Phase I/II Archaeology Site W – U.S. Naval Surface Warfare Center, Prince Georges County, Maryland

Garrow & Associates, Inc., conducted Phase II archaeological fieldwork at Site W on the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Prince Georges County, Maryland. The project was conducted for the Baltimore District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in August 1995 for the Army Adelphi Laboratories, which has acquired a portion of the naval facility. The project tested two archaeological sites (18PR465 and 18PR466) within a parcel to be used for a wastewater containment pond, an administrative building, and a parking lot. The studies were done to assist the Army in their compliance with 36 CFR 800 and 36 CFR 66 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended. This document also provides the results of a previously unreported Phase I survey of Site W.

After background research and pre-fieldwork setup, a crew of four to five people was in the field for eight days. Twenty-five 1 x 1 m test units were excavated, 10 in the prehistoric site 18PR465 and 15 in historic site 18PR466. Artifacts totaling 1,974 were gathered from the test units (Table 1). An additional 206 artifacts were analyzed from shovel tests excavated during the previous Phase I survey by the Corps of Engineers staff. Artifacts were from both the historic period and the prehistoric period.

The historic site, 18PR466, is located at the north end of Site W. It was a vernacular residence occupied primarily during the antebellum period. Occupation at 18PR466 may have continued into the present century. The site was probably bulldozed upon acquisition by the Navy in 1945 but has intact deposits, including structural remnants and buried features. Background research indicates that the property belonged to the Beall family during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries and the Marlow family during the middle nineteenth century. The site could contribute to knowledge of the history of the region because of its integrity, artifact density, and artifact variety. It is particularly important because of the recent realization that middling planters were a significant and archaeologically neglected component of Atlantic Slope area history. It is recommended as eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).

The second site, 18PR465, is a prehistoric site overlooking a springhead at the south end of Site W. It may have been a quarry for quartzites outcropping from the Cretaceous gravels that underlie the site. There is little evidence of workshop activity, however. Testing showed that the artifact density was very low and no intact deposits were located. It is not recommended eligible for the NRHP and no further work is recommended.