Craig Chartier

This work seeks to comprehend and investigate the significance of a certain site, the Aptucxet Trading
Post Museum Site in Bourne, Massachusetts. Specifically, the historical interpretation of the site as
being the structure built by the English colonists from Plymouth in 1627 is being examined. The site
was investigated from three historical viewpoints to understand the importance of the trading house in
its 1627, 1926, and 1995 cultural systems. First: How was the Aptucxet Trading Post viewed at the time of its construction in 1627? Second: What was role of the 1920's excavations and subsequent interpretation of the site influenced by the cultural mindset of the time? Third: How, with the archaeological knowledge since the 1920s, can the site be interpreted today?

A seventeenth century Native cornfield was found in 1991 during a cultural resource
management survey of secluded island in Yarmouth, Massachusetts. This was an
important discovery in New England archaeology due to the fact that sites are rarely
found as untouched and pristine as this one. Excavations by the University of
Massachusetts at Boston revealed that occupation at the site extended as far back as the Late Archaic and extensive features representing hearths, postholes, roasting pits, and a storage pit were found scattered across much of the point. This work focuses on two features that contained the bulk of the faunal remains recovered. Feature 29 and feature 1 were situated on the eastern and western edges of the site respectively. Feature 29, a large, shallow deposit of shellfish, pottery, lithics and vertebrate remains, was dated to approximately 930 years before present. Feature 1, a smaller, discrete deposit of similar remains, was dated to approximately 360 years before present. Due to the similar nature and contents of these two features, it was felt that they could provide comparative information concerning the subsistence patterns of two groups of inhabitants at the site, centuries apart.
The present study seeks to understand the subsistence system of the Native people living at the Sandy’s Point site at two points in its occupation. During the initial quantification of the data for this work, it was noted that while the features and their contents were similar in a number of ways they also differed significantly. Three main differences were noted and deemed worthy of further investigation. These were 1) the information that the faunal remains could provide on the changing nature of the cove from which the species were gathered; 2) the contribution to the total meat portion of the diet that was made by various species; 3) and the use of hook and line fishing technology versus nets to collect the fish resources.

The Oak Ridge Site was discovered during a Phase I (Intensive) archaeological survey conducted by the Museum African American History on the 26 acres where a wastewater/ sewage treatment plant (today referred to as the Tri-town sewage treatment plant) was proposed to be built. The Phase I survey was carried out in June and July of 1982 under a permit issued by the Office of the State Archaeologist (permit 504) with Beth Bower as the Principal Archaeologist and Leonard Loparto as the prehistoric consultant. Testing consisted of three stages: a walkover reconnaissance of the entire
property; random soil auger testing; and the excavation of shovel test pits. The walkover reconnaissance was carried out along seven north to south oriented swatches that paralleled Route 6 to the east. Each swatch was 200' wide and spaced 200' from its neighbor. The purpose of this phase was to identify foundations, dumps, or vegetative changes indicative of buried archaeological resources.
The Oak Ridge Site is very important in terms of local and regional archaeology. The following recommendations are made for this project to bring it to completion and give it the respect it deserves:
-Determine if a Phase III investigation was conducted a the site
-If so, determine at what stage the analysis of the artifacts and completion of the final report is at
-Finish the analysis, including comparing what was found with other local sites (like Taylor Bray and the Coburn Site) and bringing it up to 2016 speed in regards to what we known and suspect about Late Archaic cultures
-Submit the report to the Massachusetts Historical Commission
-Produce a popular report
-Exhibit the artifacts, even if on just a temporary basis, for everyone to appreciate
-Conduct Thermoluminescence dating on the fire-cracked/ burned rock recovered. A pilot study has been begun by the Taylor Bray Farm Preservation Association and analysis from the Oak Ridge Site would dovetail nicely with it (costs for  thermoluminescence dating is approximately $300.00)
-Fill out the paperwork to gt the Oak Ridge Site on the National Register of Historic Places
-Determine if the artifacts are currently stored in archival quality bags and boxes, if not, then they will need to be rebagged/ boxed
-Move the artifacts and associated field notes to a secure, state approved curation facility
-Conduct further shovel testing in any areas to be impacted by new construction near the Oak Ridge Site. The previous testing appears to have relied on soil auger surveys, which may indicate the presence of features and charcoal but which do not locate artifacts. More recent work has shown that significant prehistoric sites are often found with no traces of the charcoal or discolored soil that auger surveys are designed to encountered
-Conduct further shovel testing across the property area. Unless the town can guarantee that the remaining undeveloped portions of the property will be legally protected in perpetuity, the same reasons stated above for testing around the Oak Ridge Site go for the  remainder of the property as well.

The subject parcel is the site of the former East Providence Cemetery which was the subject of a formal, court supervised closure that occurred in the early 1960’s conducted by Joseph Perry Jr. The subject parcel has remained undeveloped since the formal cemetery closure. The property owner is actively marketing the subject parcel and would like to provide prospective purchasers/developers/tenants with a current “Archaeological Due Diligence Report” which would offer reassurance that no human remains are located on the subject parcel. The tasks carried out during this project consisted of the denuding and machine-assisted scraping of what were referred to as the "Perry Searched Areas". These were located from the cemetery path labeled Pink Path on the original plat map of 1887, east to Newport Avenue and Lots 17, 18, 19,
and 20 (the St. Mary's Orphanage Area).  Following the machine-assisted stripping, all
possible grave shafts found in these areas were examined and any human remains or the remains of coffins and monuments were systematically removed using  archaeological procedures and techniques for excavation, recording, removal, and short-term storage. The second phase of work consisted of conducting a ground penetrating radar (GPR) survey of the remaining acreage (i.e. non-Perry Searched Areas) with associated searches of any anomalies that were discovered. As a result of the stripping of the two Perry Searched Areas, a total of 46 Possible Former Graves
and six anomalies were identified. A total of 44 of the 46 PFGs identified were
determined to be actual former grave locations. PFG 3 was determined to be the burial of a large, old dog that had been wrapped in a canvas tarp with brass grommets. PFG 26 was determined to be a prospecting hole excavated by the crews in 1961 in an attempt to locate unmarked graves. The anomalies were determined to be probable tree holes and a historic cellar hole associated with a house that existed on the property prior to the establishment of the burial ground. Machine-assisted stripping also found significant areas of previous oil removal and subsequent dumping of asphalt, gravel and rock, presumably a result of the repaving of Newport Avenue. These dumping episodes were located in the northern half and the western portion of the southern half of the Perry Searched Area adjacent to Newport Avenue. The previous excavations, presumably to remove sand to be used for construction elsewhere, resulted in the removal of at least four feet of topsoil and subsoil in
some areas. Several of the PFGs were found to contain multiple burials. Each of the sub burials received a designation based on its relative position; for example, PFG 20 contained two burials, PFG20N (Possible Former Grave 20 North) and PFG 20S.
A total of 55 possible sets of remains were encountered. This number is 10 more than Perry reportedly removed. Some graves were found to contain complete skeletons, others were found to be completely empty, and others were found to contain incomplete human remains resulting from partial disinterment in 1961.

An intensive (locational) archaeological survey of a planned park development by the City of New Bedford, the New Bedford Historical Society (NBHS), and the Waterfront Historic Action League (WHALE) at 18 and 20 Seventh Street, New Bedford, Massachusetts. The project area is located just south of the downtown section of New Bedford, consisting of two lots totaling approximately 0.22 acres. Two nineteenth century homes occupied the lots prior to damage caused by a three-alarm fire in 2009 and their subsequent condemnation and removal. The lots are located within the County Street Historic District and form part of the properties in what is locally called Abolitionists Row. The project impacts will include the grading of the lots, the erection of educational kiosks, benches, and a gazebo, as well as the planting of trees and laying of a walkway. The features and artifacts recovered from the site document the occupation from from at least the first quarter of the nineteenth century (the house originally on the site is believed to have been built in 1829) to modern times with the largest assemblages believed to date from the modern era and the period of the Thornton occupation (1829-ca. 1838). Due to the presence of what appear to be wetland related soils in the southeastern portion of the site, there is the possibility that this area was once wet and was subsequently filled after ca. 1829. The foundation for a small brick and cut granite outbuilding was encountered in several test pits in the eastern portion of the site. This building may be a privy associated with the earliest occupation of the site. It appears that only portions of the building survive with varying degrees of integrity. The building appears to have been removed by the middle of the nineteenth century, apparently being replaced after an episode of landscaping and filling, with the structure visible on the 1876 lithograph of the site. A deeply-situated refuse deposit dating to the first half of the nineteenth century was found at the
extreme eastern edge of the site, possibly representing deposition in a low area by the Thornton family prior to their move to Fairhaven ca. 1838. The deposits in the yard may reflect Elisha's occupation until ca. 1838, with a period of cleaning out occurring at this time, and his subsequent return to New Bedford ca. 1849, represented by an episode of landscaping and lot improvement, which included the demolition of the old privy and its possible replacement. What appear to be intact archaeological deposits (foundation segments and refuse deposits) are relatively deeply buried (below 60 cmbs) at the site. It is recommended that impacts in the southeastern portion of the project area be limited to the upper 50 cm of the site. If this is not feasible, it is recommended that a limited site examination be conducted in this portion of the site
to further delineate the possible foundations and refuse deposits and to determine if they are eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places.

In 2006, a 44 unit condominium project, called Saw Mill Pond, filed as a local initiative
project with the Town of Easton, was being developed along on the south side of Foundry Street in Easton, Massachusetts. The proposed clustering of the structures allowed a large portion of the project area to remain unimpacted and to be preserved as open space. Out of the total project acreage of 50.6 acres, only 6 acres of new acres of land will be altered. The property is located within the State and National Register listed Furnace Village Historic District. Two ancient Native American historic sites (19-BR-458 and 548) are also recorded as being located to the immediate north  of the project area. The presence ofwell-drained soils in the project area and the proximity to Mulberry Brook, Old Pond, New Pond and the wetlands associated with these bodies of water, gives the property a high degree of sensitivity for the occurrence of ancient Native American archaeological resources. It is relatively level on the interior and all construction will take place at distances greater than 90 meters from Mulberry Brook but will occur withing 20 meters of the wetlands located in the western portion of the project area. The Proponent contracted with Plymouth Archaeological Rediscovery Project to conduct an intensive (locational) archaeological survey of the project area, as requested by the Massachusetts Historical Commission (MHC). The survey was conducted in compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (36 CMR 800), Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 9, Sections 26-27C, as amended by Chapter 254 of the Acts of
1988 (950 CMR 71), and the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) (301
CMR 11). The intensive (locational) survey was conducted by the Principle Investigator
in August of 2006 under State Archaeologist's Permit No. 2890.

The Town of Acton Board of Selectmen, as overseen by the Acton Historical Commission, and in collaboration with the New England Antiquities Research Association (NEARA), were awarded a Community Preservation Act (CPA) grant for the restoration and stabilization of the Historic Stone Chamber on the Nashoba Brook  conservation Land in Acton, Massachusetts. The aim of the restoration project was to restore the stone chamber to a condition that both resolves the present safety hazards (danger of collapse), and to re-establish certain architectural principles applied during its period of original construction. The Acton chamber has been known about for many years, but it has been within the last 40 years that, due to both human and environmental
factors, it has suffered its most severe deterioration. The deterioration has now reached the stage where it has been determine that, due to its location on public land with open access and the fact that it now possesses a serious danger of collapse with potential serious injury to whomever happens to be present, that it must either be rebuilt or demolished. Restoration consisted of the removal of the soils on the roof of the chamber
and the walls of the passage leading into it. This was followed by the removal of the roof slabs, a reconstruction and stabilization of the walls, replacement of the roof slabs and the replacement of the overlying soils to replicate the original appearance.
Prior to any reconstruction work, archaeological Site Examination (950 CMR 70) testing was proposed for the soils located adjacent to the interior and exterior walls of the passage, the floor of the passage and the adjacent stone foundation. The purpose of the Site Examination was to gather sufficient information to determine whether the Stone Chamber was eligible for listing in the National and State Register of Historic Places. Site Examination testing prior to and during the  econstruction of the Acton Stone Chamber yielded significant information on the methods of construction of the walls, the original depth of the floor of the passage, the possible purpose of the foundation
adjacent to the stone chamber, and the area between the stone chamber and the foundation. Materials recovered during the course of testing included one possible
Middle Archaic Neville-like projectile point, recovered from a fill layer and thus lacking provenience integrity, as well as historic material spanning the late eighteenth to late twentieth centuries. Documentary research tied the chamber construction with Moses Wood, a Revolutionary War veteran and blacksmith. Documentary research also indicated that the chamber may have been used as an ice house and the adjacent foundation served as the blacksmith shop for Moses Wood and his son Aaron.

The Agawam Site (a.k.a. the Car Tracks Site) represents a portion of a 17th century Native village location in Wareham, Massachusetts. The site was investigated at the site examination level and a range of Native Pottery remains dating to the Late Archaic to Late Woodland Periods were recovered. This specialist study presents the findings of the analysis of the the pottery including one of the earliest radiocarbon dates associated with New England pottery.

The Agawam Site (a.k.a. the Car Tracks Site) represents a portion of a 17th century Native village location in Wareham, Massachusetts. The site was investigated at the site examination level and a wide range of faunal remains dating to the Woodland Period (most probably the Late Woodland 1000 to 400 BP) were recovered. This specialist study presents the findings of the analysis of the invertebrate and vertebrate remains from the site.

In order to understand the importance of the Agawam site one needs to view it in the context of the current state of research regarding the Late Archaic, Transitional Archaic and Early Woodland periods in southeastern Massachusetts. To accomplish this, a literature search was made for all the relevant sources related to these periods. After the sources were reviewed, the most important research questions were identified and the research topics that can be investigated at this site were outlined. This section begins with an outline of what is known and not known about these periods with regards to technology, foodways, settlement and current research topics. It then goes on to outline what the Agawam site has to offer to some of these topics.

Excavations at the Nickerson Homesite were carried out from July 29 to September 23, 2019. In 2018 we focused on determining the layout of the house and beginning some preliminary investigations into the south and east yards. We returned in 2019 to further explore the yards and found evidence of two outbuildings, a bloomery furnace, the eastern palisade line and a large Native storage pit. Overall, I can conclude that the 2019 season was a success beyond what the Nickerson family of America, the Chatham Conservation Foundation, and the field crew had hoped.

This compendium consists of an architectural report on the surviving 17th century elements in the  Reverend James Keith Parsonage and the results of archaeological testing beneath, and in the south yard of, the same building. The architectural survey found elements of the original Parsonage (ca. 1662-1719) consisting of: the six upright corner posts of the original house and the 1678 addition;  the rising wind braces, at least in the upstairs portion of the house; the summer beams; the second floor and attic floor joists; the back top plate from the 1678 addition;the top girts on the east and west sides; the rafters and roof system; the girts between the first and second stories; the kitchen hearth and oven; parts of the fireplaces from the 1678 addition. A preliminary archaeological survey was conducted on the south lawn of the Reverend James Keith Parsonage on September 13, 2016. The primary goal of the survey was to assess the degree of disturbance present in the south lawn area and the archaeological potential of the property. A total of six 50-cm-square shovel test pits were excavated in a single transect running west to east along the midline of the southyard. The transect was centered approximately three meters from both the stone wall bordering River Street and the house itself. The limited archaeological testing conducted in September 2016 indicate that the site holds great potential to provide further information about the seventeenth century occupation of the property. Intact features that appear to date at least to the pre-Pratt occupation of 1837 were identified in Test pits 1 and 3. The feature in Test pit 1 is tentatively identified as either the foundation of an outbuilding, or, evidence of a well that reportedly was once located near the house. Tantalizing evidence of a Native occupation and evidence of the 17th century occupation were represented by a scattering of artifacts. PARP was invited back in January of 2017 to investigate the potential of conducting archaeological testing beneath the ground floor of the house and to further examine the degree to which past renovations had removed 17th century architectural elements from the house. Visual inspections were carried out behind the built-in shelves and the wall heating units on the west and south walls of the west room. One test pit was excavated under the floor east room closet located beneath of the front staircase. The very limited amount of testing we conducted beneath the house in January 2017, has brought to light at least two interesting questions regarding the early architecture of the building. The first is the presence of a floor joist found deeply buried below later fill layers and the second is those fill layers themselves. The joist is not buried as a result of the fill layers, but appears to have been buried in a trench when the building was originally constructed. This is a 17th century technique that may indicate that the entire building was constructed using a technique called earthfast or post-in ground construction. The original house may have been built that way, but it appears that by the 1800s, the house was in such disrepair that extensive renovations were necessary, which appears to have included the excavation of the cellar beneath the eastern hall and the raising of the house approximately a foot and a half above its original ground level resulting in the fill layers above the original joist. As part of 2017's Massachusetts Archaeology Month, the Old Bridgewater Historical Society asked PARP to direct a one-day community archaeology dig at the Reverend James Keith House on October 14, 2017. We excavated another five 50-cm square test pits in this yard, this year. The pits were placed equidistant between the 2016 pits (which had been spaced at 5-m apart) at the western end of the yard. A few prehistoric artifacts were found that compliment the material discovered previously in 2016. Most of the artifacts were architecturally related materials (bricks, mortar, nails, and window glass),  probably were the result of the 1837 extreme makeover that Thomas Pratt gave to the building.

On June 1-3, PARP, assisted by nine volunteers, conducted a series of limited excavations on the front
lawn of Sturgis Library. The purpose of this dig was to investigate the possible 17th century features
and deposits that we had identified here previously during our property wide survey. The 2017 excavation reinforced the earlier finding of potentially significant resources in the south yard of the
library as well as supporting the hypothesis that an occupation, most probably associated with the
Lothrops, occurred at the site prior to the 1690s dates that dendrochronological research has yielded
from timbers in the library. Considerable evidence of the seventeenth century occupation of the site was recovered in 2017, confirming and contributing to the earlier findings. Two possible 17th century postholes were identified and a nineteenth century surface paved with ballast flint and beach cobbles was also found. Evidence of landscaping dating to a period of renovation at the site during the Chipman occupation took the form of fill layers placed against the stonewall, which is also believed to have replaced a granite post fence during the same period, bordering the sidewalk a well as ceramic sherds in the upper layers of that fill. The exact northern extent of the seventeenth century deposit towards the library was not identified, but the nature of the fill looks like household refuse versus demolition debris, making it likely that the original Lothrop house stood on the site, possibly near our 2017 excavation area.

Archaeological and architectural investigations at the Sturgis Library were carried out in the spring
and summer of 2014. The initial purpose of the investigation was to evaluate the potential for any
archaeological remains relating to the Reverend John Lothrop occupation being present beneath or
to the immediate east or north of the oldest part of the library. As a way of understanding what was
being found under the house, the investigation was extended to include an architectural analysis of
the substructure and the attic. Subsequent excavations were carried out on the south lawn of the
library. Architectural investigations found extensive evidence of reuse of older architectural
elements in renovations that had been made to the building during its life as well as the discovery of
previously unknown architectural elements and details. Archaeological investigation found evidence
of late seventeenth to nineteenth century refuse disposal and architectural demolition beneath the
building and limited, but significant, deposits of earlier seventeenth century refuse disposal on the
south lawn.

The 2011 excavations at the 22 Water St. property and its adjacent Knoll House site offered a unique
opportunity to the archaeologists involved. The unexpected and surreptitious unmasking of the
seventeenth century character of the 22 Water St. house and the subsequent identification of the
seventeenth century home's original location, allowed archaeologists to study both the architectural
fabric of what to us is an unusual house, and the pristine site where the home's original owners lived
and died. The house was found to be very small, measuring 12'4” by 18' with a 12' x 12' ell on the northern side,  an example of a plank frame cottage of a type perhaps typical of the housing used in Plymouth Colony  from its first settlement.  The homeowner had also purchased the land to the immediate north of the 22 Water St. property, a knoll that overlooked Shawme Lake. The perfect location for a seventeenth century homesite and the homeowner was kind enough to let us excavate some test pits there as well. Test pitting on the knoll immediately yielded positive evidence of Late Woodland Native  and seventeenth century Colonial occupation. Subsequent excavation revealed a well-preserved 50 cm wide wall that formed the north wall of the ell attached to the original house.  Significant trash deposits were found at what were interpreted as the southeast and southwest corners of the house. Artifacts recovered date the house to at least the late seventeenth century and possibly as early as the 1660s. This property does not show up as being occupied on the 1667 property survey of the town of Sandwich possibly indicating a construction date after this time. One window lead was found to bear a date of 1677 while other artifacts such as the latten spoon bowls, the silver cufflink, and the slipware all support a post 1675 date.

A one day public archaeology dig was conducted at the Josiah Winslow House in Marshfield on October 22, 2016.  Over the course of the six hour day, we excavated two 50 cm square test pits on the west side of the Winslow House. The 2016 test pits were five meters west of the house and spaced 5 m. apart. They ran parallel with the west side of the house. This area had been previously tested by UMass Boston in 2004 . The 2004 testing identified an area of household refuse disposal (a sheet midden) just outside the kitchen door on this side of the house. Domestic refuse consisted of fragments of ceramics generally dating to after the late 18th century and into the nineteenth, with the general assemblage apparently dating to between ca. 1800-1850. This date range is based on ceramic decorations and tobacco pipe fragments. Faunal remains indicate that the people who created this trash ate soft shell clams, quahogs, surf clams and moonsnails, as well as a variety of domestic animals such as sheep, swine, cattle, and chicken.

In 2015, a descendant of Isaac Allerton, visited the homesite of his ancestor in Kingston, Massachusetts and found that the current property owner was building a house on or near the original Allerton/ Cushman site . The site of Allerton's home, the site first investigated by the late Dr. James Deetz in 1972, the site that revolutionized the study of vernacular architecture in Plymouth Colony. In 2016, the owner gave permission for a limited amount of excavation to occur prior to the final landscaping at the site.  The purpose of these trenches was to identify the location of the palisade trench that was found in  '72. It was hoped that once this trench was located, it could be followed back to the edge of the original excavation and from there, we would be able to determine where the original house was located. Finding the terminus of the 1972 excavation allowed us to place the other features on the ground
today. It appears that the flagpole is located in the center of the cellarhole identified in 1972. This
means that while the recently constructed house has impacted some of the postholes at the southern
and southeastern portions of the original house, the majority of it remains intact (albeit probably
impacted by various more recent utility trenches) straddling the boundary between the property we
tested on and the property to the immediate north. The palisade trench could have also been investigated in 2010 when the town waterline was installed along the path of the present driveway, but the archaeologists at the time only tested with shovel test pits, and,as luck would have it, failed to encounter it. Testing identified various section of the palisade trench as well as recovering samples of Native, 17th century colonial, and 1972 archaeologist's material culture.

The Allerton/ Prence/ Cushman site, hereafter called the C-21 site, was fortuitously found by a combination of chance and happenstance. Mr. Orfeo M. Sgarzi had purchased a parcel of land in 1972
from Elizabeth and Raymond Brock where they decided to build their home. The four acre parcel was
located on a small knoll overlooking the Jones River in Kingston, Massachusetts. Topsoil was machine stripped in some areas of the lot in April of 1972 and preparations were made to build the Sgarzi's house. Sgarzi's architect Christopher Hussey,found evidence of Native and Colonial artifacts on the property in an area about 30' in diameter located about 40 feet west of a burned nineteenth century farmhouse (the Cushman farm). Deetz recognized artifacts found during construction as colonial artifacts as dating to the seventeenth century and possibly representing a significant colonial site. That was the start of a few months spent racing bulldozers and years of only partial reporting about what was found at this very significant site. Researchers eventually determined that what they had found was the remains of what was possibly one of the first houses built outside of the immediate bounds of Plymouth Plantation in what was then the frontier of the fledgling English colony, Kingston, Massachusetts. Research determined that the site was probably the lost homesite of Isaac Allerton, Plymouth Colony's merchant and representative to their backers in England. For a short while, it became the home of one of Plymouth Colony's most important governors, Thomas Prence, and finally was acquired by Allerton's son-in-law Thomas Cushman, a man who was destined to replace the Elder William Brewster as the Colony's spiritual guide. The C-21 site is an important archaeological site for a number of reasons. It was professionally excavated and even though the collection suffers from a lack of field notes, the artifacts were labeled with locational information and an overall site plan was drawn and photographs were taken. As a result, it still maintains a high degree of integrity regarding its previously excavated data. It was the first New England site, and one of the earliest New World sites, to be identified as post-in-ground and the findings formed, and continue to form, the basis of the vernacular architecture program at Plimoth Plantation. It appears to be a potentially significant Native site with possible burials being present. Finally, it is just a really great archaeological site, nice early ceramics, nice early pipes, a clear archaeological signature, and a strong association with important historical figures in Plymouth Colony's history.

The C-06 site, believed to be on the property of Governor Bradford's 17th century Kingston homestead,
was partially excavated in 1966 by Dr. James Deetz and Plimoth Plantation as part of he Plantation's
archaeology program. The current project was designed to provide the property owners, the Society of Mayflower Descendants, with information about the property that they own and maintain. The report presents what is known about the 1966 excavations, what the author had found when he cataloged the collection in the 1990s, what the results of the 2019 ground penetrating radar (GPR) survey revealed, and what the results of the limited amount of shovel-testing to test some of the anomalies identified during the GPR survey yielded. The present study concluded that while much of the visible site dates to the later 17th to 18th century, there remains the potential for evidence of an earlier occupation going back to the original Governor Bradford occupation, as well as evidence for occupation and use of the site by Native people going back up to 8000 years. The original Bradford homesite is hypothesized to have been a simple building, possibly similar to the contemporary Allerton site located a short distance away, where a 20 x 22' post-in-ground structure with a cobble hearth was identified in 1972 (the C-21 Site). It is also hypothesized that while Bradford and Allerton may have visited their respective Kingston properties, they may never have in fact lived there, either hiring people to work their Kingston farms or sending servants to do the same, while they both lived in larger houses more befitting of their status, in the original Plymouth center.

The initial testing in the cellar of the Bradford House was conducted to determine if anything of
potential archaeological significance could be present before modern waterproofing of the area was
carried out. A series of small, 50-cm-square, test pits were hand-excavated across the cellar to examine
the uses of the various portions of the room and to search for archaeological deposits relating to the
occupation of the house by the Bradfords. This initial testing found intact deposits in the hearth bases
and the southwest corner of the cellar that dated to the first half of the 19th century. Other deposits in
the northeast corner, including a wooden barrel buried in the floor, were found to date to the last half of
the century. An extensive well-laid cobble floor with a foot wide drain on three sides was found in the
north half of the cellar and a more poorly laid cobble floor was found in the south and southeast
portions. It was hypothesized that the paving in the north half, the extent of which corresponded with
whitewashing on the floor and ceiling of this portion, may have been the result of the use of this portion
as a milkroom/ dairy. Once the plan was set regarding how the new floor would be constructed in the cellar, further excavations were carried out. The goals of this second round of excavations was to fully investigate the most significant deposits that would be covered by the floor (the dump in the southwest corner, the barrel, and the hearth base deposits) and to determine the timing of installation and use of the cobble floor. Excavations determined that the original cellar floor was dirt and that the well laid cobble floor was added later, possibly after Captain Bradford's retirement from the sea in the late 1820s. The deposits within the chimney hearth bases appeared to represent a period before the installation of the cobble floor and probably before the use of the space as a milkroom. Abundant evidence of alcohol consumption, specifically wine, dating to the first decades of the 19th century were found in the hearth bases, and these were hypothesized to represent a period before the family became involved in the Temperance Movement. The deposit in the southwest corner was found to date to after about 1840 (based on the presence of a yelloware cup) and was interpreted as a bit of cleaning out of the house by the unmarried daughters who continued to live in the house after the death of Captain Bradford in 1844. The loose cobble deposit in the south and southeast portions and in what was interpreted as a drain in the milkroom, was determined to have been deposited around the same time.

The Myles and Barbara Standish homesite is located on 1.04 acres of town-owned property adjacent to
Plymouth Harbor in The Nook section of Duxbury, Massachusetts. The first documented owner of the property was Myles Standish and his wife Barbara who were granted the land in 1627. The property remained in the Standish family until 1763. It changed hands many times before it was given to the Town of Duxbury by the Standish Monument Association in 1930. It is currently managed by the Town of Duxbury. The site became a focus of antiquarian investigations in the nineteenth century, with the first recorded investigation occurring in 1828 or 29. Various known and unknown parties appear to have collected at the site between this work and the first well known excavation carried out by James Hall in 1856. James Deetz popularized Hall's investigation as the first known systematic historical archaeological investigation conducted in North America. The structure Hall reportedly uncovered was lauded by Deetz as a unique form of vernacular architecture and assumed by others to represent a New World representation of classic Welsh/ western highland England co-joined farmstead. All of this interpretation was done without anyone questioning the accuracy of what Hall drew or even systematically investigating the artifacts recovered and the documentary history of the site. Questions remain regarding the layout of the original house built on the site, its dimensions, the site's integrity, and the association between what Hall depicted and recorded in his notes and what has been interpreted. Analysis of the artifact assemblage shows that the earliest artifacts date to the first half of the 17th century, supporting the idea that Myles Standish originally occupied the property. Based on the GPR scans, the integrity of the depression visible today at the site appears to be disturbed for an area measuring approximately 100' square. The area beyond this disturbance, presumably associated with Hall's dig, appears more intact, except for the 2 meter wide trench created by the Town, done with no archaeological testing, when the storm water drain was installed.

The "Richard Sparrow House" is located at on the south side of Summer Street at number 42 in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The south side of the property abuts Town Brook and it lies immediately
south of Burial Hill, presumably outside of the bounds of the original Plymouth Plantation's palisade wall. Plimoth Plantation conducted a volunteer excavation in the south Yard of the Sparrow House in 1988. Plantation staff excavated a series of units of indeterminate size immediately south of the extant building. No notes were kept and no photographs exist. Locational information was recorded on the field bags, which were washed in the late 1990s by the author (having sat in the archaeology lab at the Plantation since the excavation concluded). Information regarding the excavation that could be gleaned from the field bags included depths, locational context, and feature identification. Excavations yielded relatively large quantities of ceramics and faunal remains and these form the bulk of the analysis.
This preliminary report on the analysis of the archaeological collection recovered in 1988 from the
Sparrow House in Plymouth has sought to place the assemblage within a temporal and occupation
framework from which the remainder of the collection can eventually be incorporated. Preliminary
historical analysis has hinted that the house was probably not built by or associated directly with
Richard Sparrow. It first appears in the historical record in 1695 in the possession of Jonathan
Sparrow, Richard's son. What was discovered about the 1988 assemblage was that a very small amount of 17th century material was present but that the majority of the material dated from the 18th and early 19th centuries. The assemblage provided an interesting glimpse into the lives of lower to middle class
urban dwellers in Plymouth during the early Victorian period.  The kitchen gardens at 42 Summer Street were most probably placed on the south side of the house because this was the side that received the most sunlight and because that was some of the only available land on this small lot. As a result, less refuse would be expected to have been thrown here when the gardens were present but if the late 18th century to early 19th century inhabitants no longer were using the south yard as a garden location, it may have become a place of refuse disposal. Fortunately, because the late 18th and early 19th century inhabitants decided to throw their refuse out here, archaeologists were able to recover a significant assemblage dating from the early part of a very changeable period. The 19th century saw a shift in the perceived role of women, children, and the home called the Cult of Domesticity. The assemblage from the Sparrow House allowed us to peer into how this new idea of home and hearth was manifested in one lower to middle class household in Plymouth.

If traces of the original village survived anywhere in town, they had a good chance of surviving on
Leyden Street. Not only was it the first street laid out, but after the colony began selling and allotting lands for individual ownership, much of the south side and a portion of the north, came into the hands of James Cole in 1637, and as far as is known, nothing was built on those lots after the first houses were constructed in the 1620s. Cole held the land, not using any of it, except the lot on which one of the first houses stood west of 17 Leyden Street that he converted to an ordinary. Upon his death it passed to his son, and then in the 18th century many of the houses that stand on Leyden Street today were constructed on land that had not seen any building since the first comers set to work. The limited testing that was carried out in 2016- five 50-cm-square test pits- determined that extensive episodes of earthmoving and filling have occurred along Leyden Street since at least the 18th century. Testing found abundant evidence of 18th to 19th century refuse disposal followed by moderate evidence of Native American artifacts and finally little 17th century material. The dearth of 17th century material is probably the result of two factors- the relatively limited occupation that occurred along Leyden Street in the period-1621-1627 for the most intense occupation followed by a rapid dispersal from the town to private farms located to the north and south of the original settlement and the ownership of large pieces of land along Leyden Street by one family, the Coles, until the very late 17th century. These two factors have resulted in very little artifactual material probably being deposited in this area until the turn of the 18th century. The limited testing did yield several areas that should be further investigated.

Ground Penetrating Radar testing was conducted in the Myles Standish Burial Ground in Duxbury, Massachusetts. A total of three areas, each measuring 20 feet wide by 30 feet long, were subjected to GPR scanning. The topography of the areas tested was  generally flat to gently sloping to the north and the scans were situated on the highest section of the burial ground in its center. At least 19 probable grave locations were found in the Scan 1 and Scan 3 locations with probable graves being absent from the Scan 2 location. These probable graves seem oriented east to west and were concentrated in what could be interpreted as family groups at a depth of 3'9” below the surface. Scans 2 and 3 revealed three possible soil trench locations and grave-free areas outlining an area measuring 22 feet wide east to west by at most 30 feet long north to south. These soil trenches appear to occur in an E-pattern that could be interpreted as the remains of foundation sill trenches associated with a structure. The soil trenches are consistently approximately one foot wide and appear to be in straight lines and form right angles, an
occurrence not found in natural anomalies. These soil trenches were visible at approximately 18” below
the ground surface and disappeared a few inches below this depth. These soil trenches were present
only in the northern half of Scan 2, possibly as a result of their being cut deeper into the soil due to the
slope of the ground in this area. The probable grave locations in Scans 1 and 3 appear to parallel the
soil trenches and are located outside of the area with the soil trenches. This may indicate that the
anomalies, if they are graves, were placed with the knowledge of the soil trenches and an effort was
made to place them a respectable distance away from the soil trench anomalies. The soil trenches are
hypothesized as being the result of the excavation of relatively shallow trenches to sit either wooden
sills into or shallow foundations on which the sills rested for a structure measuring 22 feet east to west
and possibly 30 feet north to south. These anomalies MAY be the remains of timber-framed structure
that stood within the Myles Standish Burial Ground. While these remains could be associated with an
unknown house that was located on the site prior to the designation of the property as the location for
the First Meetinghouse and the burial ground, the lack of any evidence of a hearth and the known occurrence of a meetinghouse on this property makes it more probable that if it is in fact an architecturally related anomaly, it would be likely associated with the meetinghouse.

Based on the historical maps and documents, archaeologists should have found some trace of the Henry
Sampson House, if those traces still existed at the site after all of the years of occupation, building, and
rebuilding at the site. We did not find any definitive traces of the homesite. No architectural features like a hearth, cellarhole, or foundations. No trash dumps or trash scatters around the house. No traces of
any outbuildings like barns or sheds. A few of the artifacts could date back to the Sampson occupation, but they are just as likely to date to any occupation of the site dating to before the first quarter of the nineteenth century. We did find extensive evidence of Native American occupation at the site going back between 6000 and 3000 years ago. This, in itself, is a good indication that the Sampsons could have lived on the same site. Plymouth Colony homesites are always found at the same sites as previous Native occupation as both groups were using the same, best locations, locations that were high and dry with easy access to freshwater and other resources. The property is such a site and it has to be concluded that that the Sampsson homesite was probably either on the same location as the house demolished in 1984 or very close to it, close enough to have been destroyed when the present house was built. A ground penetrating radar survey confirmed extensive evidence of 20th century earthmoving as well as a rectangular feature initially hoped to be a cellarhole, but which turned out to be an unrecorded septic system.

Renovation work in the spring of 2010 in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, resulted in the identification of
a post-in-ground house partially located beneath the hall of an extant house. The site was initially
identified by David Wheelock, architectural restoration specialist, archaeologist and curator at the Wing Old Fort House in Sandwich, Massachusetts. During the course of restoration at the house, purported to have been built ca. 1690, a concentration of what appeared to be the remains of a wattle and daub wall beneath the hall when the floor boards were removed. Excavations were carried out and it was determined that the clay represented the puddled/ melted remains of what was likely a wattle and daub wall and that it was associated with two post molds from a post-in-ground house that had stood on the site prior to the construction of the current extant house. Prehistoric remains consisting of lithic debitage, the remains of stone pieces that were removed during the course of the manufacture of stone tools by Native Americans, shellfish remains from a thin shell midden, and a post mold from a Native house, were also discovered in the same area. Much of the soil from around the interior of the foundation had previously been removed by other contractors and had been deposited in a pile on the front, south, side of the house. This backdirt pile was screened and the following report documents the analysis of the artifacts from this backdirt pile. Analysis indicates that the soil that was excavated accumulated after the original post-in-ground house had been removed and possibly during a subsequent period of remodeling in the early nineteenth century when the floor of the hall had been removed and the ground beneath it was open and available for the deposition of the artifacts. Artifacts recovered included eighteenth to nineteenth century ceramics and glass, abundant faunal remains representing both animals that were consumed and those that lived commensally with the inhabitants of
the house, several shoes, a limited amount of architectural material, and three coins.

A total of 52 square meters were excavated by volunteers supervised by the author. Excavations uncovered evidence for four phases of activity at the site: Native American occupation up to 6,000 years old; 17th century occupation by the Brewster family; 18th-19th century occupation by the Soule family; late 19th to early 20th century use of the site for sand extraction and refuse disposal by the Standish Hotel. Native American occupation took the form of debris from the manufacture of stone tools, completed projectile points from the Late Archaic and Late Woodland periods, a possible chunkey gaming stone, and a complete stone woodworking gouge. The house foundation that was uncovered is believed to either be the home of William Brewster that was successively lived in by his descendants and the then the Soule family, or to have existed on the same location as the house in which the Soules lived. It is believed to be a central chimney Cape Cod style house that may have been renovated later in its life. A limited quantity of artifacts dating from the 17th century (pipe stems, ceramics, bricks, window leads) were recovered. The Soule family's occupation of the site overlapped the earlier Native American and Brewster family occupations. The Soules appear to have added an ell onto the west side of the house as well as a French drain on the south side. They may have also rebuilt at least a portion of the chimney stack. After the last Soule to live on the property, Marshall Soule, had died, the site was abandoned and
eventually collapsed onto itself. In the late nineteenth to early twentieth century the property was
owned by the Standish Hotel who used it as a source of sand and gravel, resulting in the excavation of
at least three areas around and partially impacting the house foundation, and subsequent refuse disposal
into the extraction holes and onto the foundation. Overall, the site has a high research potential to provide information on early Plymouth Colony houses and households as well as everyday life of later 18th and 19th century farmsteads. The Native American component is one of the few that is recorded for the Nook and is potentially a significant source of information on pre-colonial use of Duxbury.

The purpose of this testing was to examine the archaeological record of the use of the property, as it is preserved in the soils in the immediate vicinity of the house. It was known that the house was built in the first half of the nineteenth century, but when exactly was not known. There was also the tradition that a portion of the current structure had incorporated an earlier building, possibly dating to as early as 1740, that had existed on the property. What PARP hoped to do was to determine the archaeological potential of the property, to examine the types of artifacts that were used by the occupants of the house, to examine the possibility of an earlier occupation of the land and to provide the Historical Society of Old Yarmouth with some recommendations as to what can be done to protect the archaeological and architectural records. The majority of the artifacts recovered were found to date to the nineteenth century and were associated with the construction and maintenance of the structure. The majority of the domestic artifacts were found to date slightly earlier than the traditional 1840 date attributed to the building. This incongruity between the architectural and the foodways and personal artifacts is interpreted as having resulted from either one or a combination of the following factors:  the use and discard of older ceramics by the workmen who built the building;  the use and discard of earlier ceramics by the servants who are assumed to have lived in the house with the previous land owners the Thachers; or the presence of an undocumented earlier occupation on or around the site. Of these three possibilities, the first seems most likely, but the third can not be ruled out.

The Atwood House on Stage Harbor Road in Chatham is believed to have been built by Captain Joseph
Atwood in 1752. The house sits on well-drained Carver coarse sand at the head of what may have once
been a former wetland. By 2017 the flooring and joist systems of the Atwood House were in serious need of repair. One of the aspects of the 2017 restoration work at the Atwood House in Chatham involved the removal of the flooring in three of the rooms and the subsequent excavation of approximately a foot of soil in order to provide airflow beneath the new flooring system. The soil removed from the rooms was piled outside by area and subsequently sifted on November 11 and 12 by a team of volunteers associated with Taylor Bray Farm's archaeology program. Sifting recovered a significant artifact assemblage that helped establish the date of occupation for the house and illustrated some aspects of the lives of the home's occupants. A sample of the soil excavated adjacent to the exterior foundation of the house was also screened.

This report uses historical documents and town histories to reconstruct the layout and extent of the original Pilgrim village in Plymouth and assesses the archaeological potential of various possible house locations. It also examines the layout of the village as being based on the motte and bailey town development plan of Medieval England. Plymouth has been very built up since 1620 with some of the most noticeable changes probably happening in preparation for the 1920 celebration and in the 1960s when numerous 17th and 18th century buildings were destroyed in the name of progress. Overall, it would have to be said that the town has a horrible record for attempting to preserve any traces of its  Pilgrim past. There is probably no hope of ever finding any archaeological traces of any of the actual architectural portions of any of the original homes with the exception of the Standish/ Holmes house up on Burial Hill. If early occupation extended to Middle Street, if this was the north side of the palisade,
then traces of buildings and that palisade have the best chance of being identified in the town parking lot and along Carver Street. This is especially true if Coles Hill itself was outside the palisade, meaning that it may have run approximately where the west side walk is bordering Carver Street. This does not mean that evidence of the 17th century occupation of Plymouth does not exist. Traces of early buildings, buildings that represent the first phase of post-1627 expansion outside of the palisade may be present along North Street. The potential of this area was realized when PARP conducted an investigation behind 11 North Street and found colonial evidence going back to the 1630s. Unfortunately, most of the early buildings along this street probably fronted on the road, meaning that there is, again a high likelihood that most of the architectural traces are gone, but more yards exist in this area making it more likely that some of the backyards from the first half of the 17th century still exist here. To a lesser degree, the same may be said of the lots on Leyden Street. Traces of the palisade may be preserved in the back lots bordering Town Brook on the south side of the street and domestic and architectural refuse may be scattered about in any open space along Leyden Street. It would just take a lot of keyhole excavations to try to determine where any intact deposits were located. Any grassy spot or even any paved spot, could hold evidence of the first colonial settlement in town.

The Bourne Stone is a rectangular stone bearing petroglyphs that was found in Bourne, Massachusetts. It has been interpreted as bearing marks made by Vikings, Phoenicians, and other Old World cultures. A recent reanalysis of the stone proposes a new interpretation of the markings and points out that their depictions in the past have been greatly distorted.

This report documents preliminary research into the origins of several cannons that were recovered in 1998 from the sea off of Round Hill in Dartmouth, Massachusetts. Specifically, it was hoped that proof could be found to support the theory that the cannons recovered came from the HMS Nimrod which, in 1814, was likely the most feared British vessel in New England waters. She was also the vessel that was the most visible reminder that the United States was at war with England at this time. Nimrod sailed New England waters for just over one year but in that time she was involved in most of naval battles and attacks that occurred in New England during the war. When several cannons were discovered in the late twentieth century, it was assumed that they belonged to the Nimrod and that they had been jettisoned when she ran aground in 1814. During the course of researching the cannons that are now held be various historical  ocieties in southern New England, it was discovered that the cannons likely did not come from the Nimrod at all but that they may represent an even more important find-  otentially the remains of a Revolutionary War British sloop or American Naval vessel.

The Pilgrim Avenue/ Cooke Memorial park property is the location of a suspected unmarked burial ground in Fairhaven. The park is located at the corner of Pilgrim Avenue and Cherry Street. Local tradition has maintained, since the late 19th century at the latest and possibly as early as the 1760s, that the park is the location of a burial ground within which Mayflower passenger John Cooke was buried upon his death in 1695. A ground penetrating radar survey found numerous anomalies across the entire park that were interpreted as possibly being evidence of an extensive burial ground. If all of the anomalies are in fact graves, the GPR appears to show that people forgot where earlier burials were located when later ones were dug, resulting in the pell-mell appearance of the burial ground with graves everywhere and every which way.  One of the things that noticed about the orientations of the anomalies was that they are predominantly aligned north to south, as opposed to the more traditional east to west consistent with most Christian burials.  As a summary of the site, I think it can be said with confidence that there was a burial ground at the site associated not with John Cooke, who never owned this land, but with William Wood, the property's 18th century owner. Cooke's burial place appears to be on a piece of land he owned in what is now Acushnet, as previous historians had surmised.

This report uses historical documents and town histories to reconstruct the layout and extent of the original Pilgrim village in Plymouth and assesses the archaeological potential of various possible house locations. It also examines the layout of the village as being based on the motte and bailey town development plan of Medieval England. Plymouth has been very built up since 1620 with some of the most noticeable changes probably happening in preparation for the 1920 celebration and in the 1960s when numerous 17th and 18th century buildings were destroyed in the name of progress. Overall, it would have to be said that the town has a horrible record for attempting to preserve any traces of its  Pilgrim past. There is probably no hope of ever finding any archaeological traces of any of the actual architectural portions of any of the original homes with the exception of the Standish/ Holmes house up on Burial Hill. If early occupation extended to Middle Street, if this was the north side of the palisade,
then traces of buildings and that palisade have the best chance of being identified in the town parking lot and along Carver Street. This is especially true if Coles Hill itself was outside the palisade, meaning that it may have run approximately where the west side walk is bordering Carver Street. This does not mean that evidence of the 17th century occupation of Plymouth does not exist. Traces of early buildings, buildings that represent the first phase of post-1627 expansion outside of the palisade may be present along North Street. The potential of this area was realized when PARP conducted an investigation behind 11 North Street and found colonial evidence going back to the 1630s. Unfortunately, most of the early buildings along this street probably fronted on the road, meaning that there is, again a high likelihood that most of the architectural traces are gone, but more yards exist in this area making it more likely that some of the backyards from the first half of the 17th century still exist here. To a lesser degree, the same may be said of the lots on Leyden Street. Traces of the palisade may be preserved in the back lots bordering Town Brook on the south side of the street and domestic and architectural refuse may be scattered about in any open space along Leyden Street. It would just take a lot of keyhole excavations to try to determine where any intact deposits were located. Any grassy spot or even any paved spot, could hold evidence of the first colonial settlement in town.

Four sources of data were reviewed to determine some potential sites where 17th century homesites may be located.  Starting with Henry Fish's 1924 work Duxbury, Massachusetts Ancient and Modern, a list of 80  potential 17th century settler's homesites was created. Wentworth's history of Duxbury was then reviewed, but found that much of it was based on Fish, so was redundant. Local historian Lamont Healy's series of articles from the Duxbury Clipper were reviewed and  found very useful for locating the grants of a number of the early settlers. The MACRIS file gave me four 17th century standing houses. Fish's map was then overlaid with Google Earth satellite images and the Massachusetts Geographic Information System (GIS) online topographic and property files to generate maps that could be used to evaluate the potential of each of Fish's potential locations.

GPR testing in the summer of 2013 consisted of the placement of 15 GPR transects in four areas on
Burial Hill. Scanning of Area A and C found little evidence of disturbance that would be consistent
with ground alteration caused by intensive 17th century earthworks and building construction. Numerous unmarked graves were identified. One large anomaly that warrants further works was
identified to the west of the Warren plot in A2. This anomaly appeared consistent with some type of
man made construction and may date to the Pilgrim period, possibly be a cellar beneath the fort.  Of more immediate concern was the extensive erosion found along the western end of A5. The bottoms of at least four burials in the heavily eroded area appear to lie within 1' of the surface. It is expected that within the next 5-10 years human remains and coffin hardware should be expected to begin eroding out of these graves and be visible on the surface. GPR scanning in Area B succeeded in identifying a possible footprint of the watch house erected in 1644 and encountered in the 19th century when the Judson graves were dug. The possible foundation of this important building appears to lie beneath and to the north, south and east of the Judson plot in areas that do not appear to have any other graves. Scanning of Area D identified a large anomaly that appeared consistent with a mass grave, possibly being related to the burial of the dead from the Brig Arnold in the 18th century. Burial Hill continues to offer possibilities for the identification of the mass grave of the sailors of the Brig Arnold as well as the location of the original Pilgrim Fort. The 2015 scans identified a possible gutter running north to south down the south side of the hill which may have been used as the mass burial location. Organic masses appear within the possible gutter possibly hinting at the locations of the
remains.

The Town of Yarmouth planned to rehabilitate the Baxter Grist Mill dam (MHC #YAR.312) and surrounding property owned by the Town. The mill and dam are located on .61 acres of land at 142
Route 28 in the southern part of the town. Local history places the date of construction at 1710 with subsequent renovations and reconstructions occurring in the 19th and 20th centuries. The goal of the cultural resources survey is to produce an updated MHC Inventory form for the project, which would include information to “establish the construction and 20th century rehabilitation chronology and historical associations of the extant dam and foundations”(letter from the MHC to Jeffrey Colby, Director Yarmouth Department of Public Works, dated January 31, 2017). The mill was known to have existed by 1783 and may have been constructed at an earlier date, but the supporting primary source documentation is lacking. While the area has a high sensitivity for prehistoric resources due to the proximity to salt and fresh water as well as estuarine resources, as well as the presence of numerous previously identified prehistoric sites, the extensive renovation/ reconstruction carried out in the 1960s coupled with the repeated dam collapses in the 20th century, make it unlikely that potentially significant historic or prehistoric archaeological resources are likely to be present within the dam and immediate area around and beneath the mill itself. It was recommended that the project be allowed to proceeded with no intensive survey archaeological testing.

This research paper documents the types and frequency of firearms and firearm related items (gunflints and shot) found in both the historical records and archaeological deposits in the former Plymouth Colony. This report found a wide variety of firearms and evidence of colonial manufacture of gunflints that varied widely in quality. The combined analysis of the historical and archaeological evidence relating to firearms in Plymouth Colony has resulted in a more detailed understanding of the
types of pieces initially brought to the colony in 1620 and how the types and quantities of pieces changed throughout the century. The earliest references indicate that the First Settlers were equipped with snaphaunces and matchlocks in both musket and fowler types. While a large number of early period sites have not been excavated, those that have been indicate that from early on, flint lock or
wheellock arms may have been favored over matchlocks, with only one matchlock part and several snaphaunce pieces. As the century progressed, flint arms appear to have eventually replaced matchlocks, although the occurrence of an appreciable number of matchlocks do appear in the probate records in the later part of the century. It may be a case a larger number of some people who either could not afford flint arms or those that curated their fathers and grandfathers pieces, died during the later part of the century. It may also be a case that some people continued to use matchlocks in Plymouth Colony longer than they did elsewhere, which led to them trying to use them during King Philip's War, resulting in the Colony outlawing their use in the militia after this time. Obviously people were trying to use them or else they would not have had to make this law. The other trend that was noticed is the general decrease in piece size throughout the century. This is reflected in the historical records as well as archaeologically. Historically in the 1640 Plymouth Colony indicated that only fowlers under 4 and one half feet long were allowed as well as calivers and carbines. Archaeologically,
PARP 2009 pieces from pistols, muskets, one caliver and one fowler have been recovered. More indirect archaeological evidence was provided by the recovery of a predominance of pistol and carbine size lead shot and flints that would fit pistols and carbines. While pistol or carbine size lead shot may have been used in a musket or fowler, the flints recovered are fairly specific to weapons of specific sizes. Because not a great number of carbines were identified in the probate records, it may be a case that they were more numerous than was noted but occur under the heading of gun during the later part of the century.

One of the sites in Plimoth Plantation’s collections is the Harlow Old Fort House (Plantation Identification number C-07 [Colonial site 7]) site. This site, which consisted of the excavation of a cellar hole in an extant building, was part of Plimoth Plantation’s fledgling archaeology program in 1960. The late Dr. James Deetz spent at least four days conducting archaeological excavations within the cellar of the Harlow House, located 119 Sandwich Street in Plymouth, Massachusetts The material he and his crew recovered represents a mixture of artifacts deposited in the cellar during the life history of the house and thus may help to illuminate the changing role of the cellar in seventeenth to twentieth century culture.  Structural concerns in the the three hundred year old building led to its closure in 2004. Subsequently, as part of the renovations, archaeological testing was conducted by the Public Archaeology Laboratory Inc. in 2005 (Heitert 2006). Renovations consisted of the raising of the house off its foundations and the excavation of the crawl spaces under the north bay of the structure to facilitate the installation of an engineered drainage system.  PAL's limited testing consisted of the excavation of a number of 50-x-50- cm square test pits outside the structure adjacent to the foundation (totaling 12 in number), as well as testing in the crawl space beneath the floors of the house. Crawlspace testing also consisted of the excavation of 50-cm square test pits (totaling seven in number) as well as two 50-x-1 m test trenches. PAL's conclusion was that most of the areas they had tested had been significantly disturbed as a result of the 1920s restoration work, but that in at least one area, intact prehistoric remains existed. They also failed to find any artifacts that could conclusively be used to date the year of construction for the building. Artifacts recovered by PAL complimented those recovered by Deetz quite well, but as will be seen, Deetz's excavations did provide support for a last quarter of the seventeenth century construction date for the house.

This report attempts to locate the site of the 1623 Wessagusett settlement in Weymouth through the use of historical records (town records and contemporaneous accounts), topographical clues, and comparison with the settlement at Plymouth. The previous attempts at locating the site are evaluated and a new location for the site that better fits the accounts is proposed. This report also reviews the fortifications at Plymouth and how both they and the Wessagussett fortifications fit into the prevailing military designs of the period.

This report analyzes the archaeologically derived artifactual and architectural data gathered by Roland Robbins during his 1960 excavation at the John Alden site in Duxbury, Massachusetts and their subsequent interpretation by Mitch Mulholland in 1995. It is this author’s belief that the architecture of the site has been mis-interpreted for the past 40 years and that past artifactual analysis has dated the deposits in the cellar hole too early. It is this authors belief that the site does represent the home of John Alden of the Mayflower, but that it did not look like the way it has been popularly architecturally
interpreted and was, in fact, his home for most if not all of his life in Duxbury.

The house at 1 Thomas Street is situated on the western slope of a hillside leading from Allerton Street towards Murdock Pond. An article was published in the Harlow Family Notes issue No. 4, an informal publication of the Harlow Family Association, titled “A 1628 Pilgrim Rendezvous”, written by an anonymous Harlow Family Association member. The article claims that the house still standing at 1 Thomas Street, was a house or “rendezvous” built by Humphrey Turner and mentioned when Turner sold the property to Josias Winslow in 1633. The article further claims that the structure was built in 1628 and that it was owned and lived in by successive generations of the Thomas family, beginning with Major Nathaniel Thomas the third in 1699. Based on the cartographic, documentary, and preliminary architectural evidence, it appears that the house at 1 Thomas Street is not the same “rendezvous” mentioned in Humphrey Turner's record of sale to Josias Winslow in 1633.  Turner's rendezvous and palisade most probably did not survive too long, as it was probably erected as a temporary measure until more permanent accommodations could be made, and it is likely that no trace of it, nor even a remembrance that it ever existed, was attached with the property as it passed through various hands in the 17th and 18th century, ultimately being owned by John B. Thomas (possibly through inheritance from his father Joshua) in 1852. A thorough fishing search of the Plymouth County Registry of Deeds grantor and grantee records failed to find any record of the parcel being sold to either Joshuah or John B., but nevertheless, we know that he owned it by 1852 at the latest, and 1836, when Thomas was mentioned as owning land in the area.

Citizens of the Commonwealth were given a rare opportunity to witness the investigation of part of Boston's earliest colonial past during the city's "Big Dig"/ Central Artery Project in 1985, when the Massachusetts Bay Colony's "Great House" was explored prior to the site's destruction. The Great House, located in City Square in Charlestown, was built in 1629 before Boston was even settled. It was to serve as the first residence of Governor Winthrop and the other prominent members of the company and as the colony's meetinghouse. Archaeologists assumed that it was to have been a formal, professionally designed structure symbolizing the hierarchical nature of the new settlement and serving as a link between the old and new worlds. Unfortunately, soon after the fleet's arrival, a great mortality swept the colony, which the settlers attributed to the brackish drinking water in the new settlement. The majority of them moved to Shawmut (now Boston) and reestablished the colony there, leaving the Great House to eventually serve as the meetinghouse for those who chose to remain. This report relates the background history of the site and its archaeological footprint and offers an alternate architectural interpretation of the layout of the building that fits better with its history and what is known about 17th century architectural traditions.

This report documents preliminary research into the origins of several cannons that were recovered in
1998 from the sea off of Round Hill in Dartmouth, Massachusetts. Specifically, it was hoped that proof
could be found to support the theory that the cannons recovered came from the HMS Nimrod which, in
1814, was likely the most feared British vessel in New England waters. She was also the vessel that
was the most visible reminder that the United States was at war with England at this time. Nimrod
sailed New England waters for just over one year but in that time she was involved in most of naval
battles and attacks that occurred in New England during the war. When several cannons were
discovered in the late twentieth century, it was assumed that they belonged to the Nimrod and that they
had been jettisoned when she ran aground in 1814. During the course of researching the cannons that
are now held be various historical societies in southern New England, it was discovered that the
cannons likely did not come from the Nimrod at all but that they may represent an even more important
find- potentially the remains of a Revolutionary War British sloop or American Naval vessel.