A Visit to the Maryland Archaeological Conservation Laboratory

I visited the Maryland Archaeological Conservation Lab (MAC Lab) last week. The staff was extremely gracious and spent hours with me, showing me their wonderful facility. They are experts in their field and clearly enjoy their work.

The MAC Lab itself is a high-tech operation that is housed in a series of linked buildings. They have a large x-ray chamber and an even larger freeze-dryer. There were several vats filled with chemicals wherein you could see old muskets, ancient oak beams, and cannons. 

The Lab is a state-funded program that is responsible for most of the artifacts dug in Maryland. As such, they have everything from massive paddle-wheels to sherds of pottery and coins.

The facility is located along the Patuxent River at the center of the Jefferson Patterson Park. The landscape is stunning and steeped with history. Archeological digs are underway at the park and include a late 17th century plantation site, plus Native American sites and African-American sites. All told, the park provides a broad view of Colonial Maryland history.

For my research, I was interested in coins and other relics that were used as talismans to ward off evil. Consequently, we examined a witch bottle, several iron hinges engraved with magical symbols, and a few coins found in strategic places -- namely, kitchen and doorways. With all this magical material, I assumed the MAC Lab was safe from witches. 

The coins themselves appeared mute, but their "found" context shouts.

In archeology, it is all about the context.

A pot taking shape at the MAC Lab.

I was also impressed by the melding of scientific conservation methods with painstaking artisan work wherein each artifact is gently picked, brushed, and cleaned by hand. Every piece is cataloged in three dimensions -- hence, they know exactly where and in what strata a pieces was unearthed. 

And sometimes, the work comes down to old-fashioned problem-solving as when, for example, a collection of sherds is turned into the artifact that is once was. One example that caught my eye was a large pot that was being reassembled – piece-by-piece. The archeologist chuckled when he told me that they all take turns adding a piece to the whole. They work as a team.

And of course, all the pieces of the pot are not there making the task ever more challenging and fun.

For the coin collecting necromancer, it doesn't get any better than this.