Warwick (18CE371)
Site History
The Warwick Prehistoric site (18CE371) is a Late Archaic/Early Woodland period short-term camp and historic artifact scatter located along Route 301 in Caroline County, Maryland, near the state border with Delaware.
Archaeological Investigations
This site was initially identified in 2010 during a Phase I survey along US 301 by Richard Grubb & Associates. A total of ten shovel test pits were positive for precontact period artifacts, including a small jasper contracting stemmed point with cortex on the base; jasper, chert, quartz, and quartzite debitage, and fire cracked rock. A 1m x 1m excavation unit placed in the center of the cluster yielded 24 additional prehistoric artifacts, including a contracting stemmed jasper biface and jasper scraper; jasper, chert, quartz, and quartzite debitage, and fire cracked rock. The site is generally dated to the Late Archaic/Early Woodland period based on the points (possibly Bare Island and Piscataway) but since they are not very definite, they could date to from the Archaic to the Early/Middle Woodland periods. The points are small and made from flakes.
Phase II fieldwork was conducted by Richard Grubb & Associates in 2011, and consisted of the excavation of 25 1x1m test units. In addition, Dr. Raymond Mueller (2011) excavated test pits and examined soil profiles exposed by the Phase II test units to evaluate formation processes. Excavation of the twenty-five test units and one ambiguous feature unearthed one fragment of charred wood and 395 artifacts, including 382 prehistoric artifacts. Diagnostics consisted of six Lamoka points, five small stemmed points, and one corner-notched point (all probably dating to the Late Archaic and/or Early Woodland periods). Four bifaces, both early and late stage, a hammerstone fragment, 67 fire-cracked rocks, one flake tool, and 295 pieces of debitage, most jasper and chert, formed the remainder of the assemblage.
Phase III archaeological fieldwork was conducted by Dovetail Cultural Resource Group in 2013. Excavation began by expanding the central area examined during the earlier work, where the possible cultural feature and the highest artifact densities were identified. The completed excavation exposed a 10 by 8 meter (32.8 by 26.2 ft) block. Stratum I, the root mat and associated organic material and soil, and the underlying historic plow zone were removed to expose the B1 horizon in hopes of identifying cultural features.
The Phase III assemblage includes one mammal bone and one charred nut shell, five fragments of petrified wood, a piece of barbed wire, a nail, six pieces of glass, and prehistoric artifacts. The prehistoric assemblage includes 104 pieces of microdebitage, 377 larger pieces of debitage, 105 fragments of FCR, and 16 tools. Artifacts, as well as most biotic activity, occurred primarily in the Ap and B1 horizons. Six of the Phase III artifacts occurred in the B2 horizon, all small fragments of debitage from test units adjacent to trees with extensive root systems.
References
2011 Phase Ib (Identification-Level) Archaeological Survey U.S. Route 301 Mainline Contract 3: Maryland/Delaware State Line To North Of Levels Road, St. Georges and Appoquinimink Hundreds and Town of Middletown New Castle County, Delaware and Electoral District 1, Cecil County, Maryland. (Richard Grubb Associates) MHT # CE 76.
2011 Management Summary, Phase II (Evaluation-Level) Archaeological Surveys, Warwick Prehistoric Site (18CE371), Polk Tenant Site (N05221, 7NC-F-111), U.S. Route 301 Mainline, Section 3: Maryland/Delaware State Line to North of Levels Road, St. Georges and Appoquinimink Hundreds and Town of Middletown, New Castle County, Delaware and Electoral District 1, Cecil County, Maryland. (Richard Grubb & Associates, Inc.) MHT # CE 78.
2014 U.S. 301 from the Delaware/Maryland State Line to SR 1: Phase III Archaeological Data Recovery at the Warwick Site (18CE371), Cecil County, Maryland. (Dovetail Cultural Resource Group) MHT # CE 83.
Associated Artifacts
Lamoka
Lamoka
Lamoka
Lamoka
