Two Friends Site (18CH308)

The Two Friends site (18CH308) was a small farm or dwelling occupied between about 1740 and 1780. The site area is located near the town of Benedict in Charles County within a 675 acre property owned by the State of Maryland. An archaeological survey of this entire property was conducted in 1998 as part of a planned larger study of several state-owned properties along the Patuxent River. Approximately 50% of the Two Friends site was located within a 10-acre field where the Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA) planned to construct a wetland. Phase I, II, and III investigations were carried out by the Louis Berger Group, Inc., on behalf of the SHA to survey the proposed wetland mitigation effort.

This site is defined by a moderately dense scatter of 18th-century glass and ceramic artifacts. Brick and dense oyster shell were concentrated along the eastern edge of the hedgerow. Very dark organic soil was concentrated within the zone where the artifacts were recovered on either side of the hedgerow, indicating the presence of midden or refuse disposal pits. This site is classified as an 18th-century domestic occupation with strong potential for undisturbed contexts.

Phase I surface collecting identified a dense scatter of oyster shell on the field surface, and a noticeable darkening of soil. About 30 18th-century artifacts were recovered during the surface survey.

Phase II testing consisted of 19 test units, recovering 250 artifacts and 38 bone fragments and oyster shell fragments.

Phase III testing consisted of an additional 49 3'x3' test units, followed by mechanical stripping and hand excavation of all cultural features. Excavation of the eastern 40% of the site, in the path of the wetland replacement project, exposed about 24 overlapping trash pits filled in around 1760 to 1780. The site was part of a large plantation known as Two Friends, belonging to the Southoron family. 18CH308 does not represent the main plantation house.

The Two Friends site was determined eligible for the National Register of Historic Places by the Maryland Historical Trust in March of 2002. During the data recovery excavations, conducted in July and August of 2002, the plowed soil was removed from the site and the area of the trash midden was exposed. The midden consisted of about 20 small pits, each measuring about 1 foot deep and 2 to 5 feet across. Several of the pits contained large amounts of oyster shell, animal bone, bottle glass, and other artifacts dating to the 1740 to 1780 period. Over 4500 artifacts were recovered from various features. Analysis of this material suggested that the excavated area was a work yard where animals were butchered and where craft activities may have been carried out. A residence was obviously nearby, and much residential trash was disposed of in the pits. The social and economic status of the site's occupants is not clear, since the artifact collection had some hallmarks of high status and some of very low status, and the dwelling itself must have been outside the excavated area. The archaeological fieldwork was supplemented by a study of Charles County probate inventories, which was designed to provide additional data on the livestock-raising practices and household possessions of 18th-century planters.

(Edited from Maryland Archeobotany)