Site History

The Raven site (18HO252) is a multi-component site at the Triadelphia Reservoir that is comprised of intermittent prehistoric occupations, an 18th-century domestic site, and a scatter of artifacts from the 19th and early 20th centuries that most likely resulted from activity on a neighboring peninsula. The 18th-century component represents one of the earliest Colonial settlements in Howard County. The property was patented in 1732 when Thomas Hutchcraft claimed 175 acres there. Hutchcraft was a planter and apparently lived at the Raven site until he sold it to Benjamin Purnell in 1768. It is unknown whether anyone lived at the site under Purnell’s ownership

Archaeology

The Raven site is generally flooded by the Triadelphia Reservoir, but when water levels recede more than usual, they leave the site and some of its artifacts exposed. In June and July 2006, a controlled surface collection and non-ferrous metal-detector survey were undertaken while water levels were low so that the site could be documented and artifacts collected before they were resubmerged.
Surface collection covered an area of approximately 3000 square feet. The core of the site was surveyed on a grid of 400 10’ by 10’ squares to allow the creation of distribution maps. The survey determined that soils were deflated, with subsoil only about 2”-3” below the surface, and the soil that remained was primarily redeposited silt. The metal detector survey did identify an intact feature, however, which was interpreted as the cellar of Hutchinson’s main house. This feature was not excavated, but diagnostic artifacts recovered during the surface collection and metal detector survey fit well with the period of Hutchinson’s ownership.

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