What is an Internship with the Lost Towns Project Like?

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We asked Catonsville High School senior and 2022 intern Abby Shackelford. Here is what she had to say:

I first discovered the Lost Towns Project in a Maryland Archaeology Month pamphlet I picked up while on a college tour at St. Mary’s College of Maryland.  Originally, I had hoped to find something closer to home, but as I looked through the pamphlet, I realized that Anne Arundel County was as close as I was going to get. I applied for the internship because I wanted to make sure that I liked archaeology and got some experience with it before I chose to pursue it in college.

I really enjoyed our field trips to all of the different sites. It was cool to see how they varied in upkeep and the difficulties that the different environments caused while executing field work. I also enjoyed the trip to the Prince George’s County Archaeology Lab because it was interesting to see the difference in collections storage from county to county, and it was cool to see how other people did their processing and cataloging procedures outside of our tiny sphere at the London Town Lab. I liked how we had an equal balance of lab days and field days. It was good to have some variety, and I really enjoyed all of the field trips to all sorts of cool historical sites I wouldn’t otherwise have heard about. Conversely, it was also nice to have the lab days after weeks out in the field, sweating in the heat. Some days you just needed to sit and mindlessly clean some brick with a toothbrush while you soaked up some AC.

Interns outside the Anne Arundel Archaeology Lab (background, right), on the grounds of Historic London Town & Gardens

Altogether, besides miscellaneous lab work, I worked on two major field projects. One was at Kinder Farm, while one was at Arden. Kinder Farm Park, an Anne Arundel County park, was formerly the site of the Kinder family farm. The Kinders were German immigrants and truck farmers, growing produce and transporting it to larger centers of commerce for sale. We dug multiple shovel test pits (STPs) around the locations of two of the major farmhouses and other various outbuildings, finding a variety of artifacts, mostly from the early 20th century.

Kinder Farmhouse

Our other major field project was on a private property—a former plantation known as Arden, built in the 1840s. Arden was home to Dr. James Murray, a slaveholder, who served in the Confederate Army during the Civil War as a surgeon. We excavated in the woods near the main house, around and in the foundation of a former tenant house, where a man we know only by oral retelling as “Uncle Wec,” reportedly a former slave on the plantation, lived up until the 1940s. We collected surface finds, dug STPs around the remains of the foundation, and excavated a unit in the corner of the house. Most of the artifacts we found likely dated to the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The Arden Tenant House

 A memorable moment would be when I dropped my phone in poison ivy. The worst part was that we weren’t even in the field! I dropped it off of the deck by the waterfront and it managed to land face down on the one patch of poison ivy in the whole garden (but luckily it missed the storm drain which was mere inches away). Before this internship, I had no idea what poison ivy looked like. I knew it had three leaves and it was shiny, but I didn’t know its exact appearance. I can now confidently say I know what it looks like. It just took dropping my phone in it and getting a little bit of it on my hand for me to figure it out.

Poison Ivy (source: Maryland Extension)

I would definitely recommend this internship to other students. For another high school student, I think this internship could also be helpful to help them determine whether or not they want to continue with archaeology as a career path, since it was composed of a wide array of everyday archaeological tasks. My main takeaway from this internship would have to be that I learned methods of archaeology—I gained experience in different techniques used to clean, label, and excavate artifacts, among other things. I think I can also claim to know the layout of the lab pretty well, after all of the cleaning and organizing we did of it. Coming away from this internship, I can now say that I have more of an idea of what I am getting into if I choose to pursue archaeology as a profession. The hands-on experience that this internship has afforded me has been invaluable. I have had opportunities in the archaeology world that I would not have otherwise had if not for this internship, such as the opportunity to observe ground-penetrating radar, help organize and store collections, and go on “behind the scenes” tours of museums like the Mt. Calvert House and the exhibits at London Town. I am also doubly as grateful to have these opportunities as a high schooler who had no prior experience with archaeology coming in to the internship. Having completed this internship has also hopefully given me a leg up in the college application process, which is fast approaching for me, as it is yet another extracurricular to add to my application. This internship has been an experience that not many high schoolers often get.

Abby (C) with 2022 interns Kaitlin (L) and Julia (R)

Overall, this internship was a very great experience for me. I was very lucky to get the opportunity to do it, and I had a lot of fun this summer. This internship has only solidified my desire to continue to do archaeology. I am planning to continue volunteering at the lab every now and then during the upcoming school year. I look forward to being able to expand my knowledge of history and archaeology.

Intern Spotlight: Nicole Six

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This is the sixth in a series of posts highlighting our awesome summer interns!

“My name is Nicole Six, I have a BA in Archaeology and Ancient History from Durham University in the UK.

“I have a special interest in zooarchaeology so I’ve been identifying and cataloguing faunal remains from the Bob Ogle Collection. The remains date from the 17th century, and are mostly from livestock. I make note of the species, what type of bone, what part of the bone, the approximate age, and any notable features. For example, ‘left proximal femur of a non-adult cow, with butcher marks.’ After I finish this project I’m aiming to start a new project focusing on collections management within the museum.”

Nicole’s Faunal Project from the Swann site

Thanks, Nicole, for sharing your expertise in all things animal bone!

Abby (C) with fellow interns Kaitlin (L) and Julia (R)

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: Abby Shackelford

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This is the sixth in a series of posts highlighting our awesome summer interns!

“Hi! I am Abby Shackelford. I am a senior at Catonsville High School, and I plan to major in archaeological studies or anthropology in college. Most recently, I have been working at Arden, a mid-19th century plantation. We have been digging shovel test pits around abandoned former slave quarters, which were later converted into a tenement. I hope to learn more about collections storage and artifact conservation this summer.”

Thanks, Abby, for spending your summer with us! We appreciate your hard work in the lab and field.

Abby (C) with fellow interns Kaitlin (L) and Julia (R)

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!

The Arden Tenant House: An Intern Perspective

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Contributed by Lost Towns Project summer intern Tyler Wilson

This summer, I worked on a project to research, excavate, and document 19th-century Black households in Anne Arundel County, Maryland to create a more inclusive history. These households were inhabited by both enslaved and free African Americans before and after emancipation. As an intern on this project, I was tasked with updating the Anne Arundel County cemetery database and completing inventory forms while assisting in both the lab and fieldwork for the project. The data that was gained from this project is significant because it gives historic value and acknowledgment to a community that was often ignored or forgotten about. The central site for the summer took place at the Arden Tenant House (18AN609) where a lot of artifacts and data were collected.

18AN609: The Arden Tenant House

Arden Tenant House, located on old Harwood Road in Harwood, Maryland, was a property owned by Dr. James Murray. The main house on the property is a rare Louisiana-style plantation house, and this is where Dr. Murray would have lived. After emancipation, black tenant farmers lived in the tenant house a short distance away. At the tenant house, most artifacts were found through shovel test pits dug by the interns, and through surface finds. The surface finds and shovel test pits were organized and flagged on a digital grid system. Due to the property being occupied for decades, there were countless pieces of ceramics, glass bottles, and other artifacts found everywhere, mostly on the surface. Along with this, two professional archeologists excavated the floor within the house where countless more artifacts such as stockings, ceramics, and even animal bone were found. If we had more time, the site would have garnered much more data.

Tyler excavating at the Arden Tenant House

The two weeks spent at Arden were memorable to me because it was the first time I was able to do fieldwork in the United States. The only time I had ever worked in the field was at my field school which took place in Hertfordshire, England. So, being able to do archeology in the state I’m from while also finding countless artifacts was very memorable. Arden was also such an amazing site due to the sheer number of artifacts that could be found on the property.

Tyler Wilson 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!

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