In the Face of the Flood: A County’s Efforts to Mitigate the Potential for a Massive Loss of Cultural Resources

Summary

Coastal erosion is impacting Anne Arundel County, Maryland in a way that is extreme and remarkable with a rate of sea level rise nearly twice the global average. Historic properties and archaeological sites are at risk of inundation on the County’s shorelines. Anne Arundel County Trust for Preservation has received a cultural resources hazard mitigation grant through the National Park Service’s Hurricane Sandy Disaster Relief Fund (administered by the Maryland Historical Trust) and is partnering with Anne Arundel County’s Cultural Resources Division to identify, evaluate, and document imminently threatened archaeological and historic sites in the County that are in the high-risk flood zones in Pasadena, Jessup/Laurel/Maryland City, and Shady Side. This paper discusses the field and research methodology employed for assessing a massive number of historic resources and archaeological sites at high risk of inundation. This project demonstrates the value of a united team effort in facing the challenge of undertaking a large survey area, the benefits of developing a collaboration across disciplines, the use of a GIS database to prioritize cultural resources and the importance of both assessing and inventorying coastal sites endangered from natural hazards in order to mitigate the potential loss of these sites.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 22729