Phase II and Phase III Archaeological Database and Inventory
18CE153 10001-1
Diagnostic Artifact Data
Features
Summary
Site 10001-1 (18CE153) is a multicomponent site with Late Archaic and Late Woodland occupations representing short-term resource procurement camps, and a 19th century artifact scatter. It is located near Rock Springs in Cecil County, Maryland, not far from the Pennsylvania/Maryland border. The site spans 2 cultivated fields and is bisected into northern and southern sections by a local road. Soils in the site area consist of Conowingo silt loam (3-15% slope), Neshaminy silt loam (0-3% slope), and Chrome silt loam (3-8% slope).
This site was first recorded in 1981 during a pipeline corridor survey for the Columbia Gas Transmission Corporation. The work involved the installation of a 50.8 cm (20”) gas replacement pipeline in Harford and Cecil Counties, Maryland. The project area consisted of a 9.144-21.33 m (30-70 ft) wide corridor that extended approximately 11.1 km (6.9 miles) from Dublin, Maryland to the Pennsylvania/Maryland border. The purpose of the project was to locate, identify, and assess any cultural resources that may have been impacted by the installation of the pipeline. The proposed pipeline was to run parallel to, and ultimately replace, the then existing pipeline; the project area has therefore already been impacted by previous construction. Only portions of the site that were inside the pipeline right-of-way were tested.
A pedestrian survey at 18CE153 was conducted in March of 1981. The site was initially identified as a surface scatter, consisting of both prehistoric and historic materials. The prehistoric artifacts were centered on a serpentine outcropping. Based on the 1981 Phase I survey, the prehistoric component of the site was interpreted to be a lithic processing site. The historic component was determined to be the result of redeposition during fertilization of the fields and not relatable to discrete historic habitations or refuse deposits. No historic period structures were identified within site area although a farmstead built in the early 19th century is located some 80 m east of the site’s eastern boundary. This suggested an alternate theory might be that the historic component represented a possible outbuilding related to the farmstead. It was recommended that further testing be conducted at the site in order to determine if intact soils were present.
Prehistoric artifacts (n=85) collected during the non-systematic surface survey in 1981 consisted of 53 quartz flakes and 13 core fragments, 16 possibly utilized quartz flakes, 2 quartz projectile point midsections, 1 quartz scraper fragment (or biface fragment). Historic artifacts (n=21) collected during the surface survey consisted of 9 architectural items (1 window glass shard, 1 brick fragment, 6 roofing slate fragments, 1 corroded metal pipe fragment), and 12 kitchen-related items (5 redware sherds, 1 ironstone sherd, 5 whiteware sherds (1 blue edge decorated), 1 animal bone fragment).
In May of 1981, archeologists returned to the site to conduct a Phase II investigation. The purpose of testing was to define the site limits, determine cultural affinities if possible, and to determine the functional characteristics of the site. The testing was only done on the northern portion of the site because access was not given by the owner of the southwestern section of the site. A 10 m x 10 m grid was placed over the portion of the site located within the pipeline corridor. Twelve grid units were surface collected. Subsurface testing consisted of the excavation of 25 shovel test pits (STPs) at 5 m intervals along the north/south gridline and six 1 m x 1 m test units. Soils removed from the STPs were not screened but were trowel-sorted, and all soils removed during the test unit excavations were screened through ¼” mesh.
A total of 146 artifacts were recovered during the Phase II testing. There were 130 prehistoric items: 112 quartz flakes (4 of which were possibly natural), 10 quartz cores or possible core fragments, 3 utilized quartz flakes, 3 quartz scrapers, and 2 chert flakes. There were 16 historic items: 5 activity items (clay pigeon fragments), 6 architectural items (1 flat glass shard, 1 nail fragment, 4 slate fragments), 4 kitchen-related items (2 bottle glass fragments, 1 redware sherd, 1 whiteware sherd), and 1 tobacco item (a kaolin pipe fragment).
The materials recovered indicated that the activities represented around the site centered on procurement and utilization of lithic resources, particularly quartz, and perhaps more minimally on gathering surrounding vegetation and hunting local wildlife. However, because of the absence of functionally, temporally, or culturally diagnostic artifacts, and the low density of cultural remains, the archeologists determined that further excavation at the site would not contribute significantly to the study of prehistory in the region. No further work was recommended for 18CE153.
However, in 1999 the site was re-encountered during Phase I testing for a power generation plant. The purpose of the archeological investigation was to identify and record all cultural sites within the 98.12 acre Area of Potential Effect (APE), and to make preliminary assessment of their eligibility for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Only a portion of the total survey area was to be disturbed by construction of the power plant, which was located just northwest of the site. A large segment of site 18CE153 was located within the survey area. During the 1999 survey, a larger portion of the site was examined than was previously possible, although sections were still inaccessible. Non-systematic surface collection and the excavation of 2 STPs were undertaken. Because of the large number of artifacts observed at the site, a non-systematic grab sample of lithic tools and diagnostic artifacts was collected.
Analysis of the artifact distribution indicated that a higher density of prehistoric artifacts was located in the southwestern portion of the site on an area of higher elevation. A higher density of historic artifacts was noted in the north-central portion of the site. The historic scatter may represent the remains of an outbuilding associated with the nearby farmstead; however, they were obviously disturbed by agricultural activity and considered to have little future research potential. A variety of prehistoric tool production occurred at the site, as evidenced by the presence of bifaces in several stages of manufacture, cores, and flakes. Dates of occupation at the site were determined by the presence of a Late Archaic Bare Island point and a Late Woodland Levanna point in the assemblage.
Prehistoric artifacts (n=41) recovered from the surface included an abraded steatite fragment (recorded as an ‘other lithic’ item in the table above), 1 quartz Bare Island point, 1quartz Levanna point, 14 bifaces in several stages of manufacture (13 quartz, 1 sandstone), 2 quartz cores, 22 quartz flakes, and 1 utilized quartz flake. Historic artifacts (n=13) included 2 architectural items (brick fragments), 10 kitchen-related items (3 container glass fragments, 4 whiteware sherds, 1 porcelain sherd, 2 milk glass lid liner fragments), and 1 personal item (a milk glass cold cream jar base).
Based on the design of the power plant, no development was planned on site 18CE153. The portion of the site within the right-of-way contained low artifact densities, but it was determined that more information could be obtained by more intensive testing of the site. The large quantity of artifacts observed in areas not tested suggested the site still may potentially be eligible for nomination to the NRHP and it was recommended that additional Phase II work should be conducted if future ground disturbance activities are conducted.
In 2006, a pipeline survey for the Sparrows Point Liquefied Natural Gas plant and pipeline corridor encountered the site again. A total of 14 STPs were dug at 15 m intervals within the site boundary in the right-of-way along 2 transects. The site was identified as a scatter of 6 quartz flakes in three positive STPs. No additional close interval testing was conducted as positive identification of the site was confirmed. As it was currently designed, the proposed construction of the pipeline would impact the northwestern section of Site 18CE153. Therefore, Phase II investigations were recommended by the excavators. It is unclear, however, if further work was conducted in the APE.
Site 10001-1 (18CE153) is a multicomponent site with Late Archaic and Late Woodland occupations representing short-term resource procurement camps, and a 19th century artifact scatter. The dates for prehistoric occupation were determined by the only 2 diagnostic artifacts recovered from the various investigations. The historic component was generally considered to represent field scatter, although it may also have been associated with outbuildings related to the nearby farmstead. Over the course of several archeological investigations, no cultural features were identified and temporally diagnostic artifacts were rare. The portion of the site to which the landowner would not grant access may contain more material but would in all likelihood not further contribute to the study of prehistory in the region.
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