Page 99 - Maryland Historical Trust - Archaeology Colonial MD

1647, this strongly suggests a construction date of around 1649 or 1650 for the Burle home.
As is often the case with the Providence sites, when the house was abandoned, a later replace- ment dwelling was then built in a nearby location on the same peninsula. Interestingly, it appears that the field around the abandoned building was farmed while the area itself was avoided. This soon resulted in a wooded patch that remains in the middle of the farm field today. The area soon became the family cemetery for the occupants of the newer structure.
The Lost Towns Project conducted archae- ological testing of Burle’s Town Land at various times between 1991 and 1997. Using a mixed la- bor force of staff and volunteers, an impressive 229 five ft by five ft test units were eventually excavat- ed at the site. Despite the presence of later graves (avoided), this large block excavation allowed the delineation of numerous features, including large structural posts. The architectural remains at the site consisted of the footprint of a 60 ft by 20 ft earthfast structure with two interior chimneys and a smaller, unheated ancillary structure located to the south. Although the main building did not possess a large, sub-floor cellar, small pits were identified in front of each hearth area.7
The main structure was constructed using a surprisingly large assortment of Dutch architec- tural materials. These included yellow bricks, roof- ing pantiles, green and yellow-glazed floor tiles, and painted delftware fireplace or baseboard tiles. The utilization of Dutch-derived building mate- rials is a recurring theme at all of the Providence sites. This can clearly be seen as a sign of the well- known connections between Protestant Holland and the Puritans and Pilgrims of England.
Leavy Neck
The Leavy Neck Site (18AN828) was first discov- ered in a plowed field being used as a turf farm. Like other Providence sites, it is located back from the main body of water (Whitehall Creek) on a relict inlet with a spring of fresh water nearby. The
land was owned by William Piper and William Fuller between 1650 and 1661, but it is unclear whether they are associated with the excavated structure. More likely, the occupation corresponds to the land ownership of William Neale in 1661 and that of his descendants.
Unfortunately, this specific agricultural use severely impacted the archaeological remains of the 17th century building at Leavy Neck. Each year, inches of soil were removed while harvest- ing turf. The net effect of this was to remove any surface distribution of artifacts and perhaps even erase a significant portion of the architectural evi- dence. All that remained of the site was an earth- en cellar which once was underneath the building. Fortunately, the cellar contained an abundance of material culture as well as a surprising mystery.
In one corner of the cellar, beneath layers of ceramic, glass, and pipe fragments and faunal remains (typical household trash) a human had been “buried” in a hole too small for the body. There had been no coffin used nor did there appear to be any evidence that a shroud, or even clothing, was involved in the burial.
Enlisting the help of Dr. Doug Owsley of the Smithsonian Institution, it was eventually de- termined that this individual was a teenager of European descent who had endured heavy labor
figure 4
Digital reconstruction of the Burle home (top), Dutch building materials at Burle's Town Land (bottom).
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