Position Filled: Research Associate & Archaeologist

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to execute an MHT-funded grant titled

“Slavery, resistance, and freedom: Recording Anne Arundel County’s past.”

This position has been filled.

The Lost Towns Project (LTP), in collaboration with Anne Arundel County’s Cultural Resources Section, is conducting a county-wide audit to compile a comprehensive list of historic resources that can shed new light on the history and archaeology of slavery, resistance, and freedom. The historical landscape of Anne Arundel County, Maryland is Black space–one predicated on the institution of slavery and in many cases constructed by enslaved Africans and African Americans. However, the recordation, preservation, study, and interpretation of Black places has long been neglected. Across the County, there are a wealth of Black archaeological and architectural sites which can offer a counter-narrative to predominantly white-focused histories of the area. This project aims to create a more inclusive history by researching, documenting, and sharing the diversity of Black households in nineteenth-century Anne Arundel County, including sites inhabited by both enslaved and free African-Americans, before and after emancipation.

The Lost Towns Project is seeking the services of a consultant to execute this project, with the assistance and support of County personnel. The consultant will be responsible for; 

  • Developing a catalog of known 19th-century African American domestic archaeological and architectural sites in the County; 
  • Preparing a technical report in compliance with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards and Guidelines for Archeology and Historic Preservation and the Standards and Guidelines for Archeological Investigations in Maryland which will include reporting on field investigations and will include a County-wide thematic study and context statement on sites of slavery, resistance and freedom; 
  • Completing or substantively updating 15 MIHP ‘AA-###’ and/or ‘18AN##’ Site Survey Forms, including updates to older forms to include reference to each site’s African American presence; and 
  • Submitting quarterly status reports to the LTP Board, in a form and substance acceptable for the MHT through the State grants portal system.

NOTE: This grant project began in January of 2022, and a consultant was selected to undertake the project. Substantive progress has been made to date, including the creation of a database of sites of interest, and the field investigations (at the Phase I/II level) at two archaeological sites (“Whitehall Plantation” and the “Arden Tenant House”).  Due to unanticipated staffing changes, the LTP consultant will be transitioning into a new role with the County, so we are seeking a consultant to complete the grant funded project. While the original completion date was proposed for May 2023, this personnel shift may allow for the extension of that due date. The previous consultant will remain integrally involved in the grant project in a new capacity of Principal Investigator.

Requirements and Qualifications:

  • The selected consultant must meet or exceed the Secretary of Interior Professional Qualifications for History, Archaeology or Architectural History. The successful candidate must have considerable experience and a substantive background in historical archaeology, a sound understanding of African diaspora studies and a solid familiarity with Anne Arundel County history. 
  • While both in person and virtual collaboration with the County staff and research team is required, scheduling is highly flexible, and the research-based nature of the project allows for considerable flexibility to work from alternative locations. The consultant must be able to travel to the County Offices in Annapolis and to the County Archaeology Lab in Edgewater to review reports, site files, and collections associated with the sites of interest. The team anticipates bi-weekly coordination meetings to review progress.
  • The consultant shall have familiarity with the MHT MEDUSA system, and be able to access the Internet reliably for both virtual meetings, and to access and contribute to the shared Google drives for project data. The project is using Google platforms for all shared work and communications.

Funding:

Funding for the contract shall not exceed $35,100.   Our goal is to have a consultant in place by the first week of September, with a plan to complete the grant work by May 31, 2023. This would equate to a 9-month contract, and we anticipate that the consultant will work on this project on average for 32 hours each week.  Payment is based on meeting certain milestones and deliverables over the duration of the project. 

Arden Tenant House Ruin, Harwood, MD

Intern Spotlight: Tyler Wilson

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This is the fifth in a series of posts highlighting our awesome summer interns! Next is Tyler Wilson of Salisbury University.

Tyler at the Arden Tenant House

“My name is Tyler Wilson and I am presently enrolled as an undergraduate student at Salisbury University. This year will be my senior year which I am excited about.

“Other than my current project at Lost Towns, which is to aid in bringing a more inclusive history to Maryland by researching tenant houses, I am currently working on research on how the prison system replaced slavery within a post-civil war America.

Tyler at the Arden Tenant House

“This summer I hope to get a glimpse of what life must have been like for enslaved people and their descendants by examining and analyzing the artifacts that were left behind on the tenant properties we will be working at. A lot is known about how the slave masters operated and lived within their households but not much has been researched on how tenants and slaves lived in their households.”

Thanks, Tyler, for your work this summer on this important topic!

Tyler is one of our two funded interns this year! Your support can help us provide internships to the next generation of archaeology and historic preservation professionals. If you are able, please consider making a tax-deductible internship donation to the Lost Towns Project today. Every contribution, no matter the size, makes a big difference in preserving local history. Thank you!

Intern Spotlight: Heather McKee

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This is the fourth in a series of posts highlighting our awesome summer interns! Next is Heather McKee. Heather interned with us last summer and has returned this summer to pursue an independent research project.

Heather is a junior at Salve Regina University in Newport, Rhode Island (the city that pretends it’s a better sailing town than Annapolis). She is working towards a double major in Sociology/Anthropology and Cultural & Historic Preservation with a focus in Archaeology. Sounds like a quintuple major to me!

“This summer I am working on an independent research project about the Ogle Collection about the societal interactions that took place between the Ohio Valley and the Adena, Hopewell, and Meadowood cultures in Maryland.

Adena point made of Mistassini quartzite (L) and Hopewell point made of Flint Ridge chert (R) from the Ogle Collection

“As an intern, I have learned a lot about cataloguing and various tasks in the lab as well as how to properly excavate an archaeological site. I have also learned more about Maryland’s history through the research I am conducting for my independent project.”

Thanks, Heather, for two years of research, labwork, and fieldwork!

Heather (L) in 2021 with former interns Ray (C) and Claire (R)

Are you an undergraduate or graduate student looking for a research project in archaeology, history, or historic preservation? The Lost Towns Project works with the Anne Arundel County Archaeological Laboratory to connect interested researchers with projects that span over 13,000 years of human history. Contact [email protected] for more information.

Your support can help us provide internships to the next generation of archaeology and historic preservation professionals! If you are able, please consider making a tax-deductible internship donation to the Lost Towns Project today. Every contribution, no matter the size, makes a big difference in preserving local history. Thank you!

Intern Spotlight: Vincent Turner

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This is the third in a series of posts highlighting our awesome summer interns! Today, we’re highlighting graduate student Vincent Turner from the University of Maryland.

Vincent Turner

“My name is Vincent Turner and I started as an intern for the Lost Towns Project at the beginning of June. I am currently between my first and second years in the Historic Preservation Master’s program at the University of Maryland, College Park. I have several projects this summer that involve updating cemetery records for Anne Arundel County and helping with public outreach.

An example of a cemetery survey form used by Anne Arundel County and the Anne Arundel Genealogical Society

“I am currently preparing cemetery information for GIS data migration which is fascinating because I get to see all of the information available on cemeteries in Anne Arundel County. This data will be used to make it easier to find all of the information available on individual cemeteries.”

Thanks, Vincent, for your work on preserving local cemeteries!

Do you want to get involved in historic cemetery preservation? Anne Arundel County’s Preservation Stewardship Program has a Historic Cemetery Survey initiative for members of the public to assist in documenting cemeteries. After all, we can’t protect a cemetery if we don’t know it exists! Click here for more information.

Vincent is one of our two funded interns this year! Your support can help us provide internships to the next generation of archaeology and historic preservation professionals. If you are able, please consider making a tax-deductible internship donation to the Lost Towns Project today. Every contribution, no matter the size, makes a big difference in preserving local history. Thank you!

Intern Spotlight: Julia Ribblett

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This is the second in a series of posts highlighting our awesome summer interns! Next up is Julia Ribblett from the University of Evansville.

Julia sorting artifacts from Whitehall

“Hello! My name is Julia Ribblett and I am a rising sophomore at University of Evansville in the city of Evansville in the southwestern edge of Indiana. I am working towards a bachelor’s degree in Archaeology with minors in both Art History and Anthropology! I am an intern with the Lost Towns Project to gain first-hand experience in archaeological studies and research.

Julia (L) with volunteer Mandy (R) sorting artifacts from Riviera Beach

“So far, I have worked on at the River Farm site in Lothian, Maryland, teaching middle schoolers how to analyze basic stratigraphy during a STEM program field trip. I have also participated in field work at a site in Denton, Maryland, and worked with artifacts from Whitehall. Since the start of my internship, I have learned the proper techniques for troweling and how to measure an archaeological lot on an excavation, as well as how to wash, organize, and label artifacts.”

Thanks for your hard work this summer, Julia!

Your support can help us provide internships to the next generation of archaeology and historic preservation professionals! If you are able, please consider making a tax-deductible internship donation to the Lost Towns Project today. Every contribution, no matter the size, makes a big difference in preserving local history. Thank you!