Page 31 - Maryland Historical Trust - Archaeology Colonial MD

Among the many fascinating objects recovered, there is only room in a chapter to comment on a few. One is a small white clay figure of a cher- ub face, the only art object found during the ex- cavations (see figure 17). Its purpose is uncertain but the cherub was a popular motif in baroque art of the era. Another artifact was a thin lead object that seemed of little note. However, after cleaning it, lab staffer Kelly Brookhart noticed something unusual on the surface. Showing it to lab supervisor Donald Winter, they examined it under a microscope and were astonished to rec- ognize portions of the Maryland crest. It was a lead seal or bulla that bore Lord Baltimore’s in- signia. Wax was the normal seal material and lead only used for highly important documents. This object likely came to Maryland sealing important papers sent from Lord Baltimore to his deputy John Lewger or eldest son Governor Charles Calvert who also lived at St. John’s for a time. It is the ear- liest archaeological find of the crest adopted from medieval heraldry by Lord Baltimore and which became the flag of Maryland (see figure 18).
In conducting an analysis of the site, major tasks included figuring out what various artifacts were, when they were made, and where they came from. One of the most important dating tools at St. John’s turned out to be roof tile. Excavators found many fragments of orange roof tile called pantile with an “S” shaped cross-section. Origi- nally of Mediterranean origin, these were made in the Netherlands and exported to Maryland. But “when” was the question. In 1974, historian Lois Carr found a very significant document in the Archives of Maryland. It was a lease for St. John’s in 1678 between Lord Baltimore and Henry Exon, an ordinary keeper. Among the many tasks Exon was to perform was re-roofing the house with tiles. This dated the pantiles at St. John’s to 1678 and thus, any feature with tile fragments in it had to date later than that. Pantile became an essential aid in sorting out the hundreds of intru- sions in the spaces all around the St. John’s foun- dation. This is a superb example of how histori- cal documents can provide vital assistance in an archaeological investigation, and why thorough
figure 14
Terra cotta pipes decorated with the “Running Deer” motif.
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