Phase II and Phase III Archaeological Database and Inventory
18HO52 Deep Run Quarry
Diagnostic Artifact Data
Features
Summary
The Deep Run Quarry Site (18HO52) is an approximately 180 X 300 meter prehistoric site located along a ridgetop and high terrace in Howard County, Maryland. It is one in a series of small prehistoric sites occupying separate ridges and knolls overlooking Deep Run. It was situated on pastureland amidst Beltsville, Chillum, and Sassafras soils.
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 Quarry 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. They identified it as a quarry-related site with lithic debris eroding from the stream margin. The site was investigated again in 1992 during a Phase IB survey by the Maryland State Highway Administration for the proposed extension of MD 100 from US 29 to I-95. At that time, 59 shovel test pits (STPs) were excavated in the vicinity of Deep Run Quarry. Forty of these contained 267 prehistoric artifacts. The Phase IB artifact assemblage included 253 quartz flakes, 2 rhyolite flakes, 1 quartz core fragment, 4 quartz biface fragments, 1 fragmentary side-notched projectile point dating to the Late Archaic period, and 6 fire-cracked rocks recovered from the plowzone of 39 shovel test pits. The vast majority of the materials were recovered from the plowzone. Most of the materials came from the toe of the flat ridge top. The extent of the prehistoric scatter suggested that the site might represent numerous occupation episodes. The results of the survey lead to the expansion of the site boundaries and the recommendation that the site be subject to Phase II evaluation prior to construction of MD 100 should the particular highway alternate that passed through the site be chosen as the final design for the highway.
Phase II testing was carried out in 1993 to address the potential functional and chronological relationships between individual prehistoric occupational episodes and activity areas, in order to assess the research potential of individual components, and the site as a whole. The area of potential effects from the proposed corridor covers approximately 24,000 m2, which is approximately 60% of the ca. 39,500 m2 archeological deposit. During the Phase II investigations the site area was in pasture and scrub, which limited surface visibility. Data from the Phase IB shovel tests, once scaled and contoured, defined three concentrations of lithic artifacts across the site. Field methods consisted of a program of shovel testing that used 40 cm-wide shovel tests placed on a 10 m grid within the area of highest artifact concentration, as defined by the Phase IB testing and within the project alignments.
A total of 238 shovel tests were placed in this area; 64 additional shovel tests were excavated outside the area of potential effect, in order to sample and define related archeological components. A total of twenty-two 1 X 1 m, three 0.5 X 1 m, three 0.5 X 2 m, and one 0.5 X 1.5 m test units were excavated. The placement of these units was based on the results of the shovel testing program, and was designed to sample areas of potential subsurface integrity, and to examine features encountered during the excavation. STPs were excavated by hand within natural strata. Plowzone deposits were removed as a unit and screened. Subplowzone deposits were excavated by controlled 10 cm levels within natural strata. The unit excavations extended to a minimum depth of 50 cm, or 20 cm into sterile soil. Soils were screened through hardware cloth.
Only one feature was encountered during the Phase II testing; a historic burn feature (multiple feature numbers were actually used to delineate interruptions and sections of the burn feature). It was found within two 1 X 1 meter test units and contained historic artifacts. Thirteen of the various test units and 58 auger tests were placed in the vicinity of this feature to define and characterize the historic activity at the site. These topics are discussed below, following the discussion of the prehistoric component.
The three prehistoric artifact concentrations that were identified during Phase IB and tested during Phase II were found to lack vertical integrity, were not horizontally discrete, and lacked sufficient functional differences to characterize the concentrations as distinct activity areas. A fourth prehistoric concentration was also identified and exhibited these same characteristics. The data from Phase IB and II investigations suggest that although loose clusters of projectile points and lithic debris of the Middle Archaic through Late Woodland Periods may be present at the site, Deep Run Quarry is a palimpsest or conflation of occupations that have been mixed and disturbed to such a degree that they have very little integrity.
A total of 6,125 prehistoric artifacts, including 13 points/knives, 49 bifaces, 55 cores, 173 utilized/retouched flakes, 7 scrapers, 5,408 unmodified flakes, 27 hammerstones, 6 abrading/grinding stones, 2 groundstone tool fragments, and 1 piece of cut steatite, and 62 fire-cracked rock fragments were excavated. An additional 322 pieces of block/shatter were recovered in flotation samples. The projectile point assemblage includes a LeCroy, a MacCorkle point, four Bare Island or possible Bare Island points, a Selby-Bay like point, a point very similar to the Jack’s Reef corner-notched type but stemmed, and two Late Woodland triangular points. The three other points in the assemblage were resharpened to such a degree that diagnostic features were obscured and they could not be assigned to typological categories.
The prehistoric component at Site 18HO52 represents a palimpsest of occupations dating from the Early/Middle Archaic through the Late Woodland periods. Although the horizontal boundaries of these occupations cannot be defined clearly, they do not appear to be functionally distinct. The distribution of functional classes of artifacts is similar within each of the 26 test units placed in the site. The overall character of the assemblage suggests that a series of short-term resource procurement camps and possibly base camps were located at the site. A comparison of the average counts of functional and raw material classes from Site 18HO52 with those from contemporary sites in Anne Arundel and Baltimore Counties indicate that this site most closely resembles those characterized as multiple activity/extractive sites and possible base camps. Such sites commonly are found in floodplain and terrace settings. The location of Site 18HO52 on a high terrace and interfluvial ridge is anomalous, relative to current understanding of settlement patterns in the Fall Line Transition Zone of the Maryland Piedmont. However, archeological and geomorphological evidence indicate that the site lacks sufficient integrity to contribute important information concerning prehistoric occupation of the area.
The historic component of the Deep Run Quarry site was identified during Phase II testing on the ridge crest, along a fenceline that divided the site. Thirteen additional test units (six 1 X 1 m, three 0.5 X 1 m, one 0.5 X 1.5 m, and three 0.5 X 2 m) were placed within the vicinity of the burned earth feature (see above) and a scatter of historic material. Fifty-eight auger tests were also used to better understand the surrounding stratigraphy. Although the placement of these units was directed at examining the feature and characterizing the historic component, additional prehistoric materials were recovered during the course of excavation and were included in the discussions above. Archeological and stratigraphic evidence indicates that the feature may be the remains of a structure dating from the late 18th to the mid 19th century. A light scatter of architectural and domestic debris was found in the plowzone during this testing. The ephemeral nature of this occupation suggests that it may represent the brief occupation of the land by a tenant, squatter, or slave; alternatively, the structure may have served as an agricultural outbuilding. Archival research did not reveal documentary evidence of a structure on this land; however, it was common practice during the 19th century to record only residences of landowners on maps and documents.
A total of 221 historic artifacts were recovered during Phase II testing of the site. The majority of this assemblage (88.2%) appears to be associated with the features, though nearly all of the artifacts were from the plowzone. The density of historic artifacts was significantly higher in those test units closest to the features. A high percentage of handwrought nails suggests that a structure may have stood on the site during the 18th or early 19th century. However, the ceramics suggest a mid-nineteenth century occupation. This chronological ambiguity may be the result of a change in the function of the structure from an agricultural outbuilding to a temporary domestic occupation. Alternatively, the salvaging of wood from an 18th century structure for use in the construction of a later structure may explain this chronological disparity.
The historic artifact assemblage included 7 activity items, 114 architectural remains, 1 personal item, 43 kitchen-related objects, 4 tobacco-related artifacts, 2 arms-related items, and 50 miscellaneous objects. The activity items were 4 pieces of barbed wire, 2 wire staples, and a piece of hardware (a nut). The architectural artifacts are 11 fragments of window glass, 40 brick fragments, 2 pieces of mortar, 3 wrought nails, 28 wrought nail fragments, 4 cut/wrought nails, 3 cut/wrought nail fragments, 5 machine cut nails, 6 machine cut nail fragments, 1 wire nail, 1 wire nail fragment, 9 unidentified nail fragments, and a door handle faceplate. The personal object is a piece of silver wire (a possible jewelry part). The kitchen assemblage included 25 ceramic sherds (2 pearlware, 5 whiteware, 7 domestic gray salt-glazed stoneware, 7 redware, 1 later porcelain, 3 unidentified), 13 bottle glass shards (1 green non-machine made, 1 clear non-machine made, 8 aqua blown-in-mold, and 3 machine made), 2 molded table glassware fragments, 2 pieces of oyster shell, and a piece of turtle carapace. The tobacco-related artifacts are 2 kaolin pipe bowls and 2 kaolin pipe stems. The arms related artifacts are both modern gun shells. And finally, the miscellaneous historic objects were 46 coal and slag pieces, 3 unidentified metal objects and a piece of slate. In addition, ethnobotanical materials were recovered from flotation sampling, but these were largely charcoal fragments and not evidence of dietary remains (all of the seeds recovered were considered incidental inclusions in the deposits). Two nutshell fragments (hickory and black walnut) are the only possible exceptions (not included in the table above).
The historic burn feature and artifacts associated with them suggest that a structure stood on the site during the late 18th to mid 19th century. The presence of ceramics, bottle glass, and other domestic debris suggest that it may have served a domestic function, perhaps as a tenant residence. This interpretation is based on a very limited assemblage of temporally-sensitive artifacts. Documentary research identified no standing structures on the site on 19th century maps or in deeds that referred to this property. The history of landuse in this region indicates that much of the general area was agricultural; indeed the abstract of the chain of title for the property suggests that it had been used for agricultural purposes since the early 19th century.
Neither the prehistoric or historic components at 19HO52 possess integrity sufficient to answer research questions. The site does not retain any research potential.
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