Archaeology in Annapolis

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/10991

Archaeology in Annapolis was a city-wide excavation of Maryland’s capital city whose purpose was to recover and teach with the below ground remains of materials from the 1680’s to today. Archaeology in Annapolis is a part of the Department of Anthropology of the University of Maryland, College Park and has been, and in some cases remains, partners with Historic Annapolis Foundation, the Banneker-Douglass Museum, Kunta Kinte-Alex Haley Foundation, and the City of Annapolis. The project was begun in 1981 and continues to work in the City and to excavate on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. The project works to provide understanding of the many peoples who have made up the City in the past and present. Under the direction of Mark P. Leone, the organization has conducted over forty excavations in the historic area of Maryland’s capitol city as well as in Queen Anne and Talbot Counties on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, including Wye House Plantation. This collection includes archaeological site reports, technical reports, and dissertations produced by the project between 1985 and the present. Where possible, separate files for artifact catalogs have been provided.

A physical component of the collection is housed in the National Trust room of Hornbake Library on the University of Maryland campus. It contains copies of site reports, field notes, drawings, slides, contact sheets, photographs, historic research, oral history transcripts, artifact cataloging sheets, analytical notes, dissertations, scholarly and public papers, presentations, journal articles, administrative planning notes, correspondence, visitor evaluations, press releases, brochures, exhibition planning notes and grant proposals.



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    Phase II Archaeological Testing at the John Brice II House (18AP53), 195 Prince George Street, Annapolis, Maryland, 2013
    (2014) Deeley, Kathryn H.; Leone, Mark P.
    This report details the second archaeological excavation that took place at 195 Prince George Street, known as the John Brice II House or the Judge John Brice House. This two-story brick dwelling built by John Brice II is considered by some as a forerunner to the elaborate colonial homes built in Annapolis during the mid- to late-18th century. John Brice II was a public servant and also ran a small store in Annapolis. His family owned and lived in the property until the mid-19th century. The Halligan-Adair family purchased the home in 1917 and continues to occupy the property today. The first season of archaeological excavations was in the fall of 1989, and is detailed in a report written by Julie Ernstein (1990). The second season of excavations took place as part of the University of Maryland Summer 2013 Field School in Urban Archaeology. As part of this season of excavation, 10 shovel test pits were dug at approximately 20 foot intervals across the front and back yards of the property. Four 5’ x 5’ excavation units were placed in the backyard of the property. Only one of these units was excavated to sterile soil. The remaining three were covered with plastic landscaping tarp before being backfilled so that excavation of these units could continue in the future. The preliminary excavations of the John Brice II House show three large scale yard modifications to the backyard landscape, each roughly corresponding with the change in property owners. The oldest levels recovered from the backyard contained a late 18th oyster shell path and associated garden bed that are likely evidence of the landscaping features of the Brice Family occupation of the property. The 19th century archaeological occupation levels indicate a reorientation of the backyard landscape, and several large features dating to this time period were discovered in the last week of excavation. Further research is required to determine the exact nature and relationships of these features. Continued excavations have the potential to reveal more information about the changes in the urban landscape of Annapolis from the 18th century to the 21st century as well as information about the lives of the families who occupied this property.
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    Archaeological Testing at the John Brice II (Jennings-Brice) House, 18AP53, 195 Prince George Street, Annapolis, Maryland
    (1990) Ernstein, Julie H.; Little, Barbara J.
    In the fall of 1989, emergency excavation was undertaken in conjunction with restoration work at the John Brice II (Jennings-Brice) House, 18AP53. The exact date of construction for this brick home is problematic, and it was hoped that archaeological investigation could provide conclusive evidence to firmly establish the structure's date of construction. Excavation of one 5 X 5 ft. unit revealed the presence of 10 separate soil layers and four features of note, described in detail below. Unfortunately, no builders trench or similar feature by which we might date the house's construction was recovered. Future plans and possibilities for excavation at the property are outlined with the hopes of performing subsequent work at this rich site. We anticipate a focus on the arrangement and changes in use of the houselot, amassing evidence to support the presence of a vernacular garden on the property during the 18th century, as well as researching refuse disposal patterns, and clues to changing lifeways through the 18th century.