Shiplap House (18AP30)
Site History
The Shiplap House Site (18AP30) is an archaeological site containing a standing 18th-century frame structure located on Pinkney Street in Annapolis, Maryland. The house is believed to have been built around 1716 and was the residence of lawyer and innkeeper Edward Smith until his death in 1723. The property was leased to Captain William Rogers in 1726 and then to Charles Brown and Michael Coulter in 1734. The property subsequently was leased to shipwright and merchant Ashbury Sutton and from 1748 to 1817, merchant John Raitt and his heirs leased the property. The land was then sold to Andrew Slicer and remained with Slicer heirs until 1877. Today the house is owned by the Historic Annapolis Foundation.
Archaeological Investigations
In 1959, Henry Wright and A. St. Clair Wright excavated several trenches along all sides of the house, several units inside the house, and in the area under the addition. All artifacts from this excavation were grouped together and not separated by area of excavation.
Archaeological investigations were conducted at this site in 1985 as part of the University of Maryland archaeological field school. This work took place in the north yard, with one goal of the work being to establish a date for construction of the wing. Eleven 5 × 5 ft. units were excavated stratigraphically in the north yard, as well as two 2.5 × 5 ft. units west of the house.
Excavation revealed that the entire area investigated in 1985 had been disturbed by grading or modern trenching.
References
1993 Results of the 1985 Excavations at Shiplap House (18AP30), 18 Pinkney Street, Annapolis, Maryland. Archaeology in Annapolis.
Associated Artifacts
Thimbles
