A treasure trove of archaeology

Friday, Dec. 11, 2009

Click here to enlarge this photo Staff photo by DARWIN WEIGEL The Maryland Archaeological Conservation Lab at Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum in St. Leonard has between 8 million and 10 million artifacts in storage that were unearthed throughout Maryland. Pieces of pottery, glass bottles, stone tools and pre-discovery Indian pottery are common in the archives. E-Mail This Article | Print This Story Click here to enlarge this photo Staff photo by REID SILVERMAN Silas Hurry, curator of collections and archaeology laboratory director for Historic St. Mary's City sifts through artifacts from the St. John's site stored at the archaeology lab in Anne Arundel Hall.

The Maryland Archaeological Conservation Laboratory on the grounds of Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum in St. Leonard is a state-of-the-art treasure chest filled with 8 million to 10 million artifacts unearthed at archaeological sites throughout Maryland.

The state archaeological research, conservation and collections storage facility — a part of the Maryland Historical Trust — serves as a clearinghouse for collections from recovered land and underwater projects uncovered at sites scattered throughout the state, said Patricia Samford, director of the MAC lab. The building also houses a number of major collections acquired from private donations to the Maryland Historical Trust.

All of the collections stored at the lab are available to students, scholars, museum curators and educators for research, education and exhibits, Samford said.

Conservators, archaeologists and curators at the lab provide treatment and curation of large artifact collections and individual artifacts that date from prehistory to the early 20th century, Samford said. Professionals perform a wide range of tasks, including treating metal and metal/organic composite artifacts from land and underwater sites and waterlogged organic materials.

The lab's curation program provides long-term care and preservation of Maryland's artifact collections and associated documentation, according to the JPPM Web site. The collections include a wide range of cultural material representing 12,000 years of human history in the state. Most of the collections come from professional archaeological investigations but some have been donated by amateur archaeologists, Samford said.

Recent acquisitions include artifacts from Tudor Hall, the home of the Booth family in Bel Air in Harford County, and Moore's Lodge, the site of Charles County's first courthouse dating back to the late 17th to early 18th century, Samford said.

Currently, several collections housed at the lab are on exhibit throughout the Washington, D. C. metropolitan area, including Fort McHenry in Baltimore, American Indian Heritage Society in Waldorf, the University of Delaware Center for Archaeological Research in Newark, National Museum of History and American University in Washington, D.C., and the Virginia Museum of Natural History in Martinsville, Va.

Experts at the lab also perform extensive archaeological research on artifacts found throughout Maryland. The lab administers the Southern Maryland Regional Center's satellite office of the Maryland Historic Trust. The center has conducted archaeological fieldwork throughout Southern Maryland and has provided individuals, nonprofit institutions and government agencies advice and guidance on many issues related to archaeology and historic preservation, according to JPPM officials.

The MAC lab also administers JPPM's Public Archaeology Program that allows the public to join in professional archaeological digs, Samford said. Fieldwork takes place about two months a year and lab work is done the remainder of the year at the lab.

The staff offers guided tours of the lab by reservation for a small fee, Samford said. "We're always trying to get the word out about what we do and why it's important," she said.

"It's important to preserve these artifacts," said Rebecca Morehouse, the lab's curator for state collections. "Maryland is very lucky to have this facility. We want to make sure researchers and students know that we're here. It's really been one of the primary focuses of the lab to make the artifacts accessible."

For information about the lab, tours and public programs at the lab, call Kathy Concannon at 410-586-8562 or e-mail kconcannon@mdp.state.md.us.

NANCY BROMLEY MCCONATY