Historic Artifacts at Cove Point
Spanish One Reale coin
recovered from Site 18Cv151
Archival Research
Extensive historical research
was useful in creating a site
history. Deed, tax, census,
wills, and court records
provided information on the
chain-of-title, occupants,
farm economy, and other
information about former
landowners of this tract.
Geneological information
and local histories provided
additional insights into
the former owners. Maps
helped document changes
in the local infrastructure
and buildings over time.
PROJECT AREA
1673 Map of Site Location.
Source: Augustine Herman,
Virginia and Maryland.
Phase III
data recovery
investigations
led to important
insights into
mid-eighteenth
to midnineteenthcentury slave
occupations in
the Chesapeake
region. Data
recovery work
successfully
mitigated
adverse effects
to this National
Register-eligible
site.
Phase I/II Archaeology
Phase I/II investigations at Site 18CV151 produced 3,373
historic artifacts and 17 prehistoric artifacts. Feature 1 was
a 6.6x1.8 foot pit found 2.2 feet below the plowzone where
697 artifacts were recovered. Feature fill was dark yellowishbrown sandy loam mottled with yellowish-brown and light
yellowish-brown clay. Feature 1 may represent a clay
extraction pit where clay was mined for processing daub for
fabricating structures. Wattle-and-daub walls and chimneys
were common in the pre-Colonial and Colonial periods in the
Chesapeake and Tidewater regions of Maryland and Virginia.
Excavation of Feature 1,
Site 18CV151. A Possible
Clay Extraction Pit/Daub
Processing Pit. Facing
Northwest.
For more information
Contact Lori Frye, RPA
at
GAI Consultants, Inc.
1.800.437.2150
...transforming ideas into reality ®
Data recovery excavations produced 4,389 historic
artifacts, 26 prehistoric artifacts, 2,069 bone and shell,
and 882 botanical specimens. Architectural debris,
kitchen-related items, and faunal remains accounted for 97
percent of the artifact assemblage (not counting botanical
specimens). One of the most interesting artifacts from the
site was a silver Spanish One Reale coin (containing the
Spanish Pillar and Waves motif and produced in Potosi,
Bolivia ca. 1732). These coins are not uncommon on sites
of this period in southern Maryland and Tidewater Virginia.
Data
Recovery at
Site 18CV151
Data Recovery
(Phase III) at
Historic Site
18CV151
Cove Point, Maryland
Archaeology | Archival Research | Artifacts
Data Recovery Excavations at Historic Site 18CV151
Why Data
Recovery?
Dominion Cove Point LNG,
L.P. planned to construct a
36-inch pipeline, known as
TL-532, from the existing
Cove Point LNG Terminal in
Calvert County, westward for
approximately 48 miles to
Marshall Hall Gate in Prince
George’s County, but Site
18CV151 extended into the
right-of-way of their planned
project.
Historic Site 18CV51
Overview of Site 18Cv151. Facing Southwest
Previous archeological investigations
indicated that Site 18CV151 had the
potential to provide insights into
interdependent research goals relating
to site function, economics, and
architecture/landscape for a plantation
d uring the mid -eig h teenth to mid nineteenth century.
In-depth historical research shed light on
previous landowners, weather conditions,
mortality rates, diseases, and economic
conditions in the region.
Based on the results of Phase
II studies, GAI concluded
that the historic component
at Site 18CV151 was eligible
for listing in the National
Register of Historic Places
(NRHP) under Criterion D.
As a result, any impacts
to Site 18CV151 would
constitute an Adverse Effect.
Since avoidance was not
feasible, GAI conducted
Phase III data recovery
investigations to resolve
adverse effects from
project development by
1) conducting site-specific
archival research, 2)
making comparisons with
other mid-eighteenth to
mid-nineteenth century
plantation archeological
sites in the region, and
3) providing archeological
excavations and analysis
for the record. Background
research provided insights
into the history of the site
(i.e., number of slaves, types
of crops, and approximate
period of occupation).
Data recovery identified
three successive slave
quarters, an outbuilding,
fence lines, and activity
areas. The interpretation
of slave quarters is largely
supported by: 1) interior root
cellars, 2) consumptions of
meats in soups and stews,
3) limited butchery marks
(butchery process occurred
elsewhere), 4) low numbers
of kitchen ceramic and
glass artifacts (few material
possessions), and 5) possible
colonoware ceramics.
Research
and Analysis
The quarters were located
on marginal land subjected
to frequent flooding. The
excavated portion of the
site falls within a nearly
level “basin” area at the
foot of a hillslope. Water
runoff (and accompanying
erosion) from the hillslopes
can be moderate to severe
and tobacco cultivation
would have exacerbated
the drainage problem. The
structural integrity of the
earliest quarters (abandoned
ca. 1780) was compromised
by heavy water runoff that
washed away soils from
around the structural posts.
Data recovery efforts
included archival research,
excavation of 10 5x5-foot
units, soil chemical analysis,
mechanical excavation of a
48x185-foot area (58 cultural
features), and analysis of a
total of 6,484 artifacts.
Phase III data recovery
excavations at Site 18CV151
addressed a series of
research questions focused
on the interpretation of the
site’s architecture/landscape
and agriculture themes.
Phase III investigations
led to important insights
into mid-eighteenth to
mid-nineteenth-century
slave occupations in the
Chesapeake region.
A broad trench to mitigate
water runoff defined the
location of the next house--a
ca. 1780-1802 log structure
built slightly uphill but still
impacted by flooding after
rain events.
Ownership
Based on temporally diagnostic artifacts and historical research, Site 18CV151 was occupied from ca. 1760-1830s. Most of this occupation dates to the Somervell
family ownership (1773-ca. 1810). This settlement may represent a branch of the prominent Somervell family’s “homestead,” since family members continued
to be buried in a nearby family cemetery nearly 50 years after the family sold the plantation. Joseph Wilkinson acquired the property after the Somervell family
and constructed new homes on another part of the plantation.