Phase II and Phase III Archaeological Database and Inventory
18HO19 Deep Run 6
Diagnostic Artifact Data
Features
Summary
The Deep Run 6 Site (18HO19) is located southeast of Jonestown in Howard County, Maryland. It is one in a series of small prehistoric sites occupying separate ridges and knolls overlooking Deep Run. The site is situated on the eastern aspect of a hilltop and slope formed by the stream drainage. Soils at the site include Legore silt loams and Sassafras loams.
The general area around the stream has been known to local collectors since the late 19th century, but it wasn’t until 1971 that Deep Run 6 was identified as a discrete site. It was defined during an archeological survey that was part of an anthropology class at the University of Maryland, College Park. The surveyors recovered 1 rhyolite projectile point, 6 rhyolite flakes, and 23 pieces of quartz debitage. On a subsequent site visit in the late 1970s, when several alternative routes were being considered for the construction of MD 100, Maryland Geological Survey archeologists observed 40 to 50 rhyolite flakes on the surface of recently plowed fields. Once the current alternate for Route 100 was chosen, a thorough Phase I survey of the right-of-way was conducted in 1987 to comply with National Historic Preservation Act requirements. Five randomly placed shovel test pits (STPs) fell within the area of 18HO19. Two of the STPs yielded 2 ceramic rimsherds, 1 quartz scraper, and 1 quartz flake.
The Phase I researchers recommended that the site be subject to Phase II evaluation prior to construction of MD 100 because of its high artifact density relative to neighboring sites and its potential for sub-plowzone cultural features. Approximately one-half of the site lay within the proposed right-of-way for the highway, while the other half was slated for development by Macks Homes, Inc., as the Villages of Montgomery Run suburban development. Portions of Deep Run 6 were slated for immediate grading for the construction of a sediment control pond to be located at the southern end of the hillslope. Further grading was proposed for the spring of 1989 on the top of the hill in preparation for a parking lot and condominium construction. Macks Homes, Inc., granted permission to survey those portions of Deep Run 6 on their property at the same time investigations were undertaken within the highway right-of-way. Phase II work was carried out in 1989.
Horizontal spatial control was maintained during the Phase II project through the use of a grid system tied into the Maryland State Planning system. North-south and east-west base lines were shot in using a transit and tape and subsequent STPs and test units were measured from them. Shovel test pits were used to determine the horizontal distribution of artifacts and 1 X 1 meter test units were used to examine the vertical dimensions of the site and to search for subplowzone features. STPs 50 cm in diameter were placed at systematic 15 m intervals across the limits of the site. These pits were excavated into 10 cm of Pleistocene-age soils, and were recorded by stratigraphic levels. Soil was screened through hardware cloth. In areas where concentrations of artifacts were encountered, additional shovel tests were placed at the discretion of the Principal Investigator.
Test units were placed in areas of high artifact concentration in the hopes of uncovering in situ cultural features. These units were excavated by stratigraphic cultural or natural layers, with arbitrary 10 cm levels within each layer. The plowzone that was found across the limits of the site was removed as one layer and in one level. In selected test units the plowzone was removed without screening to facilitate excavation of sub-plowzone layers. All soil removed from beneath the plowzone was screened.
In all, 93 STPs were excavated. A plowzone of disturbed soils covered the entire site area with an average depth of 20 cm. Below the plowzone, a clay loam subsoil, or “B” soil horizon, was encountered. In certain areas this subsoil exhibited increasing quantities of gravel at increasing depth, whereas in other areas, the B horizon had eroded and a “C” horizon appeared below the plowzone. All artifacts were recovered from the plowzone, except one quartz bipolar core from the “B” horizon.
Excavation of the systematically placed shovel test pits soon revealed the presence of a previously unknown historic component at the Deep Run 6 site. STPs on the flat of a hill in the southwest quadrant of the site contained historic artifacts: wrought nails, red-bodied earthenwares, kaolin pipe fragments, and blue gunflint fragments that suggested an 18th century, or earlier, occupation. In order to search for sub-plowzone cultural features in this area, four trenches were excavated along north-south and east-west grid lines. Four features were revealed in these trenches: Feature 1, a posthole and postmold; Feature 2, a rectangular root cellar; Feature 3, a postmold similar in shape and form to Feature 1; and Feature 4, a posthole and postmold adjacent to the root cellar (Feature 2). The root cellar, with evidence of a structure (postholes/molds) in close proximity, suggests a domestic occupation of some sort, probably dating to the middle of the 18th century (based on the artifact assemblage). Outside of this area, further evidence of historic occupation at 18HO19 came from 7 artifacts found scattered throughout the site in the various shovel test pits.
Twelve 1 X 1 meter test units were also opened during Phase II investigation. Two test units were excavated more than three 10 cm levels into the subsoil, six test units were excavated two 10 cm levels into subsoil, and four test units only had the plowzone removed. These test units were placed to produce a north-south and east-west stratigraphic profile of the site. No cultural features were encountered in any of these test units. Only five artifacts were recovered from sub-plowzone levels, and each of these artifacts was found in the first level of subsoil below the plowzone.
Less than 250 artifacts were recovered during Phase II investigations. One hundred forty were prehistoric lithics, 16 were prehistoric ceramics, and 87 were historic artifacts. The prehistoric lithic assemblage includes 1 Late Archaic expanded stemmed point, 1 Middle Archaic period Neville-like point, 1 biface, 4 bipolar cores, 2 retouched flakes, 35 decortications flakes, 32 primary flakes, 24 secondary flakes, 15 tertiary flakes, 1 bipolar flake, and 22 chunks. A possible grinding/nutting stone and a piece of fire-cracked rock were also recovered. The ceramic assemblage consisted entirely of 16 Potomac Creek body sherds. The historic artifact assemblage included 1 activity item, 40 architectural objects, 35 kitchen-related artifacts, 7 tobacco-related items, 2 arms objects, and 4 unidentified objects. The activity item is a modern metal bolt. The architectural artifacts are 10 wrought nails, 11 wrought nail fragments, 12 unidentified nail fragments, and 7 pieces of brick. The kitchen assemblage included 18 ceramic sherds (1 creamware, 1 whiteware, 1 agateware, 2 tin-glazed earthenware, 7 redware, 2 unidentified earthenware, 2 buff-bodied stoneware, and 2 grey-bodied stoneware sherds), 12 bottle glass fragments (2 blown, 8 blown-in-mold, 2 modern), 3 animal bone/teeth fragments, and 2 oyster shell fragments. The tobacco-related artifacts are kaolin bowl and stem fragments and arms-related objects are gray-blue (English) gunflints. The miscellaneous items are 4 fragments of unidentified iron.
The prehistoric component of the Deep Run 6 site represents a medium-sized, intermittently occupied resource procurement site that dates from the Archaic through Woodland periods. Procurement sites were periodically occupied for the purposes of extracting specific resources from the site. Activities such as nut grinding are suggested by the presence of a large grinding stone. The artifacts recovered from this site were the remains left behind by a small group of Native Americans who occasionally used this hilltop overlooking Deep Run to process gathered plant foods and repair/manufacture tools as part of their seasonal subsistence cycle. No prehistoric sub-plowzone features or artifacts with clear sub-plowzone association were identified during this investigation, suggesting that prehistoric site integrity is poor. The prehistoric component is considered unlikely to yield important information for prehistory and is therefore considered not significant.
The historic component of Deep Run 6 site represents an unspecified occupation dating to the middle of the 18th century. Features 2 and 3, a root cellar and related structural post, suggest that the historic component represents a domestic occupation. Artifacts from the surrounding plowzone (wrought nails, brick bits, and creamware) support this conclusion. Features 1 and 4, the remains of two postmolds and postholes, may also represent architectural/structural elements. The low density of historic artifacts at this site suggests that it was occupied for only a short time. The historic component may have the potential to contribute to our knowledge of early settlement in Howard County and address the rural agrarian intensification historic context and the agriculture and architectural themes as defined by the state historic preservation plan. Thus, the historic component, alone, is considered to have potential significance.
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