Archaeology in Annapolis

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Start date: 2000Subject: search.filters.subject.Annapolis, MD

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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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    Phase II Archaeological Testing on Wye Greenhouse (18TA314), Talbot County, Maryland, 2008
    (2009) Blair, John E.; Cochran, Matthew David; Duensing, Stephanie N.; Leone, Mark P.
    From October 27, 2008 to November 24, 2008 staff from the Department of Anthropology, University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP), Archaeology in Annapolis Project, conducted archaeological testing on the Wye House Greenhouse (18TA314), Talbot County, Maryland. This Phase II investigation has been conducted at the request of the Greenhouse’s current owner, Mrs. Mary Tilghman, prior to planned Greenhouse foundation stabilization efforts. The project area for this Phase II archaeological investigation comprises the immediate exterior perimeter of the Wye Greenhouse foundation. Seven test units were excavated in the course of this project to evaluate archaeological integrity and to evaluate the potential effects of planned stabilization efforts on archaeological resources. In addition to questions of archaeological integrity, research questions guiding this project focused on the architectural development of the Wye Greenhouse as well as its social use, both by members of the Lloyd family and the plantation’s enslaved African-American inhabitants. Background historical research and oral histories differ concerning the Greenhouse’s initial date of construction. Historical research suggests a construction date of the c. 1770s, while oral histories suggest an initial date of construction of c. 1740s. Archaeological testing has shown that the Greenhouse underwent two major developmental phases—with the main block of the Greenhouse having been constructed in the 1770s and the East and West Wings and hypocaust system added in the mid 1780s. In addition to providing evidence of the Greenhouse’s structural change, levels and features excavated in the course of this project have shed light on the social use of the Wye Greenhouse throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. Artifact deposits analyzed in this report detail the Lloyd family’s use of the Greenhouse as both a social space and as a symbol of 18th century opulence. Artifact analyses also shed light on the use of the Greenhouse’s north shed as a slave quarter from the 1790s through the 1840s. Testing in the course of this project has concluded that there is a high degree of archaeological integrity within the project’s area of potential effect. In addition, testing has determined that intact archaeological resources have the distinct potential to add a considerable depth of historical knowledge concerning the Greenhouse’s structural change and social use throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. Archaeological evidence detailed in this report should be read as supporting evidence for the Greenhouse’s inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places.
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    Phase II Archaeological Testing at the James Holliday House on East Street (18AP116), Annapolis, Maryland, 2010-2012
    (2013) Deeley, Kathryn H.; Leone, Mark P.
    Archaeological excavations at 99 East Street began in December 2009, with two shovel test pits dug to determine if the stratigraphy was intact at the site. Preliminary analyses concluded that the site was archaeologically intact, with materials found at least two feet below the surface and intact layers of deposition. In June 2010, more intensive excavations began as part of the University of Maryland Field School in Urban Archaeology, and continued until June 18. Two large, deep units (5’x5’ squares) were excavated in the backyard of 99 East Street and produced thousands of artifacts, including buttons, broken dishes, whole bottles, and a very large number of food bones, which were processed, cataloged and analyzed in the Archaeology in Annapolis Laboratory at the University of Maryland, College Park. In June 2011, three additional units were placed at the site, two 4’ x 5’ units in the backyard and a 5’ x 5’ unit in the basement of the house. These three units produced over ten thousand artifacts, including animal bones, glass bottles, broken dishes, dozens of buttons, marbles, a Spanish coin, and a corroded gun. These artifacts were processed, cataloged and analyzed in the Archaeology in Annapolis Laboratory at the University of Maryland, College Park. Finally, in the June 2012, three final units were placed at the site, one 5’ x 5’ unit in the basement, one 4’ x 4’ unit in the basement, and one 4’ x 4’ unit in the backyard. Over five thousand artifacts were recovered in these three units, including glass bottles, broken dishes, assorted buttons, marbles, slate pencils, straight pins, thimbles, animal bones, a redware tobacco pipe bowl, and a wooden lice comb. These artifacts were catalogued and are currently being analyzed in the Archaeology in Annapolis Laboratory. These many thousands of artifacts will identify how the Holliday family lived their daily life, showing what the Holliday family ate, how they were eating their food, and what they threw away or lost. Excavations at 99 East Street will continue for an additional summer season of excavation, which will help provide even more information about how the Holliday family saw themselves, the extent of their ties to the Naval Academy and how they negotiated their way around racism in Annapolis.
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    Phase II Archaeological Testing of the Hothouse Structure (18TA314), Talbot County, Maryland
    (2013) Pruitt, Beth; Leone, Mark P.
    This report contains the results of the Phase II Archaeological Testing of the Wye House Hothouse Structure (18TA314). It is divided into the following sections: Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: Research Design and Methodology Chapter 3: Cultural Context and Historical Background Chapter 4: Previous Archaeological Investigations and Significant Architectural Structures Chapter 5: Archaeology and Interpretations Chapter 6: Conclusions and Recommendations Chapter 1 of this report is an introduction to the Hothouse excavation in May 2012. Included within in this chapter are the dates of fieldwork, laboratory processing and analyses, as well as the identification of key project staff. Chapter 2 of this report details the project’s research design and methodology. Included within this chapter are the method employed during the research process of locating the structures, excavation, pollen sample recovery, and laboratory processing. In addition, this chapter lists the research questions that guided this fieldwork. Chapter 3 of this report details the cultural context and historical background of the Wye House Plantation, particularly surrounding the standing Greenhouse. Included within this chapter is a short history of the Wye House Plantation, scientific gardening, and a contextualization for understanding West African spirit practices. Chapter 4 of this report details reported archaeological excavations at the Wye House Plantation, particularly surrounding the standing Greenhouse. Chapter 5 of this report details the results of archaeological testing conducted at the Hothouse structure in May 2012. Included within this chapter is an account of stratigraphic layers, features, and significant artifacts encountered within individual test units. Also included within this chapter are interpretations of layers, features, and artifacts. Chapter 6 of this report details the conclusions based on the data recovered from these excavations and recommendations for further investigations.
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    Site Report for Phase III Archaeological Investigations at Reynolds Tavern (18AP23), 4 Church Circle, Annapolis, Maryland. 1982-1984
    (2013) Markert, Patricia G.; Cuddy, Thomas W.; Leone, Mark P.
    This report details the archaeology completed at Reynolds Tavern in the years 1982,1983, and 1984. It was completed in 2013, nearly 30 years after the excavation took place, using archival materials such as the draft interim reports, unit summary forms, original notes and photographs which are currently stored in the University Archives at Hornbake Library, at the University of Maryland, College Park. This report has been a collaboration across time and space, drawing from preliminary reports written by Anne Yenstch and Susan Mira in 1982 and Joe Dent and Beth Ford in 1983, as well as original notes from students of the field schools held there during those years, various analyses by scholars from many universities (including the University of Maryland, University of Georgia, and the College of William and Mary), and historical research by Nancy Baker. Thomas Cuddy began the writing of this report in 2002, completing the first three chapters in addition to the artifact analysis that led to the postexcavation identification of the African bundles in the Reynolds Tavern basement. This remarkable discovery was made along with Mark Leone of the University of Maryland, founder and director of Archaeology in Annapolis, who also served as the Principle Investigator during all three years of the Reynolds Tavern excavations. Dr. Leone contributed the fifth and final chapter to this report, the Conclusions and Recommendations, during its final compilation in 2013. The final report, including the fourth chapter on the archaeology itself, was written in part and compiled by Patricia Markert of the University of Maryland in the spring of 2013. Reynolds Tavern has been part of the landscape of Annapolis for two-hundred and fifty five years (at the time of the publication of this report). It sits on Church Circle facing St. Anne’s Church, and is a beautiful example of 18th century Georgian architecture as well one of the defining features of Historic Annapolis today. It currently operates as a popular restaurant and pub, but has served variously as a hat shop, a tavern, an inn, a library and a bank over time, among other things. Its long history contributes to its significance as an archaeological site, and also as a historic marker in present day Annapolis. The archaeology conducted at Reynolds Tavern shed light on life in 18th and 19th century Annapolis, illuminating details of the occupants’ lives through the material traces they left behind. These include an 18th century cobblestone road that ran diagonally through the Tavern’s yard, telling of the movement through early Annapolis; a large and intact well, which was found ii to contain a 19 foot wooden pipe; a large, ovular privy containing many of the objects used on a day to day basis at the Tavern or the structures around it; a subterranean brick storage feature in the basement of the Tavern, which may have been used by Reynolds during his days operating a hat shop; and also in the basement, two African caches of objects, providing a glimpse into West African spiritual practices alive in historic Annapolis and the presence of African American individuals at the Tavern in the 18th and 19th centuries. The purpose of this report is to detail these archaeological investigations and their findings, so that a public record will be available and the archaeology completed at Reynolds Tavern can continue to contribute to the history of Annapolis.