You won't find the legendary Holy Grail or any crystal skulls at the site, but said Susan Wilkinson, marketing director at Historic St. Mary's City, "I've been with HSMC since 2000, and this is the most exciting time we've had."

Wilkinson was referring to the recent opening of new exhibits at the renowned park and historical museum. The Van Sweringen Exhibit has already opened, and the St. John’s Exhibit will open in September. But, the most exciting recent event is the archeological dig and recent discoveries found surrounding the Calvert House, the home of Maryland’s first governor.

Every summer HSMC, in conjunction with St. Mary's College of Maryland, hosts a 10- week field school in historical archaeology. The program has been offered for more than 35 years and students, historians and archeologists explore the city’s rich historical offerings, buried some 18 inches under the surface.

Dr. Riordan

Riordan added the rigorous 10-week program has three distinct goals: exploring outbuildings, fence lines and the boundaries of Pope’s Fort.

“We want to explore backyard area for various outbuildings.” In the 17th century, all buildings were built without foundations. Rather, they were set with post holes and the built up around the corner posts.

In the 1980s, a few post holes were discovered, but no one had found the rest of the building markers until recently. To find the dimensions of these sought-after outbuildings, the archaeological team has to explore small areas for a distortion of color in the subsoil. To do that, they must dig through the surface soils until they reach the “orange” subsoil and inspect for darkened area which indicate where there once was a disturbance.

“Fences are a significant find, and many artifacts are contained along the area where fences once stood,” Riordan said, adding distinct variances in soil coloration indicate the old fence lines.

In regard’s to Pope’s Fort, he explained that HSMC was once the sight of an English civil war against Lord Baltimore. At that time, the Calvert House had a fort built around it to protect the property from Lord Baltimore’s militia.

Field school students, most often from Mary’s College, continue to find thousands of artifacts including tobacco pipe fragments, ceramics; small, rectangular frame buckle; a ring with a glass insert; beads and more.

Historic St. Mary’s City served as Maryland’s capital for 61 years. In 1695, the capital was moved to Annapolis, and the city was essentially deserted. For the next three centuries, the remains of the once bustling capital were replaced with tobacco fields and taken over by agricultural concerns. Three hundred years later, the National Park Service recognized HSMC as one of the most intact 17th-century English towns surviving in the United States. Today, the site remains a uniquely rare research opportunity and archaeological treasure.

For more information on the discoveries and history of the dig as well as a running narrative of the field school’s progress, visit http://www.stmaryscity.org/Archaeology/DispatchfromFieldSchool/Dispatch-from-Field-School.html.

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