’m particularly excited to be working in partnership with our friends at State Highways on this Bladensburg Archaeology project, and look forward to discovering exciting things over the next two weeks.
"We began work today at the Market Master’s House by laying out a grid and placing shovel test pits (STPs) across the property. Shovel test pits are small excavation units designed to give archaeologists a general ideal of where artifacts and features might be distributed across the site. They also give us the opportunity to study how soils are laid down on the property. At the Market Master’s house, they’ll also help us understand the results of a Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) survey conducted there earlier this spring. In addition to excavating the shovel test pits, we intend to place a number of larger excavation units around the property. We’ll also test portions of the parking lot by removing blacktop with a backhoe, and hand excavating below that surface. We began to excavate the shovel test pits today, and already have some interesting results, with objects, such as ceramics and handmade nails, dating to the 18th and 19th centuries being recovered from the STPs. Its clear from these preliminary excavations that there’s a great deal of information to be recovered from the Market Master’s House, and the next fourteen days are sure to be informative ones. We’ll certainly have exciting objects and features to show to our visitors this Saturday at the public dig day."

Here is a French gunflint we found today:

The Market Master's House and Square: An Introductory History

2009-05-29T16:42:00.000-04:00

Here is a little background information about the Market Master's House. We will start the excavation on Monday. A bit of interesting historical research about the house has come in, which we will share with you in the coming weeks.

The Market Master’s House, also known as the "Ship Ballast House", is situated adjacent to Annapolis Road and Kenilworth Avenue. It is located just to the east of the Magruder house. The building, associated with the earliest period of the town’s development, serves as an important surviving example of eighteenth-century vernacular architecture. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

In October of 1742, the Maryland legislature voted to create the town of Bladensburg on the east side of the Anacostia River. As they had done for several of Maryland’s other incorporated towns, lawmakers required a certain amount of investment on the part of those who wished to settle one of the 60 town lots laid out there. New property owners, called “Takers-up” in the bill, were required “within Eighteen Months after taking up … [to] build and finish…one good, substantial, and tenantable House with one Brick or Stone Chimney thereto, that shall cover 400 square Ft of Ground” (Archives of Maryland 2006: 451-452). Takers-up who failed to build in the allotted time would lose their stake and the lot could be resold with proceeds going to the town commissioners.

In 1746, the town commissioners created a geographic anchor for the town by designating lot 37, located a few blocks from the public landing, as a market square. By the revolutionary period, the village was an important port and home to 35 households, including several taverns (e.g. George Washington House/Indian Queen Tavern), merchants (e.g. Market Master’s House), doctors (e.g. Magruder House), and artisans. A tobacco warehouse stood on the market square by the 1780s. While no above-ground remnants of the market square or the nearby market lanes remain, the small house on lot 38, today called the Market Master’s House, remains intact and is listed, with the small parcel of land on which it sits, on the National Register of Historic Places. The building - a stone house with a 500 square-foot footprint and a substantial chimney is representative of the minimum effort specified by the town’s enactment law for takers-up to retain the property.

Here is a resurvey map from 1787 showing the Market Master's Square (shaded lot 37). The Magruder House is located in lot 27, to the west. The lot in between is currently occupied by Kenilworth Avenue:

Market Master's Public Day

2009-05-26T14:57:00.000-04:00

We are planning our open site day for the Market Master's House excavation. The excavation will start on the first of June and run for two weeks. The open site day will be on the 6th of June. We will give the public a chance to see what we are doing, and take part in the dig.

We are looking forward to seeing you there!

Gazette Article Out

2009-05-21T10:32:00.000-04:00

The Gazette released a nice article about the project on their website. They also assembled a video from all the footage they collected of us. Here is the link to the article:
http://www.gazette.net/stories/05212009/portnew172218_32534.shtml

and here is the video. It features some great interviews with Julie and Tara:
http://www.gazette.net/video/DigHY052109/DigHY052109.html

Enjoy!

GPR Technology and the Magruder House

2009-05-19T20:40:00.000-04:00

We wanted to introduce some of the neat technology we are employing in our investigations. Last November we contracted Bryan Haley of the University of Mississippi to conduct a Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) survey of the three properties. This survey helped us to look underground at the three properties, to help us plan where to dig. Here is a video of what resulted:

GPR works by sending electromagnetic pulses underground, which bounce off buried objects like artifact deposits or masonry features. In the video, buried objects, called anomalies, appear as brownish or yellowish blobs. It takes a trained eye to interpret these shapes into meaningful information. Bryan wrote us a report with recommendations for what we should concentrate on in our investigation. At the moment, we are examining the images from the Market Master's House to help plan our excavation. This gives us a chance to look underground before even picking up a shovel!

Here is Bryan's website: http://www.olemiss.edu/research/anthropology/haley/

Julie's Bio/ Interim Report

2009-05-18T15:51:00.000-04:00

Here is a bio from Julie, chief archaeologist of the Bladensburg Archaeology Project:

"Hello, my name is Julie Schablitsky and I manage the Cultural Resources Section at the Maryland State Highway Administration and serve as their Chief Archaeologist. I am originally from Minnesota, but received my master's and doctoral degrees in Oregon. I moved across the country to Maryland about four years ago and have completely fallen in love with the archaeology of this area. I hope that our great team of archaeologists can help discover new information about the people who called Bladensburg home."

Right now we are cleaning and taking inventory of our gear after completing the excavation of the Magruder House. Artifacts have been sent to the lab for washing and analyzing. Meanwhile, historical research is being collected on the three properties we will examining in this project. Additionally, an architectural survey is being compiled. We will add some of this information to future posts.

Day Ten: Document, Back Fill, Clean Up...

2009-05-15T23:56:00.000-04:00

Today we finished up our units, documented everything we could, and filled them back in with soil. Two weeks of slow excavation returned to normal in about three hours. Now begins the work of analyzing and cataloguing all the artifacts we recovered. Stay tuned for updates on the analysis and identification of artifacts from the Magruder House, as well as some history lessons and maps to prepare us for the next excavation, the Market Master's Square and House. Here is a narrative from Benjamin Stewart on the importance of our last duties on the site:

"Today we are profiling and backfilling the units. When we profile we make a map of the strata of the test units. When the report is being written, these maps can be used to tie together units in different locations and determine which strata are oldest, the deeper being earlier. They are a very important part of recording the test units that we have finished.
We also have to go over our paper work and make sure we recorded everything properly. As archaeologists, we are the last people to see the cultural material before destroying its context. What we record and the artifacts that we collect are the only things that future historians and archaeologists have of the work done here."

And Lisa Kraus, looking back at the excavation:
"Doing urban archaeology is fun, because as you excavate, you can slowly assemble an image of the past landscape, despite all the changes that have occurred over the hundreds of years that the city has existed. It sounds pretty cheesy to describe our square test units as “windows into the past”, but in a very real sense, that is precisely what they are. At Magruder House, we’ve opened up several windows, and we can see a lot from here.

We’ve talked about several of our individual discoveries – we’ve got British half pennies, prehistoric projectile points, the remains of childrens’ toys (dolls, marbles, etc), and of course the usual complement of ceramics, architectural debris, faunal bone, personal items like buttons, pins and thimbles, and a host of other interesting items. It seems appropriate, for the last day of fieldwork, to talk about what it all means. I took a little poll around the site to get a variety of perspectives.

Nichole Sorenson-Mutchie, SHA’s lab director, thinks one of the most interesting outcomes of our excavations is the discovery that people lived here thousands of years ago. The prehistoric site is located near the crest of the hill where the Magruder House is situated. The discovery has led to a detailed understanding of the past landscape. One or two thousand years ago, this sandy little hill was located along the banks of the Anacostia River, and it appears that there may have been a small seasonal camp here, where people hunted with rhyolite projectile points and cooked their food in large ceramic jars.

Nowadays, people can head to the other side of the hill and get spicy fries at the Checkers.

Architectural Historian Melissa Blair finds the Magruder House excavations encouraging from a preservation perspective. She points out that when the State Roads Commission purchased the property in the 1950s, the plan was to demolish the house. Many people who lived in Bladensburg objected, and managed to stop the destruction. Now, 50 years later, the site is being excavated by Maryland State Highways – so this project tells us a lot about the ways big state agencies’ priorities have changed – now we’re working with various community groups to interpret the history of the house, Bladensburg, and the town’s role in the War of 1812. That’s a dramatic shift in perspective!

Archaeologist Susan Peltier enjoyed doing urban archaeology for the first time, and was impressed by the quality and quantity of 18th century artifacts we recovered – especially the gorgeous smorgasbord of 18th century ceramics. We found everything from fancy Chinese teawares to robust European stoneware. We literally had a little bit of everything: scratch blue stoneware, Staffordshire slipware, Chinese porcelain, salt-glazed stonewares, creamware, pearlware – a veritable checklist of diagnostic ceramics from the colonial to the modern.

Many of the other crew members cited the long and complex history of occupation, the exciting and beautiful ceramics, the surprise of finding intact archaeological deposits at all in the middle of such a developed urban landscape, and the challenge of understanding the complex clues to the site’s past as highlights of the experience.

My favorite thing about the Magruder House is the way our various sources of information converge. I tagged along on a tour of the standing house the other day, and got to learn about the ways the residents modified the structure through time in response to shifts in fashion and taste. I see echoes of the same kinds of changes in the artifacts. For example, at one point, the front of the house, which was originally built using hewn fieldstones, was plastered over with stucco to present a smooth, even, and symmetrical façade – very de rigeur in the late 1800s.

In the ground, we found remnants of the most fashionable ceramics from the Georgian era as well – so we know that the residents of the house not only created a dwelling that was positively a la mode, but followed through with the most desirable dishes. These were people who were dressed, housed, and ready to serve guests in style. I like to see these little psychological clues in the archaeological record, and it was very gratifying to see the stamp of a demanding and fashion-savvy personality in the very design of the dwelling.

We even managed to garner a few small clues about the house’s relationship to the Battle of Bladensburg- the British coins, a fragment of a small glass medicine vial – could these items represent a link to the house’s role as a field hospital during the War of 1812? This is another wonderful result of our two weeks of fieldwork – more questions. Hopefully we’ll have as much success in the upcoming fieldwork at the Market Master’s House…"

Day 9: Time Is Flying By! One Day Left at the Magruder House.

2009-05-14T22:25:00.000-04:00

"Hi, my name is Richard Ervin - I’m a Senior Archeologist with the Maryland State Highway Administration. I graduated from the University of Maryland (College Park) and then spent about 10 years in Tucson where I got a Master’s from the University of Arizona. I’ve been with State Highways for 20 years.

I just finished my second day of excavations at the Magruder House. Mayor Walter James stopped by this morning to pay us visit. We showed him some of the artifacts we’ve found over the last two weeks, and explained our field methods. Mayor James hopes to join us in early June when we start excavations at the Market Masters House. We promised him that by the end of a day of digging he would be a pro!

On Tuesday I excavated in the unit farthest from the house, in soil layers dating to the middle eighteenth century. We found many pieces of animal bone in an excellent state of preservation. Once we get back to the lab we’ll be able to figure out what kinds of food the occupants of the Magruder House were serving. We found a wide variety of pottery types dating between 1740 and 1780, during the early occupation of Magruder.

This fall, I’m looking forward to starting excavations at the Bladensburg Battlefield. Although there has been a lot of development in the area where the battle occurred, we hope to find intact remains from the day almost two hundred years ago when British soldiers fought their way into the Nation’s Capital."

Update on the Native American component of the site. Yesterday we found these two bifaces (spear or knife points). They are probably LeCroy bifurcate base points. They are made of metarhyolite, which can be found in Western Maryland. Most people consider them to be Early Archaic, or circa 5,000-7,000 B.C. Bladensburg's archaeological history just extended by about 5000 years!

All over the site we are mapping, photographing and interpreting the profiles of the units we dug before we cover them back up tomorrow. The profiles are the vertical surfaces of the units that show us a cross section of the way the soil has been deposited at the Magruder House.

Day 8: Post 2, Some Photos From Today's Action

2009-05-13T22:49:00.000-04:00

Please see the Crew Bios posting below!

Tomorrow we will get some of the inside scoop on what has been going on around the site. Meanwhile, here are a few bonus photos of today's action. Below are some photos of volunteers John Lewis (on the left) and Walt Pfarr (on the right) hard at work processing artifacts. Along with Lab Director Nichole Sorenson-Mutchie, they are starting some of the most laborious and time consuming aspects of our labor: the washing and sorting of artifacts. Also pictured are field staff Kristen Heasley and Tara Giuliano tackling the bottoms of two very different test units.

Day 8: Post 1, Crew Bios

2009-05-13T22:38:00.001-04:00

Here are some short biographies of the great crew we have out here. In previous posts you have read some short narratives of their experiences out here. Here is a little bit about them:

I’m Jenn Babiarz, an archaeologist with the Maryland State Highway Administration, with a Master’s of Applied Anthropology from the University of Maryland at College Park. Right now I’m in the dissertation writing phase of my Ph.D. work at the University of Texas at Austin. My main interests are in African Diaspora archaeology, particularly in the Chesapeake, and activist archaeology. I’ve been particularly interested in the SHA’s War of 1812 archaeology project because of its public component; I spent six years teaching at the University of Maryland’s Field School in Public Archaeology. Getting people engaged in the retelling of their community’s history is always fulfilling and exciting.

Hi my name is Tara Giuliano and I work for the State Highway Administrations cultural resource section. I grew up in upstate New York and I received my B.A from the University at Buffalo. I really enjoy working in the field of archaeology and discovering new and exciting things- and I am super excited to be a part of the Bladensburg project!

Hello! My name is Kristen Heasley, and I have been in CRM for three years. I love the excitement of being able to travel and discover fun things in my work. I am especially interested in prehistory, and in the fall will be traveling to the UK to earn my MA from Southampton University in Paleolithic Archaeology and Human Origins.

John Lewis: My interest in Archeology began with a survey course in the mid 70’s. I then went on to the Maritime side after getting certified in Scuba with a course in the Florida Keys about ship construction and exploring Spanish ship wrecks. Moving to Maryland in 1980 gave me the opportunity to join the volunteers working under the guidance of Bruce Thompson. Terrestrial experiences came through participation in the C A T program with Bruce, Jim Gibb, Charles Hall and Julie Schablitsky. I’m currently working the Magruder House site and have been washing and sorting a great variety of artifacts.

Susan Peltier
Received BA-H Anthropology from McMaster University, Ontario, Canada in 1992 and moved to Utah shortly after. Began CRM in 2004 and have worked in Utah, Wyoming and Colorado. Moved to Maryland in 2007 and have continued CRM work.

My name is Vincent Shirbach, I am an archaeologist out of Gaithersburg, MD. I have a bachelor’s in History with a concentration in archaeology from Hood College in Frederick, MD. I plan on obtaining a master’s in Cultural Anthropology from one of multiple great institutions in the DC area.

Hi, I'm Nichole Sorensen-Mutchie and I'm the director for the Bladensburg Archeology Project. I've been an archaeologist and lab manger at the Maryland State Highway Administration for the past two years. I received my BS in archaeology from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and my MS in anthropology from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. I think this is a really exciting project and I'm happy to be a part of it!

Hello I am Benjamin Stewart from Greenfield Ohio. I graduated from Ohio University with a bachelor’s degree in anthropology and have been working as an archaeological field technician for the better part of the past ten years. I am currently a URS employee. I am excited to be part of the excavation of the Magruder and Market Master houses. I have not had the opportunity to work on a late colonial site nor a site associated with a battlefield, and this area has both present.

My name is Michael Roller. I am a graduate student at the University of Maryland, Department of Anthropology and a resident of nearby Riverdale Park. I am working for the State Highway Administration to help organize the public outreach for this project. It has been really interesting to speak with members of the public about their ideas of history, preservation, community and the environment. The Magruder House is a really interesting site because, though it has lots of well known historical figures and events associated with it, there are also thousands of years of human occupation that are a mystery. I also like working here because I can bike to work along the peaceful Anacostia River every morning.

Day 7.5: NBC News Link

2009-05-13T00:18:00.000-04:00

Here is a video from NBC news:
http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Archeologists_Dig_for_Maryland_s_Role_in_War_of_1812_Washington_DC.html

Day 7 Press Day, New Features, Community Networking

2009-05-13T00:09:00.001-04:00

Mike Roller: “Today was a great day for connecting to communities near and far. It started with press day. Television reporters from several local channels, including 4 and 9, came out and did interviews. A few stations had stories on the evening news. (if you happened to see a story give us a shout!) Julie gave a short talk and tour of the site. The rest of us acted as normal as we could in front of all the cameras. Working hard and making discoveries, as we do everyday… In fact, we found interesting features in several units today. A possible prehistoric feature in one area, and a possible historic feature in another area. We will know more about what they are tomorrow.

Carol Ebright, a specialist in Native American archaeology from the State Highway Administration came out and examined the potsherds we discovered yesterday. She thinks they are Accokeek grit-tempered sherds and may date to between 900 to 600 BC. (for more info on Accokeek: http://www.jefpat.org/diagnostic/Prehistoric_Ceramic_Web_Page/Prehistoric%20Ware%20Descriptions/Accokeek.htm) We like to say, "It wasn’t expected, but it is not surprising that this spot was occupied by Native Americans". Actually, a member of the Piscataway Conoy Tribe came out today to view the site and told us that oral history sources indicate dense Native American occupation up and down the Anacostia River, ending at the area around Bladensburg where the Northeast and Northwest Branches split. This is the spot where anadromous fish would swim up and mate, and Native Americans would set up their fishing weirs.

This evening we went to a community networking meeting in the Bladensburg Town Hall. We met mayor Walter James and council members Walter Ficklin and Charlina Watson . The purpose of the meeting was to inspire networking and dialogue between community organizations and businesses. Five of us came out to represent the State Highway Administration and the University of Maryland. We listened to, and spoke with, representatives from local businesses and business development groups, civic organizations, town services, religious organizations and youth training and empowerment groups. Some of these included the Bladensburg Local Development Corporation, Port Towns Community Development Corporation, the Bladensburg Rotary Club, the Bladensburg Police, the Bladensburg Library, the Maryland National Capital Area park and Planning Commission, the Pastoral Lay Council, Choices for Success and the Kiwanis club.

It was a very productive and interesting evening. As part of the public outreach portion of the project we are going to develop an educational curriculum and a traveling display and presentation. Several of the groups we met were interested in having a talk or a presentation given at a meeting. These included a youth organization called Choices for Success that gives youth after school support and study help, the Bladensburg Library, the MNCPPC summer playgrounds program and the Rotary Club.

If you represent an organization in the Bladensburg community and might be interested in having a short talk on our project, perhaps later in the summer please contact us at bladenarch@gmail.com

Tomorrow, back to the archaeology. Only three more days left at the Magruder House. In June we will start work on the Market Master’s Square and House. I can't wait to see what comes out of those features tommorow!"

Day 6: Ceramics of the Colonial Era

2009-05-11T20:14:00.001-04:00

Nichole: "It’s been another great day of excavations at the Magruder House. I’ve been primarily working in the field lab so I get the fun of seeing all the artifacts as they come in from the test units. With John’s help, we’ve been trying to keep up with the artifact washing as the bags come in. When we wash, it isn’t exactly high tech. We use a tub of water and a toothbrush to “wash the dishes” as John would say.
I thought I would talk about some of the early period ceramics we washed today. The first is feather edge creamware. It’s a cream colored earthenware with raised feather-like molding. Creamware in general was mostly used for tablewares during the second half of the 18th century. The decoration helps us date it further to around 1765.
Another example of early ceramics is called English Brown stoneware. It is a thicker, utilitarian ceramic used for bottles and drinking vessels. Artifacts of this type can be found in America from about 1690 to 1775.
Other ceramics pictured are tin glazed earthenware, scratch blue stoneware, and shell edged pearlware. To learn more about early ceramics found in Maryland, visit: http://www.jefpat.org/diagnostic/Index.htm. Different artifact types pictured which are made of ceramic/clay but not used in the kitchen/dining room are bisque porcelain doll parts and ball clay pipe stems."

Elsewhere on the site, we found some ceramics of an earlier era. Two large sherds of Native American pottery. One looks like it has the impression of a net or fabric impressed on it, and the other has the impression of cording. Here is a picture of them. Once we learn a bit more about them we will share it with you:

Day 5: Good Weather, Doll Parts, Public Tours

2009-05-09T23:09:00.000-04:00

The weather held up beautifully today, which made it easier to work on a Saturday. We opened up two additional units based upon information we gathered in the first four. One of them will explore an area further away from the house, where we may have the chance to find traces of outbuildings that may be underground. Vince worked really hard to get through a tough network of roots. At the end of the day yesterday, we found a possible prehistoric feature at the base of another unit. It looks like a mysterious linear stain in the sand, deep below ground. We decided to open the adjacent unit to "chase it down" and explore it some more.

Elsewhere, we have been finding a plethora of late 19th and early 18th century artifacts. Do you remember that doll head we found on Day One? We found two more doll heads today! Here is a narrative from Field Staff Tara Giuliano:

"The unit I have been working on with my dig partner Ben has been full of porcelain and bisque doll faces. We can tell they are a part of a doll’s face because of how it is shaped, how thick it is, and the “fleshy” color of the porcelain. Some of the pieces also have features like ears, eyes and hand painted eyebrows. We have also found doll figurines such as the one pictured below. It has a detailed face and a cute bonnet and is probably from the mid 1800’s." (the bonneted one is in the lower left of the dustpan)

Julie, gave some great site tours for our public day. If you didn't have a chance to attend, we will have another one when we start the Market Master's house in June. Here are some photos of the the tours:

This photo shows the diversity of materials coming out of the units. This is the kind of data we archaeologists love!

Day 4 - One Mystery Leads to Another

2009-05-08T18:16:00.000-04:00

Another exciting day in the field. We are getting towards the bottoms of our first set of test units. Every era of Bladensburg's history is in evidence. We found some evidence of the restoration of the Magruder house, and earlier work on the house, in context with artifacts from the time period. In one area of the site we are finding a Native American occupation that occupied the slope overlooking the spring and the Anacostia River long before Bladensburg was created. We found explanantions for some of the mysteries from yesterday, such as the strange "Chinese coin" we found at the end of the day yesterday.

Here is a video from Julie Schablitsky, our chief archaeologist and principal investigator, talking about some of our finds:

And here is a narrative from field staff Jenn Babiarz:

"I was out here working on Tuesday when we first started exploring the archeology of the site and today we are really beginning to understand some of the landscape changes that have been occurring over the last few hundred years. Part of what makes urban archaeology so interesting is its complexity; people in the past were very imaginative with their use of space in a small area, particularly in how they combined or separated their work and living spaces.

Today we’ve found 20th century fill in the back yard on top of some historic living surfaces. Some of the artifacts we found include clay marbles, butchered bone (you can even see the saw marks from where they cut it!), pipe stem, lighting glass, the base of a bottle made with a snap case mold (a late 19th century technology), and lots of kinds of ceramics. Not to mention lots of brick, mortar and nails! Most of the ceramic and glass was broken up pretty small, which is typical for what archaeologists call yard scatter. Yard scatter is the little pieces of trash that end up in yard living and work areas that get missed during sweeping and that get walked on daily (and therefore getting broken up into small pieces)".

Here is a picture of our field lab, trying to keep up with the steady stream of material we are bringing out of the ground:

Day Three - Hard Work in the Rain Pays Off!

2009-05-07T21:14:00.000-04:00

Another great day in the field! We were dodging rain storms all day, but still got quite a bit done. Some of the mysteries from yesterday are becoming clearer, and some new mysteries appeared. Some finds today included 18th and 19th century ceramics, fragments from Native American-toolmaking, a Chinese coin, button pieces, a spoon. And a mystery coin.... Here is a narrative from one of our fieldstaff, Kristen:

"The Magruder House is a really exciting project because it is a piece of history nestled in the busy urban bustle of modern Bladensburg, Md. Today I’m working with Mike on TU 4, which is located on the east side of the house. Today we’ve uncovered two features- probably a modern walkway comprised of two parallel lines of smallish quartzite stones that appear to form a sort of walkway, with smoothed gravels as the footpath, and a large, dark stain in the southeast corner of the unit. Only nails, both wire and square, and some window glass is being found in the stain. We have found some really exciting historic artifacts outside of the stain, including a pipe bowl and stem, and a silver (copper?) coin about the size of a quarter. The coin features a woman sitting, with some letters around the outside, “ORGIVS.” The coin, and those found in other units today, are going to be taken to a conservator who will hopefully be able to clean them and preserve them to the point that we can identify them as diagnostic artifacts."

And some pictures from the day: Julie and Nichole digging test units, a spoon from Test Unit 3, the crew huddled under the shelter in a rain storm, Susan troweling out Unit 3.

This weekend we'll post some bios of our crew and some old and new images of the Magruder House.

A few photos from today's fieldwork

2009-05-06T19:42:00.000-04:00

Here are a few photos of today's fieldwork to add to the post below. They include: our field lab operated by John, test unit excavation by Ben and Tara, and a buckle (military related?) we found.

2009-05-06T17:13:00.000-04:00

We had a great day in the field today. We opened up two more units, and found traces of the whole history of the Magruder house from the present all the way to Native American settlement! (see below) Now we would like some of our crew to introduce themselves and write about their experiences.

Bio: My name is Vincent Shirbach, I am an archaeologist out of Gaithersburg, MD. I have a bachelor’s in History with a concentration in archaeology from Hood College in Frederick, MD. I plan on obtaining a master’s in Cultural Anthropology from one of multiple great institutions in the DC area.

“We have officially begun excavation of the Magruder House property located on Annapolis Road in Bladensburg! This project is part of the bicentennial of the War of 1812, a highly publicized, historic event. I am excited to be part of this archaeological evaluation because it is rare that we have the chance to get back to the theoretical side of the science. We of course did not create the history that is here, but we are certainly responsible for developing its documentation and accuracy.
The house itself has its roots in the 18th century, and has maintained importance in the War of 1812 and the Civil War. George Washington even stopped by for a visit way back when! As such, we are looking for a chronological variety of artifacts, but for our purposes here, we are hoping to find war relics. American troops used this house as a hospital, so we are searching for evidence like buttons, equipment, medical supplies, etc. So far, one unidentified button has been recovered close to the house. I’m hoping we’ll be able to uncover a plethora once most of the test units are put in. So far we’ve just begun, who knows what we’ll find out here!!!”

Bio: My name is Michael Roller. I am a graduate student at the University of Maryland, Department of Anthropology. I am working for the State Highway Administration as a Crew Chief and to help organize the public outreach for this project. It has already been alot of fun. I am a resident of nearby Riverdale Park and have enjoyed biking to work along the peaceful Anacostia every morning.

"Today we found artifacts from many era's of Bladensburg's past. At this stage of excavation historic soils are really mixed up. While looking through the soil I have seen ceramics and glass from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. We have found wine bottle fragments from the 18th century, mason jar fragments from the 1950's, remodeling waste from the 1980's, plastic pen fragments from the 1990's. Less like a trip back in time, it is like history in a blender! But it is all exciting to me. Anyways, there are hints that as we get deeper into the soils, the materials we find may be more organized, less chaotic.

I was really excited to find this today (pictured). It is a chert or rhyolite flake from Native American toolmaking. The spot that the Magruder House sits on is perfect for indigenous habitation, with the proximity of the spring at the rear of the house, the plentiful resources of the Anacostia floodplain just beyond. I can't wait to see what tomorrow will bring!"

Day 1 of Excavations

2009-05-05T16:52:00.000-04:00

We had a great first day of excavation at the Magruder House. We started the day with setting up our equipment and laying out shovel test pits (STPs) throughout the yard. STPs are approximately 1 foot diameter holes dug at 25 foot intervals to serve as a "window" into the ground. The soil is screened for artifacts. Larger test units are placed based on quantity and type of artifacts found in the STP, as well as based on the deposit of soil layers.

Today we were able to complete the excavation of all twenty STPs. Certain areas appear promising for late 18th - early 19th century artifact deposits now that we know what areas were affected by road construction, grading, etc. Some notable artifact finds included a complete pocket knife and and the head of a Dutch girl figurine. At the end of the day, two 5ft x 5ft test units were placed in the backyard near the former kitchen. Tomorrow we'll dive deeper into these test units and give an update as to what is found.

-Nichole

Update on Fieldwork, Workshop Comments

2009-05-04T17:36:00.000-04:00

A few announcements:

The rain has kept us back from starting fieldwork today. Hopefully we will start tomorrow, weather permitting.

Regarding the tunnels below Kenilworth Avenue Bridge, discussed at the workshop:

The SHA will be routinely maintaining these tunnels for safety and cleanliness from this point on.
The tunnels will be routinely cleaned and the lights replaced.
Thanks for everyone who voiced their concerns about this!

Here are some photos from the workshop:

2009-05-03T12:43:00.000-04:00

The SHA Bladensburg Archaeology Project held its First Public History Workshop on Wednesday night. It was held in the top floor of the beautifully restored George Washington House, owned by the Anacostia Watershed Society. Participants from near and far with interests in history and preservation came out and listened to the presentation. Following the presentation, the participants shared their observations, opinions, experiences and ideas about Bladensburg history, preservation and revitalization.

Here are a few notes about the evening:
· Julie Schablitsky, section chief of the Cultural Resource section started the program with an introduction to the project.
· Dick Charlton of the Aman Memorial Trust gave a talk about the historical resources of Bladensburg, discussing his involvement in the preservation and renovation of many of the historic buildings. He then discussed the renovation of the Magruder House. A powerpoint slideshow accompanied his talk, featuring historical and contemporary photos and maps of the resources.
· The participants with backgrounds from many different organizations attended the workshop including the Cultural Resources Department of the Maryland State Highway Administration, Center for Heritage Resource Studies of the Department of Anthropology at University of Maryland, Aman Memorial Trust, Anacostia Watershed Society, Maryland- national Capital Park and Planning Commission, Prince George’s Heritage, Inc., and the communities of Bladensburg and Riverdale.

Some of the points made during the discussion included:
· John Giannetti and Dick Charlton discussed the preservation of the George Washington House by the Jaycees in anticipation of the Bicentennial of 1976, and the strides that have been take since those times when the Battle of Bladensburg was a mostly forgotten event in American history.
· The need for historical markers to describe the changes in the historic shoreline and depth of the Anacostia River. Also, the actual location of the historic Bladensburg Bridge.
· The need to not neglect the long history between 1812.
· Prominent markers discussing the War of 1812, Battle of Bladensburg are needed.
· Additionally, we need some way to physically recreate and present the historic landscape of the town in a way that is easily understood or graspable to make Bladensburg a destination for tourism.
· People were concerned that time is running out for the construction of a prominent place to display the town’s War of 1812 history, such as the National Park Service museum at Fort McHenry.
· Another suggestion is to create a walking tour of the historic resources of the town. An identified obstacle to this included infrastructural and beautification issues that hinder the walkability of the landscape of the town including the need for more pedestrian friendly conditions, green space, etc.
· The Kenilworth Avenue bridge, with its dark pedestrian tunnels, was considered to be a major hindrance to the walkability of the towns “historic core”.
· The need to garner support from federal, state and county levels of governance for the Bicentennial celebration.
· The creation of an open source electronic resource such as a Wiki for Bladensburg history.

After the presentations, questionnaires were handed out. Some interesting responses were given.

For the question of “What do you think about when you think of Bladensburg’s History? What parts of Bladensburg’s history are you most interested in learning about?”, some of the answers included:
· Battle of Bladensburg
· Lowndes Family History
· The archaeology of the Bostwick House
· The town’s “heyday” as a tobacco inspection site
· The post-bellum economy and free black community of Bladensburg
· The history of Charles Ball, a freed black sailor who was on Commodore Barney’s ship.

For the question “What kind of contribution to the Bladensburg community would you like to see come out of the archaeology project?” some of the answers included:
· “Connection of the modern community to the past
· To demonstrate how people can “use the historical narrative to promote tourism and community cohesion”
· “A more walkable/ likable historic community”
· “To create a sense of place, a greater public awareness of the historical significance of Bladensburg..”
· “[Make] the history relevant and interesting to the town’s ethnically and diverse community”

Thanks to everyone who showed up, and to Pat Gladding and the Anacostia Watershed Society for hosting us!