Belvoir (18AN1534)

Site History

The Belvoir site (18AN1534) is an 18th- to 20th-century plantation located in Crownsville in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. The early 18th-century plantation house, enlarged and modified during the later 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, survives along with several 20th-century outbuildings. The plantation is associated with many influential Maryland families, including the Ross's, Scotts, and Keys and was the site of a temporary encampment for Comte de Rochambeau's troops while in transit to Yorktown to aid in the Continental Army's defeat of the British.

Archaeological Investigations

Archaeological investigations at Belvoir were undertaken by AECOM as part of a highway corridor study, with work occurring in 2014-2016 and 2018. Archaeological investigations took place at 5 loci, with a more intensive focus on the manor house, the standing bank barn ruins located to the southeast, an 18th-century button scatter that may denote the location of an outbuilding, and within the vicinity of a standing 20th-century dilapidated tenant house. This latter area revealed the presence of a historic gully filled with 18th-century domestic refuse and the foundations and interior of a possible slave quarter.

The primary focus of the work was on a mid-18th century stone slave quarter that was abandoned in the third quarter of the 19th century. The 34-foot-square stone foundation retained a remarkable degree of integrity, given that a 20th-century house was built within its footprint. Intact brick floors, subfloor pits, an external patio, internal foundation walls, and other features were found well preserved under a layer of late 20th-century fill. The structure contained three rooms-a kitchen and two smaller living spaces. Over 78,000 artifacts were recovered during the excavation of the quarter.

References

Crowl, Heather, Peter Regan, and Benjamin Stewart

2022a   Archaeological investigations of Scott's Plantation (Belvoir), Anne Arundel County, Maryland. SHA Archaeological Report No. 569 (AECOM) MHT # AN 836.

2022b   Archaeological investigations of Scott's Plantation (Belvoir), Anne Arundel County, Maryland. Volume II: appendices SHA Archaeological Report No. 569 (AECOM) MHT # AN 836 APP.

(Edited from archeological site survey form, Maryland Historical Trust, and Crowl et al. 2022a)