Archaeology in Annapolis
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Item Final Report on the National Geographic Society: Archaeology of Town Planning in Annapolis, Maryland, NGS Grant Number 3116-85(1986) Leone, Mark P.; Shackel, Paul A.The purpose of the research supported by this grant was to refine our understanding of the Baroque town plan of Annapolis, Maryland through archaeology. The plan of 1695, which was prepared under the supervision of Royal Governor Francis Nicholson, has long been considered one of the most sophisticated and best preserved town plans in Colonial North America (Figure1). The town plan is well understood synchronically through the work of a number of scholars, but the plan was less well understood in terms cf its gradual development and alteration over the almost three centuries since it was laid down. Therefore, a primary goal of our work was the initiation of a diachronic understanding of town planning in Annapolis. Further, while the joint Historic Annapolis/ University of Maryland, College Park program called "Archaeology in Annapolis;" had established that a large part of the archaeological record of Annapolis was intact, no one knew how much of the original and subsequent street patterns could be recovered archaeologically, nor exactly how one could go about that. Therefore, the second aspect of this project was to establish a set of methods to document street and lot borders. Such a project was urgent since the city of Annapolis plans to dig trenches throughout the core of the Nicholson Plan to bury utility wires. Among other things, these utility trenches provided an opportunity to understand how the third dimension of a Baroque town plan, depth, was handled. This work will allow us to see how the plan was used through time to structure activities and in turn how it was altered to better suit them.Item Archaeological Excavations at 18AP44: 193 Main Street, Annapolis, Maryland, 1985-1987(1994) O'Reilly, Carey; Shackel, Paul A.; Leone, Mark P.; Beavan, Michele; Fernandez, Robert; Graminski, John; Gryder, Dennis; Jastrab, Marcey; Lev-Tov, Justin; Mullins, Paul R.193 Main Street (18AP44) is located between Main Street and Duke of Gloucester Street. The property was used ass a yard related to residential and commercial buildings during the 18th and 19th centuries. In the 1930's a movie theatre and parking lot were built on the property. That structure was torn down in the 1980's and a three-story commercial building was constructed. Archaeological excavations were conducted on the property from 1985-1987. A preliminary report was written in 1986 by Paul A. Shackel. This report is the final report on the archaeological investigations at 193 Main Street.Item Continuity and Change on an Urban Houselot: Archaeological Excavation at the 22 West Street Backlot (18AP51) of the Annapolis National Historic District, Anne Arundel County, Maryland(1994) Ernstein, Julie H.; Shackel, Paul A.Intensive archaeological investigation was undertaken on an urban backlot in Annapolis, Maryland. Fieldwork was conducted on behalf of Historic Annapolis Foundation for the property's owners, King and Cornwall, Inc. Supplemental documentary research, an evaluation of existing conditions on the property, and below-ground excavation of a 35 X 70 ft. urban backlot were conducted. While the project was not a Section 106 compliance effort, the field methods and rationale for the site's investigation are comparable to those of standard Phase II site evaluations. Historical documentation attested to the fact that the 22 West Street Backlot, located along the western most edge of the Historic District of Annapolis, Maryland, had seen development and occupation since the first quarter of the eighteenth century. A substantial brick structure was known to have occupied the property in a series of altered forms for much of that period. This structure served a variety of purposes over time: a private residence in the eighteenth century, a boarding house in the nineteenth century (known as the National Hotel), a duplex in the early twentieth century, half of which remained in use until the structure was entirely razed in the 1970s after destruction by fire. Recovery and analysis of site formation processes (i.e., both cultural and natural transformations of the buried remains) indicated that sections of the site were disturbed to a depth of six feet. In contrast to what initially seemed a poor prognosis for site integrity, other areas of the backlot revealed numerous intact historical features and deposits. Structural remains from the dwelling and its associated outbuildings, additions, and attendant trash deposits were recovered. What was initiated as a program of limited testing evolved into a larger-scale undertaking that made use of largely hand-excavated units in conjunction with machine-assisted stripping of areas demonstrated to contain from four to six-foot deep sterile layers of fill. The current investigations provided a window into a portion of the city and period in its history not documented archaeologically. Moreover, this project provided valuable insight into the archaeology of the homelot within a lightly industrialized, urban context. Evidence was recovered of shifts in the layout and arrangement of the houselot as well as changing relations between individuals and the workplace--all within an urban context--an issue defined elsewhere in the archaeological literature as a significant one. No further investigations are recommended for the site, however, further analysis and interpretation of materials recovered are ongoing. In the event that the site were to undergo development, monitoring of any construction activity is recommended.Item A Cultural Resource Survey of the College Creek Area, Annapolis, Maryland (18AP46)(1987) Shackel, Paul A.; Williams, Eileen; Ernstein, Julie H.The following report describes a phase I survey of the College Creek area. In this area, a total of 177 shovel tests completed. The survey revealed a shell midden, tentatively identified as belonging to the Woodland phase. In addition, disturbances caused by a railroad and concrete factory were noted. Further excavation is needed to ascertain the complete nature of the College Creek site, 18AP46.Item Archaeological Testing at the 193 Main St. Site, 18AP44, Annapolis, Maryland(1986) Shackel, Paul A.; Secreto, PatriciaDuring the Fall of 1985, Mr. Paul Pearson and associates, owners of 193 Main St., Annapolis, Maryland, approached Historical Annapolis Inc. to perform archaeological testing on this property. Mr. Pearson and associates have proposed the construction of a small shopping and business mall on this plot of land, which presently serves as a parking lot, as well as on the adjacent property which contains the Playhouse Theater. According to two reports produced under the sponsorship of the National Endowment for the Humanities (1971 & 1983), this section of Main St. has been an area of social and political significance since the turn of the 18th century. based on the high probability of finding significant archaeological remains, a six week program of testing was planned in the parking lot. This work plan called for an average crew of four field assistants and one supervisor. Excavations began on December 2, 1985 and ended on Jan 17, 1986. Archaeological remains uncovered within the project area were located, identified, and evaluated for potential significance. Funding for this project was generously provided by Mt. Paul Pearson and associates.Item Excavations at St. Anne's Churchyard, 18AP43, Church Circle, Annapolis, Maryland(1988) Shackel, Paul A.; Galke, Laura J.; Austin, P.Archaeological investigations at St. Anne's Churchyard, I8AP43, Annapolis, Maryland were conducted at three different times. First, in 1985, were the archaeological excavations of a trench in the churchyard which was to be disturbed by Baltimore, Gas and Electric. This area was previously disturbed as several disarticulated human bones were found. Second, in 1987, there was an excavation in the east yard to explore the brick feature which was being impacted by the digging of a planting hole. Archaeological explorations revealed a burial vault. In that same year, there were excavations in an area that was to be impacted by the construction of a ramp for handicap access. These explorations revealed several haphazardly placed burials all facing in an east-west direction. There was a significant amount of alterations in the churchyard during the past two years, especially with the planting of trees and the trenching for an underground sprinkler system. There has been some previous disturbance in the churchyard, when gas and water lines were laid as early as the late 19th century, but on the whole, there are many undisturbed colonial burials still intact. St. Anne's is an important cultural resource, and any other alterations to the yard should be preceded only by controlled excavations.Item Excavations at the State House Inn Site, 18AP42, 15 State Circle, Annapolis, Maryland(1988) Shackel, Paul A.; Hopkins, Joseph W., III; Williams, EileenDuring the spring of 1985, archaeological excavations were conducted at the State House Inn, 18AP42, 15 State Circle, Annapolis, Maryland. Work was conducted by "Archaeology in Annapolis," a cooperative project between Historic Annapolis, Inc. and the University of Maryland, College Park. This site is located within zone seven of the Maryland Archaeological Research Units (Figures 1, 2 & 3). A two-week program of testing in March, 1985 was carried out in the yard on State Circle. On the basis of positive results from this testing, six more weeks of excavations were carried out. This report summarizes the results of both phases of the excavations. Excavations were directed by Joseph W. Hopkins III, with the assistance of Donald Creveling and Paul Shackel. These excavations were part of a larger investigation of the Baroque town plan of Annapolis, laid out by Governor Francis Nicholson in 1695. This plan served as a framework around which the town grew over the next three centuries. Available historic records do not adequately document the development of the plan to its present form. The excavation program was a first step in a program to recover information about the gradual change of the city plan.Item Excavations at 178 Prince George's Street, the Back Area of the Brice House, 18AP38, Annapolis, Maryland(1988) Williams, Eileen; Shackel, Paul A.During the spring of 1986, two weeks of archaeological excavations were performed behind 178 Prince George Street, Annapolis, Maryland. This area is considered to be the back area of the Brice House, 18AP38. A brick and stone foundations was recovered. Data from its builder's trench dates this feature to the early first half of the 18th-century, predating by several decades the construction of the Brice House. The structure was probably a stable that may have been incorporated, and rebuilt by Brice.Item Results of the 1985 Excavations at Shiplap House (18AP30), 18 Pinkney Street, Annapolis, Maryland(1993) Shackel, Paul A.; Secreto, Patricia; Williams, Eileen; Ernstein, Julie; Bomback, RobertThe Shiplap House, 18AP30, located at 18 Pinkney Street, Annapolis, Maryland, was built ca. 1716. Located within the Historic District of Annapolis, Maryland (see Figures 2, 3, & 4 for site location within the Annapolis Historic District), the Shiplap House lies in immediate proximity to features of local and national importance. Due to its potential as a significant archaeological site, the Shiplap property was selected as one of the locations to be investigated during the 1985 summer Fieldschool in Urban Archaeology, a course offerred by the University of Maryland, College Park, under the direction of Dr. Mark P. Leone.