Site AA-1 (18ST676)

Site AA-1 (18ST676) is a Late Archaic through Middle Woodland period base camp or small hamlet, with a small historic period component. It is located along an unnamed tributary of McIntosh Run in Leonardtown, in St. Mary’s County.

Archaeological evidence for human activity in the general vicinity of the site goes back to at least the Early Archaic period. Middle Archaic materials were found at a nearby site, and a few sites in the area date to the Late Archaic period and Early, Middle, and Late Woodland periods.

In the early 1740s, Abraham Barnes acquired the lands that became known as Tudor Hall Plantation, including the location of 18ST676. The site area was used for agriculture, with no known structures. Philip Key purchased the property in 1813 and it remained with his family throughout the 19th century. An 1830 map depicts a building called the “Over Seers House” in the general area, but no other structures are known nearby until the 20th century.

Phase I archaeological investigations were conducted at the site in 1996 for the proposed Tudor Hall Village housing development. Of the 480 acres that were part of the development, 271 acres were subject to Phase I study. 18ST676 was situated in the northwest quadrant of the project area, and was investigated with shovel test pits. Many prehistoric artifacts were recovered from undisturbed sub-plowzone contexts, and three hearth features were noted. The historic component was identified as a late 18th through 19th-century scatter, and the artifacts were confined to the plowzone.

Phase II investigations were conducted at 18ST676 in 1997. They consisted of 123 shovel test pits and 12 test units. At least four prehistoric features were excavated, and were generally first noted well below the base of plowzone. One was a small, shallow pit, while the others consisted of concentrations of fire-cracked rock and lithic artifacts, without any discernable soil staining. The Phase II investigations revealed various loci of activity across the site, including both residential and lithic reduction areas.

No historic cultural features were identified during the Phase II investigations. The number of historic artifacts found was small, and they clustered at the northwest margin of the site. They suggested either the presence of a structure in the general vicinity of the site, or the sporadic discard of materials associated with a building beyond the immediate project area.

18ST676 was identified as a base camp or small hamlet focused on lithic raw material procurement, and dating from the Late Archaic period to the Middle Woodland, based on the recovery of a Piscataway point and 2 possible Pope’s Creek ceramic sherds. The small size of the ceramic assemblage suggested that the primary occupation was during the Archaic period.

(Edited from the Maryland Historical Trust Synthesis Project)