Dr. Paul A. Shackel directs the cooperative archaeology projects for the Department of Anthropology with the National Park Service. Two major programs have been established since 1997 -- one with the National Capital Region and one with the Mid-Atlantic Region.

Regional Archaeologist, Dr. Stephen R. Potter has generated several archaeology projects carried out by the NPS and the Department of Anthropology, UMCP since the beginning of 1997. Many projects go beyond Section 106 compliance needs and they add an additional dimension to NPS archaeology projects. University of Maryland undergraduate and graduate students have participated in all projects.

Overview: Archaeological Identification and Evaluation Studies of the Best and Thomas Farms at Monocacy National Battlefield.

Monocacy National Battlefield, located a few miles south of Frederick, Maryland, was created in 1934 to commemorate the site of the Battle of Monocacy, fought on July 9, 1864. While the battlefield area was the scene of a number of important events associated with the Civil War, it has many other stories to tell; a rich and diverse history spanning over 10,000 years. Since 2001, Archaeologists from the National Park Service (NPS) and the University of Maryland have teamed to investigate this interesting and varied cultural landscape through a cooperative agreement between the NPS National Capital Region Regional Archaeology Program and Center for Heritage Resource Studies (CHRS) at the University of Maryland. Under the direction of Monocacy’s Cultural Resource Manager Joy Beasley, NPS Regional Archaeologist Dr. Stephen Potter, and CHRS Director Dr. Paul Shackel, undergraduate and graduate students and other affiliates of the University of Maryland have participated in a number of historical and archaeological research projects. Several MAA students have performed their MAA projects at Monocacy.

Best Farm and Thomas Farm Survey
The Archaeology of Slavery at the Best Farm
The Middle Ford Ferry Tavern at the Thomas Farm

• Highway Improvements Project. From 1998 to 2000, University of Maryland students and the National Park Service conducted an archaeological survey of selected portions of Manassas National Battlefield Park where the NPS planned to construct visitor parking lots.
• Survey of Routes 29 and 234. In advance of the widening of this intersection, UMD and the NPS conducted an archaeological survey in 1999 and 2000 in an effort to locate prehistoric or historic sites that would be impacted by construction.
• A vessel analysis of the Robinson House assemblage has been completed by Erika Martin. The Robinson family, a free African-American household lived on what is now Manassas National Battlefield Park from the 1840s through the 1930s.

• Co-op agreement excavation prior to the stabilization of the 1.5 story Sudley Post Office is now complete. The purpose of the project was to locate, identify, evaluate, and recover a sample of any archaeological resources that may be have been impacted by the stabilization of the building.

• Archaeological excavation at the Old Stone House at Manassas National Battlefield Park has begun under the direction of Dr. Matthew Reeves.

• University of Maryland students are busy cataloging collections from several parks within NCR, under the direction of the NPS Archaeologist Collections Manager. These park collections were created many years ago and were not cataloged at the time. This work provides the parks an opportunity to become accountable for the museum property for which they are obligated to protect.

• An archaeological overview and assessment for Petersburg Battlefield Park, supervised by Dr. Brook Blades, is currently underway and is scheduled to last through the next four years. Petersburg Battlefield Park commemorates the nine-month siege of the town before it was captured by Federal troops. The Five Forks Unit will be the first area studied, the place where the last battle at Petersburg was fought before it fell into Union hands.

• An overview and assessment will continue at the Central Unit and at City Point, both components of Petersburg Battlefield Park.

• Visit the project webpage created by 1999 Masters Candidate Gail Brown, who researched the plantation structure at City Point as part of his MAA internship.

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