Chaney's Hills (18AN1084)

Summary

The Chaney’s Hills site is located in Riva, southern Anne Arundel County, Maryland. The 3.7-acre site lies within the southwestern portion of an 89.7-acre parcel south of Governor’s Bridge Road and west of Riva Road, located near Flat Creek, a tributary of the South River. Chaney’s Hills was occupied by Richard Chaney and his wife Charity from 1658 until just before his death in 1686. Chaney's will indicates that he had three daughters and three sons. His probate inventory indicated that he had one woman servant (valued at 4 pounds) as well as several horses, hogs, and cattle. John Gray purchased the property from Chaney before 1686, although other archaeological evidence suggests that he did not live at this site. Little more is known about the Chaney’s occupation but for the archaeological record summarized below.

Archaeological Investigations

In June 1998, the Chaney’s Hills site (18AN1084) was identified during a county-required Phase I archaeological survey conducted by ACS Consultants of Columbia, Maryland, at the location of a proposed 160-acre subdivision. Several other sites were discovered on the parcel during this survey representing prehistoric, 18th and 19th century occupations in addition to this 17th-century site. ACS conducted Phase II and III investigations resulting in the excavation of a total of 14 5-x-5 ft. units at the 17th-century site (Ballweber 1999). After Phase I-III excavations were performed by ACS Consultants (Ballweber 1999), extensive additional Phase III excavations were conducted by Anne Arundel County’s Lost Towns Project. The excavation of 87 additional 5-x-5 ft. units by the Lost Towns Project revealed the footprints of two mid 17th-century earthfast structures. A 28-x-17 foot building, the larger of the two footprints, has an unusual 17th-century period layout with a front entrance set off to the left and two side-by-side rooms divided by an interior fireplace. The often times ephemeral postholes have been used to guide the extensive three-dimensional computer modeling of this structures interior and exterior. An additional trash pit or possible cellar feature (approximately 5 by 5 feet) was located about 90 feet to the south of the primary building. The surface dimension of this feature was recorded but no additional testing has yet been conducted.

Artifacts

Recovered ceramics include types typically found on sites from the second half of the 17th century in the Chesapeake, including Borderware, North Devon Sgraffito slipware, sprig-molded blue and manganese-decorated Rhenish stoneware, English brown stoneware, and Rhenish brown stoneware. Lead-back tin-glazed Delftware, typical of the first half of the century, was also recovered. White salt-glazed stoneware, very common on Anne Arundel County sites after ca. 1720, is not present on the site.

The exclusively white pipe assemblage consisted of 1,689 fragments, of which 794 had measurable bores, 44 had a rouletted decoration on the bowl rim, and seven had maker’s marks. Minimal faunal remains were recovered, most likely due to the acidic soils, the limited number of subsurface pit and the relatively thin plow zone found throughout the site. The glass recovered included round bottles, case bottles, medicinal vials, stemwares, and possibly a few fragments of window glass and a fragment of window lead.

Several stock type keys were recovered, suggesting the Chaneys had items worthy of protection. Also recovered were a copper handled spoon, a scissor fragment, furniture tacks, bale seals, lead shot, possible pistol parts, English flint, leather ornaments and a horse bit, and a possible coin weight.

References

Ballweber, Hettie L. 1999. Phase I and II Archaeological Investigations at the CJV Joint Venture Property, Anne Arundel County, MD. Report prepared by ACS Consultants, Columbia Maryland for GW Koch Associates, Inc. On File with the Maryland Historical Trust and Anne Arundel County Office of Environmental and Cultural Resources, Annapolis, MD.

Callage Rosemarie, John Kille and Al Luckenbach. 2002. “Tobacco-pipes from the Chaney’s Hills Site (ca. 1658-1686): Life on the Frontier.” In Al Luckenbach, C. Jane Cox and John Kille, eds. The Clay Tobacco-Pipe in Anne Arundel County, Maryland (1650-1730), pp.72- 77. Anne Arundel County Trust for Preservation, Inc. Annapolis, MD.

Callage, Rosemarie, John Kille and Al Luckenbach. 1999. An Analysis of 17th Century Clay Tobacco-Pipes from the Chaney’s Hills Site ( 18AN1084). Maryland Archaeology 35(2):27-33. Journal of the Archaeological Society of Maryland, Crownsville, MD.

Further Information on the Collection

The Chaney’s Hills assemblage is owned and curated by Anne Arundel County’s Lost Towns Project at its offices in Annapolis, Maryland. The boundaries of the site are currently under a protective easement within a lot planned for development, though negotiations are ongoing with the present-day Chaney family to possible acquiring the parcel that contains this site. For additional information on this site, please contact Anne Arundel County’s Lost Towns Project, Office of Environmental and Cultural Resources, Anne Arundel County, 2664 Riva Road, Annapolis, MD 21401 or contact the Archaeology Laboratory directly at 410-222-7441.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Archaeological Study of Colonial Chesapeake Culture

Keywords

Temporal Coverage

Calendar Date: 1658 to 1686

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Project Director(s): Al Luckenbach