Cleaning and Pow Wow

Found: large yellow orb in the sky. Please contact the interns at Port Tobacco if it is yours.

Today it stopped raining, but due to muddy units we cleaned artifacts with our wonderful volunteers. This included cleaning the artifacts with water and tooth brushes, sorting out some rocks that snuck in. The artifacts will be sorted out again when they are cataloged.Legers were also found today that detail some of the purchases made at Port Tobacco during the mid 1800s. We would like to thank Brent for his wonderful chopped salad.

We left work early to go to the Pow wow being held by the Cedarville Band of the Piscataway. There we saw traditional dances by many different tribes and ate fry bread. A good time was had by all.

If it is at all possible we will be digging tomorrow. Pleeeease let the sun shine tomorrow!

Magen
Allison

Order Restored

I visited Port Tobacco today, quelling the student riot and turning away the cabana boy applicants. Order has been restored.

The Heidelberg Three spent the day with volunteers Brent, Elsie, Myron, and Belinda washing artifacts. I brought back to my Annapolis office approximately four boxes of artifacts that had already been cleaned, sorted, and rebagged. Pete and Kelley (my new staffer of whom you will hear more of in a week or so) spent much of Friday cataloguing material. Wait until they see the new material.

Steve Lohr and I walked around the site a little bit and found another pipeset boundary marker. We also found what may be the James Swann site...it is in the hedgerow about 20 ft northwest of where Pete had excavated three units during the ASM field session. Whoops.

April is taking Allison, Katharine and Magen to the Piscataway pow wow after work. We are fortunate in that the people whom we study have descendants in the immediate area and we look to them for insights into what we find and for novel avenues of research.

Jim

Wanted: Cabana Boys

Today the rainstorms continued here at Port Tobacco so we were forced to stay inside the courthouse cleaning and organizing collections while singing Bohemian Rhapsody. Poor Brent came to help us. While perusing binders full of various tidbits of information, Allison found reference to information at Pratt Library in Baltimore. More excitingly, she also found reference to a bell in the courthouse which resulted in Dr Beisaw going on an expedition to find it.

It has also been decided that we need four cabana boys, so we will be accepting applications starting tomorrow. Please apply in person, and you may need a kayak to reach us.

Katharine
Magen
Allison

Weather report

Missing: one orange sphere that warms and dries the earth

If found, please send to Port Tobacco.

Saturday will be a lab day. We are setting up some lab space in the courthouse. Volunteers are welcome to come and was artifacts from 8:30am to 2:30 pm.

The PTAP team will be at the Cedarville Powwow in Waldorf from 3pm on after labwork.

-April
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April M. Beisaw

Rain day

Port Tobacco is a swamp from the nonstop rain. The interns and I will attempt various indoor tasks at the courthouse and Burch House. Volunteers can take the day off. Check back tonight for an update on tomorrow's plans. It may be too wet to dig until Sunday.

-April
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April M. Beisaw

Breaking New Ground

Despite the weather forcast we were able to lay in two new units in search of George Atzerodt's carriage shop. I spoke to Jim Barbour about the blacksmith shop that we are hoping was once the carriage shop and he provided us with a 1910 photograph that showed it's location near where we are digging.

The soils are pretty muddy from the regular. That slowed us down a bit but we got a lot done and we are getting artifacts that may be associated with the blacksmith shop or the stables that adjoined it.

The interns were great today. Katharine ran the total station. Magen laid in the units. Allison provided hours of entertainment with her flamingo impersonation.

Friday has the potential to be a rain day but we are an optimistic bunch. After today I am handing over blog duties to the interns. Let's see what they have to say.

-April
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April M. Beisaw

Rain, rain, go away

It will certainly rain today but until the showers start we will go ahead an lay in new units in preparation for fairer weather. Once the showers start we will move inside the Burch house or courthouse and do labwork for the rest of the day.

-April
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April M. Beisaw