Abstract
The objective of this study is to determine the source of a limestone paver recovered from the colonial era Old Chapel Field archaeological site (18ST329-183) in St. Inigoes, Maryland. The site is in the Coastal Plain physiographic province, where there are no viable local sources of rock. As the site was a Jesuit manor, the primary hypothesis is that the stone came from England, the emigration origin point for the Maryland colonists. The secondary objective is to determine whether the stone paver was from the Jesuit Brick Chapel at St. Mary’s City (18ST1-103), reused after the chapel was torn down by 1705. Based on paleontological, lithological, and chemical analysis of the paver, sources in the Florida Platform (U.S.), Hampshire Basin (UK), Paris Basin (France), and the Belgian Basin were ruled out. The most likely source is the Aquitaine Basin in southwest France. Comparison with limestone fragments from the chapel supports reuse of the paver from the St. Mary’s City Brick Chapel.
Recommended Citation
Key, Marcus M.; Milliman, Leslie P.; Smolek, Michael A.; and Hurry, Silas D.
(2016)
"Sourcing a Stone Paver from the Colonial St. Inigoes Manor, Maryland,"
Northeast Historical Archaeology:
Vol.
45
45, Article 6.
Available at:
https://orb.binghamton.edu/neha/vol45/iss1/6
