Horse harness decorations

The Four Rivers Heritage Area is compiling information about horses in the region, which led me to examine some of our collections for horse related artifacts. The following image is of a brass harness decoration which measures about three inches long and was found during excavations at the Governor Calvert House:

In his influential book A Guide to Artifacts of Colonial America published in 1969, Ivor Noel Hume briefly mentions similar artifacts and attributes them to the 18th century.

Archaeology in Annapolis uncovered a similar, though less ornate, brass harness decoration from the Reynolds' Tavern site. During William Reynolds' occupation of the site, there was a stable behind the Tavern, which further supports the claim that this object was a harness decoration.

The MAC Lab website also features information and photographs of similar artifacts, which they identify as leather ornaments. The website states, "More often than not ... the metal ornaments were purely decorative and might have been placed on just about any leather strap, bag, saddle pad, sword hanger, etc." The information on leather ornaments is included in the "small finds" section of the website. The term "small finds" is used for objects that are found in small quantities on sites and therefore are difficult to analyze and interpret. The idea behind this portion of the MAC Lab website is to compile information on "small finds" so that they may eventually be used in site analysis.

As you can see we would love to learn more about leather ornaments so please add comments to this post with any additional information you may have.

To view the MAC Lab "small finds" site follow this link: http://www.jefpat.org/diagnostic/Small%20Finds/leather%20escutcheons/Web%20Pages/LeatherOrnaments.htm

Anne Arundel County Courthouse: Part III

Here is another really interesting artifact found at the courthouse site:

This is an 1896 presidential campaign button for the Republican candidate, William McKinley. As we mentioned before the courthouse block was occupied predominantly by African Americans through the middle of the 20th century. The Republican Party was in support of Emancipation and was therefore the political party of choice for African Americans during this time period. This button serves as a reminder that African Americans were politically active, having just received the right to vote in 1870 with the ratification of the 15th Amendment.

The McKinley election was actually the first time celluloid was used for campaign buttons. Celluloid buttons became very popular and are still commonly used today. Unfortunately, this material decomposes easily and therefore buttons like these are very rare to find during archaeological excavations.

Archaeology in Annapolis is currently working with the Historic Annapolis Foundation to create a small exhibit at the Anne Arundel County Courthouse on Church Circle in Annapolis. The exhbit will feature artifacts from excavations on the courthouse block and should be installed in the the coming year. We'll keep you posted on progress!

Archaeology on Vacation

Working as a museum educator requires me to become very knowledgeable on whatever topic the museum I work at focuses on. For instance, working at the National Building Museum years ago I learned more about city planning, bridge engineering, and geodesic domes (think Spaceship Earth aka the big golf ball shaped building at Epcot) than I ever thought I would. I still can't drive home to the midwest without looking at the different types of bridges along the way.

Last month I traveled around the Alsace, Champagne-Ardenne and Loire Valley regions of France and everywhere I went I ran across archaeological digs. One city I visited was Reims, the location of the signing of the Germany's surrender at the Allied headquarters at the end of World War II. Reims had a front row seat to history throughout the past century. After nearly being completely destroyed during WWI (85% of the buildings were gone) the city went on to serve as the home of the Allied Headquarters in France at the end of WWII and was the location of the signing of the ceasefire on 7 May 1945 bringing WWII in Europe to an end. A more widely known second signing was held one day later in Berlin.

While walking to the Musee de la Reddition, home of the former Allied headquarters, I came across an archaeological dig in progress on a main road in the city. This dig was part of pre-construction archaeology required by law. One of the things that I was very impressed with at this site as well as the one I came across in the Loire Valley was that each dig had signage explaining what was going on for anyone passing by. This took the form of the sign above in Reims.

Within the past 10 years, an intensive archaological study was conducted in Reims to trace the city's history back to the Roman times. The city has Roman ruins and archaologists have been able to successfully trace their findings as far back as two thousand years ago. The findings from this study are available by clicking here. Be aware the study is published in French, so you will need to translate the page if you don't read French.

When looking at the picture on the left you can see the stratigraphy (layering) of the ground. Evidence of roads and road construction from the past 100 years is on view for anyone passing by to view. Imagine what these roads have laid witness to especially given the few events I listed above. While I was at the Musee de la Reddition, I saw a film showing what the city of Reims looked like before and after its moment in history including events such as the V-E Day parades down the streets of the city, including this street. It was a great way for me to have some context as to what types of finds and materials the archaeologists might be looking for.

Coming soon: Archaeology in Angers, France -- The discovery of 5th century artifacts while building a city tramway

Anne Arundel County Courthouse: Part II

Now for the long-awaited Part II of the Anne Arundel County Courthouse blog entry...

So, as I mentioned before, prior to the expansion of the courthouse the entire courthouse block in Annapolis was home to an ethnically diverse community. Pictured below are ceramic pipe bowls embossed with the words "Home Rule" which were found at the site:

These pipe bowls are likely connected to Irish immigrants who called the Courthouse block home. "Home Rule" refers to the demand made by the Irish "Home Rule League" for greater autonomy for Ireland within the British Empire during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The presence of these pipes show that even while living in the United States, Irish immigrants were still involved in the politics of their home country. In 1879, Charles Stewart Parnell, leader of the Irish Nationalist movement, visited the United States to raise money and support for the movement.

Check back later this week to learn about another interesting artifact found at the courthouse site!

Rumney's Folly

I was just forwarded an announcement about a talk that will be given at Historic London Town and Gardens in December. The subject of the talk is Edward Rumney, Sr. who lived at London Town and is also connected to an archaeological site there. Here is the announcement:

"Rumney’s Folly
On Tuesday, December 2nd, at 7:00pm, Rod Cofield, Director of Interpretation and Museum Programs at Historic London Town and Gardens will present his latest research on London Town's Edward Rumney, Sr. Rod will discuss how Rumney, who had lived in Anne Arundel County since at least 1686, overextended himself in the 1710s due to his financial involvement in the ferrykeeping and innkeeping business. Once a respected man in the community, having served on juries and as a road overseer, Rumney saw the last few years of his life become debt-ridden and litigious. More people know about Rumney, Jr. (a known counterfeiter); now learn about his father. Admission is $5. London Town members and volunteers are free. Please RSVP at 410-222-1919."

Sounds like an interesting subject- Hope you can attend!

London Town is located in Edgewater, Maryland about a 20 minute drive from downtown Annapolis. For more on London Town visit their website: http://www.historiclondontown.org/

Online Survey

I just wanted to post a quick entry to let everyone know that I've recently updated the survey for the online version of the Seeking Liberty exhibit. The survey is available online and can be reached from the Seeking Liberty homepage. Or just paste this link in your address bar to fill-out the survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=U8gk65cK16jATnVL176_2bOQ_3d_3d%22%3EClick%20Here%20to%20take%20survey

The survey includes 10 questions and should only take about 10 minutes of your time. We love to hear your comments so please fill-out the survey when you get a chance. Also, feel free to email any comments, questions or suggestions to seekingliberty@gmail.com.

I'm continuously updating the website with new images and information so check back frequently to view the new additions.

More news coverage of the African bundle

Here is the video from WUSA Channel 9 news coverage of the bundle. Stay tuned as we post more media hits throughout the week.

African Cache found on Fleet Street!

Featured in yesterday's New York Times' science news and the Capital newspaper were articles on a bundle of artifacts related to African Spiritual Practices found here in the historic district of Annapolis.

Last spring while Archaeology in Annapolis was performing excavations on Fleet and Cornhill Streets we came across a particularly interesting find. Archaeologists Alethea Williams and Matt Cochran initially uncovered the tip of a stone axe blade resting vertically, approximately 4 feet below ground along the side of Fleet Street. As they excavated around the axe head they found that it was encased within a solid clay mass. They carefully removed the mass from the ground and discovered that the clay was full of pieces of lead shot along with numerous nails. The clay mass dates to the early 18th century and was of a distincly different material from the surrounding soil. The bundle was in an ovular shape and was most likely enclosed in a cloth bag which would have deteriorated over time. The Maryland Archaeological Conservation lab x-rayed the bundle and produced the following image:

The white circles are pieces of shot, while the outline of nails and pins are also apparent. Archaeology in Annapolis has found evidence of West African Spiritual practices during other excavations inside of the Carroll House, the Brice House and Reynolds' Tavern. The cache found on Fleet Street is different though, in that it was discovered within a public context. This find was a major breakthrough because it suggests that different spiritual rituals were practiced in public and possibly were more generally accepted than we had previously thought. Archaeology in Annapolis is still working with specialists in West African Spiritual traditions to uncover the origin of this discovery. We'll keep you updated on future finds!

To view the articles visit the following links:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/21/science/21arch.html?_r=2&pagewanted=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin

http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2008/10_21-10/CAN

Dr. Kelso to speak at the Naval Academy

This Tuesday night at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Dr. William Kelso will give a lecture entitled "Jamestown: The Buried Truth." In 1607, 104 English men and boys landed on the James River, built a fort and established Jamestown, what was the first permanent English settlement in the Americas. Dr. Kelso is the Director of Archaeology at Jamestown and oversaw excavations of the 1607 James Fort. This should be a really interesting talk... Hope to see you there!

The lecture is open to the public and will begin at 7:15 in Mahan Auditorium. For more information on entering the Naval Academy visit their website: www.usna.edu

View the announcement in the Capital newspaper: http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2008/10_12-52/TOP

For more information on archaeology at Jamestown see the following sites:
http://www.apva.org/jr.html
http://historicjamestowne.org/

Anne Arundel County Courthouse: Part I

While archaeologists are making exciting discoveries at the Charles County Courthouse site, I thought I would highlight some of the history of the Anne Arundel County Courthouse block right here in Annapolis, MD. The Anne Arundel County Courthouse and the Banneker-Douglass Museum are actually located on the same city block in the Historic District of Annapolis.

The map to the right dates to around 1890. You can see the original size of the courthouse and the AME Church which is now part of the Banneker-Douglass Museum. The addition to the museum, built in 2003, extends about 50 feet toward the courthouse along Doctor Street (now Franklin Street). The remaining yellow and pink blocks on the map represent houses and small businesses. As a result of development over the past century the remainder of the Courthouse Block is now occupied by additions to the courthouse.

In 2000 and 2001 Archaeology in Annapolis held summer Field Schools on the courthouse block prior to the construction of the museum addition. Students excavated privies, former backyards, cellars and house foundations. They discovered the material remains of the culturally and ethnically varied residents of the courthouse block.

In 1897 Bellis Court was built in the center of the Courthouse Block. This alley community was composed of predominantly low-income African-Americans who according to census records worked almost exclusively as laborers. By 1951 Bellis Court and all the houses along South Street had disappeared and were eventually replaced by courthouse additions. Archaeologists recovered a large amount of buttons while excavating what would have been the backyard area of the Bellis Court houses. In a time when employment was severely limited for African-Americans many female residents of the Courthouse Block worked as washerwomen.

Check back for Part II including more details about excavations at the Courthouse.

Charles County Courthouse

Speaking of archaeology in the news. There was an article in The Capital recently about an important discovery in Charles County. It seems that archaeologists from St. Mary's College of Maryland have discovered the original Charles County courthouse which dates to the 1620s.

The courthouse has taken almost 75 years to locate. The group of archaeologists led by St. Mary's professor Julia King were able to identify the courthouse due to an unusually large amount of artifacts found while digging test pits. Shovel test pits commonly known as STPs are a standard in the early stages of excavation and are a common way for archaeologists to assess where cultural remains may or may not be located on a given site. STPs are usually laid out in a grid over the project area. Archaeologists then dig small test holes typically only a foot to a foot and a half in diameter in order to determine artifact densities. Based on the results from the STPS, archaeologists determine if further excavation is necessary. STPs are most commonly used for Cultural Resourse Management(CRM) work.

Among the artifacts found at the courthouse were a large number of glass and ceramic shards from wine bottles, beer tankards and drinking vessels. Professor King explained that it was common practice for judges and councilmen to drink while at the courthouse. According to King there are no 17th century buildings which still exist in Maryland or Virginia so to find the foundation of an early government building like this is very significant.

For more information on the Courthouse find see the following Capital and Washington Post articles:
http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2008/09_16-11/REG
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/08/AR2008060802057.html

London Uncovered

Archaeology has been in the news quite a bit lately with many digs and their findings being presented to the public. The finds have been all over the map both literally and figuratively. From the discovery of a 1,900 year old Thracian chariot in Bulgaria to the uncovering of a 3,000 year old head of Ramses II from a large statue in Egypt to the uncovering of Shakespeare's first theater in London. The stories have been really interesting to watch. I never realized how frequently archaeology came up in the media until this exhibit opened and now I can't stop seeing archaeology articles. I suppose it goes to show how aware I have been.

The article on the London findings particularly caught my eye as the images from the digs on the Museum of London Archaeology Service website somewhat resemble the digs that took place this summer in downtown Annapolis. The picture on the left really reminded me of some of the backyards along Fleet and Cornhill Streets. The two digs also have similarities in that they were conducted metropolitain areas in preparation of construction projects. Annapolis was preparing for utility undergrounding while London was studying the site as the home of a new theater.












Annapolis

Tree dedication

Yesterday was the dedication ceremony of the Honey Locust Memorial tree in the backyard of the Maynard-Burgess House. Everyone gathered around 2pm to hear opening remarks by the Mayor of Annapolis, Ellen Moyer. Janice Hayes Williams, a prominent African American Historian for the City of Annapolis also talked to the audience about the Maynard and Burgess families and generally what life was like for free African Americans in Annapolis. Dr. Mark Leone spoke on the archaeological finds that were recovered at the site during excavations in the 1990s. Lastly, Mamie Williams of Fowler's Methodist Church gave a blessing of the tree which included a prayer and song. Two decedents of Willis Burgess attended and officially uncovered the dedication plaque for all to see. Archaeology in Annapolis displayed artifacts from the excavations and the Mayor's Office produced signs interpreting the archaeology from the site.

As Mayor Moyer explained this dedication was the first step in transforming the backyard of the Maynard-Burgess House into a representation of a 19th century working yard. While performing archaeology at the house in the early 1990s archaeologists found the remains of a privy which was full of household refuse including bottles and ceramics. From census records we know that members of the Maynard and Burgess families worked as laundresses. Archaeologists found an unusually large amount of buttons in the yard to support this information. A privy and a clothes line will be included in the representation of the 19th century yard as well as a small garden. It was typical for middle class families in the 19th century to maintain small gardens as a means of supplementing their groceries. While Annapolis has many house museums this will be an especially important site because it will be the only representation of a free African-American household.

Work on the backyard will take place over the coming year with the site opening to the public sometime in 2009.

Charles Carroll House Cache

One of the most popular and intriguing portions of the Seeking Liberty exhibit is the Brice House material which includes a model of the East wing of the house that was excavated by Archaeology in Annapolis in 1998. In the basement of the east wing archaeologists discovered a series of caches or distinct, intentional deposits of material placed there by African Americans in order to control spirits which is a common practice in West African cultures. What many may not know is that Archaeology in Annapolis discovered a similar cache at the Charles Carroll House in 1991.

Dr. Robert Worden was a volunteer excavator at the site when he discovered a white ceramic bowl with a blue asterisk placed upside down approximately 18 inches beneath the modern dirt floor of the East wing of the Carroll House. When he removed the broken ceramic bowl he found that it had been placed over a whole array of other artifacts including 14 rock crystals, a half-dozen white bone discs, a smooth black pebble, two coins (one dated 1790 and the other 1810) and a number of straight pins.

This being the first deposit of its kind found in Annapolis, archaeologists were unaware of the meaning and significance of these materials. They did however know that the artifacts had been intentionally deposited in the room, and that they had most likely been associated with the African and African American slaves who worked in this area of the Carroll House.

The finds were published in an article in the Sunday Times on September 15, 1991. That Monday Dr. Frederick Lamp, Curator of African Art at the Baltimore Museum of Art telephoned to suggest that the materials were a spirit bundle associated with West African culture. Lamp further explained that within this tradition crystals were used to contain spirits and that the four holes on the buttons most likely represented a cosmogram. A cosmogram is a symbol of the vertical world axis and the horizon showing a divide between the worlds of the living and the dead. These items were most likely placed in the ground by spiritual practitioners to control spirits for various purposes, especially to protect inhabitants. No one in Annapolis had ever found anything tied so clearly to African culture.

Before these discoveries many thought that African cultural traditions did not survive the Middle Passage. The cache at the Carroll House provided compelling evidence that Africans did retain religious practices in the New World well into the 19th century. Thus, the history of Annapolis was no longer strictly European it also contains clear African influence as well.

The cache of materials from the Carroll House are currently on display at the History Quest Welcome Center in Annapolis located at 99 Main Street right near the city dock. For details see their website: http://www.annapolis.org/index.asp?pageid=44

For more on the Carroll House finds see Dr. Mark Leone's book "The Archaeology of Liberty in An American Capital: Excavations in Annapolis" (2005).

If a tree falls in the forest...

I was recently in a meeting discussing the use of technology by historic sites in Anne Arundel County when we began talking about the use of blogs as a very user-friendly means of talking about what historic sites are up to. One of the meeting attendees commented on the blog at Port Tobacco here in Maryland as one of the better examples. This blog provides information as to the status or projects, new ideas, and what staff members are up to in bite-sized amounts which gave you quite a bit of detail without being overwhelming and conveying the excitement and energy the writer is feeling towards a particular project. As I was reading the blog, I found myself thinking about how information is provided to visitors by museums and vice versa and how it it changing.

Using Seeking Liberty as an example, we have tried to provide information in four different ways, each one with differing approaches and results. The first method is through the exhibition itself. The exhibit has physical objects, labels, and text panels - all things expected in a museum exhibition. The exhibition has been extremely popular with visitors near and far, with many people coming specifically to see this exhibit. Within the exhibition is a survey asking visitors to take a few minutes to provide us their feedback. I am very interested in the fact that few visitors fill out the forms and when they do, they do not leave us much feedback. However, in our permanent exhibition on the second floor, we have a nearly identical survey which is filled out quite frequently. On this form we ask visitors to rate different experiences they had in the exhibit as well as tell us how they connected with the exhibition. On the permanent gallery forms, we receive quite a bit of feedback - sometimes quite extensive feedback. In Seeking Liberty, that is not the case. The forms, when they are filled out, generally only have numeric answers without any comments.

At first I found this to be rather disheartening. I found myself asking whether or not the visitors were truly engaging in the exhibit or were they simply walking into the exhibit and walking out, following the directions of the security guard to go into the first room they saw. I saw some truth to that when I worked the front desk and would provide a different overview of the museum and would not direct the visitors to immediately enter the exhibit they were standing next to. After doing so, I found that visitors would often actually choose to go to the permanent exhibition first. What did that mean for the attracting power of Seeking Liberty? Is this exhibit not as engaging as we once thought? Are people simply not engaging with the subject matter beyond what they read within the exhibit? Do they not take anything out of the museum from the exhibit?

I ended up getting my answer in a very unexpected place - this blog. One of the major concerns many museum folks have it that if you put exhibitions and exhibition content online, people will not want to actually come and see the physical exhibit. My argument has always been that putting information online is a way of attracting visitors to the exhibition and to allow people who will never be able to see the physical exhibit a means of accessing it. To put in another way, if someone does not have the means to go to Paris themselves, does that mean that looking at images, reading about the city, and owning Paris-themed objects will deter them from ever wanting to actually go?

When reviewing the statistics for this blog and the exhibition website I was very surprised to learn that while people are not necessarily filling out the evaluation forms, they are giving us feedback through their visitation to the blog. We are seeing that many visitors have come to the museum and then gone home to view the website and blog. This showed me that perhaps I was a bit hasty in my thinking that people are not getting anything out of the exhibit because they were not filling out paper forms. The return visits, to me, are far more gratfying because they show me that people are enjoying the exhibition so much that they are willing to give the museum a second visit - this time virtually.

If you visited the exhibit at the museum and this blog, which did you visit first? What made you come back for a second look at Seeking Liberty? If you have only seen this blog, or the exhibit's website for that matter, has it stopped you from wanting to come to the museum to see the physical exhibit?