Nassawango Creek Site (18WO23)

The Nassawango Creek site, 18WO23, is a multi-component prehistoric site in Worcester County. Located on a sandy ridge, it contains cultural deposits dating from the Paleoindian through the Late Woodland periods, including several Adena burials.

The site was discovered in March 1973, when two amateur archaeologists investigated a newly-bulldozed section of land on Nassawango Creek, a tributary of the Pocomoke River. In April 1973, the Lower Delmarva Chapter of the Archeological Society of Maryland began excavations at the site. The investigation revealed the presence of at least two burials, other prehistoric features, and copper beads. The Maryland Geological Survey agreed to pay for three weeks of excavation if the Lower Delmarva Chapter would provide volunteer labor and pay for the fourth week of excavation. The Delaware Section of Archaeology agreed to provide storage space and room for analysis. Cara Wise served as the excavation director, with Faye Stocum as her assistant. Investigations occurred in July and August. John Sprinkle, Sr. conducted additional fieldwork in 1974.

A total of 31 2x2m units were opened and excavated to a depth of at least 30cm. Seventeen cultural features, including four burials pits, five hearths, one red ochre processing pit, and seven unidentified features, were located and excavated. The extremely sandy nature of the soil at Nassawango impeded the detection of features through color differentiation, and negatively impacted chemical analysis of soils and the ability to pedestal artifacts.

Nassawango Creek is one of just a handful of Adena burial sites in the Chesapeake region that have been professionally excavated. Red ochre, copper beads, and other metal and stone ornaments accompanied the burials. One feature appears to have been used to process red ochre from local bog iron. This collection is important for understanding cross-continental trade between the Adena core along the Ohio River and outlying sites in the Chesapeake region.

(Edited from Archaeological Collections in Maryland)