Preserving and promoting Baltimore's historic buildings and neighborhoods.
Author: Eli
Eli Pousson started as a Field Officer at Baltimore Heritage in partnership with the National Trust for Historic Preservation in October 2009. Prior to moving to Baltimore, Eli worked for the DC Office of Historic Preservation and completed graduate work in anthropology and historic preservation at the University of Maryland College Park. Eli continues to work with the Lakeland Community Heritage Project and other heritage organizations in Prince George’s County, Maryland.
Last week’s remote sensing survey in Patterson Park challenged our project team with rain, snow, chilly temperatures and an initially elusive search for the 1812 earthworks. Fortunately, the team survived the bad weather and successfully gathered critical data to guide our field excavations later this month.
Fieldwork Director Greg Katz and Dr. Tim Horsley shared their reflections on the week’s work by email. Greg was excited about the traces of the earthworks we found through Tim’s survey:
I would say that the results of the work last week exceeded my expectations – I was not expecting to find much of the earthworks beyond what you can see looking at the current landscape. Finding more was a big and pleasant surprise. I really enjoyed working with the Archeological Society of Maryland volunteers. I found them to be enthusiastic and eager to learn… The weather was really a big challenge last week. When you schedule weeks in advance and have a specialist traveling 800 miles to be there, you have to work in the rain and snow.
Tim (our long-distance specialist) shared his own reflections and satisfaction with a “very productive week” in the park:
Friday went well, and I calculate that I collected over 6 miles of ground penetrating radar (GPR) data – much of which was up and down that slope! My very preliminary look at the GPR data suggests that we have successfully detected the ditch continuing north and south from the bastion… Through the week we collected a total of 3 acres of magnetometer data, and although these are largely blown out by utilities and modern iron, there is some useful information in there. Between the various data sets, I’m certainly going to be able to suggest locations for excavation trenches, both to hit some interesting features, and to hopefully avoid hitting utilities!
Special thanks to the Baltimore Sun, the Baltimore Guide and WJZ News for sharing the story of our investigation last week! Please don’t forget to check our our project page for more information about the investigation and the history of Hampstead Hill and Patterson Park.
Today it’s best known for the observatory, summertime jazz concerts and some of the city’s best sledding. But an archaeological dig planned for Patterson Park’s Hampstead Hill seeks to revive a largely forgotten 200-year-old story. While most know Fort McHenry’s role in the Battle of Baltimore, thanks to Francis Scott Key and “The Star-Spangled Banner,” few know or remember what transpired on the hill overlooking the harbor. Buried there could lie remnants of the trenches that helped Baltimore fend off advancing British land forces and end the War of 1812.
Our second day of remote sensing at Patterson Park continued despite the snow! Thanks to Fieldwork Director Greg Katz for sharing this shot of Dr. Tim Horsley using his high-resolution magnetometry equipment to search for the traces of the 1814 earthworks. Learn more about our We Dig Hampstead Hill project.
Greg Katz and Dr. Tim Horsley at Patterson Park. Photo by Jennifer Arndt Robinson, March 24, 2014.
Despite the chilly spring weather, our archaeological investigation of the War of 1812 in Patterson Park starts this morning with a week of remote sensing led by consultant Dr. Tim Horsley and Fieldwork Director Greg Katz with volunteers from the Archaeological Society of Maryland. Read on for some background on remote sensing, our work in the park this week and what we’re trying to learn! Share your questions in the comments or stop by the park on Thursday evening to meet our team and enjoy a high-tech archaeology show-and-tell.
What is remote sensing?
Jefferson Patterson Park & Museum
Geophysical remote sensing is an important tool for modern archaeological research. Using geophysical methods it is now often possible to map features such as buried earthworks in detail without putting a shovel to the ground. Dr. Horsley has proposed to use a combination of high-resolution magnetometry and ground-penetrating radar (GPR) to locate and map the remains of the earthworks. These techniques have different strengths and weaknesses, and are impeded by different sorts of obstacles, so the combination of the two has the best chance of success.
What is going on in the park this week (March 24-28)?
The team is starting by laying out a survey grid of 30-meter squares extending north and south from the Observatory. If you see a bamboo pole or other flags in the park this week, please don’t worry! Those flags are placed to mark the location of the grid.
Once a grid is established, the team plans to use a magentometer survey covering an area of about 5 acres to find a “signature” for the earthworks. Then they will try to trace that signature across the landscape of the park. In locations where interference (for example from buried utilities) prevents accurate measurements with the magnetometer, the team will also use ground-penetrating radar. If there are areas where neither of these techniques is effective, we can even use a soil resistivity survey as a third option.
What are we trying to learn with this project?
The remote sensing survey is key to answering our primary research questions:
Where were the earthworks around Hampstead Hill located?
How did the city construct the earthworks?
Can we find any other features like privies or magazines?
Did the people who built and camped at Hampstead Hill leave behind any evidence that we can find?
Answering these questions can offer us a better understanding of the history of the Battle of Baltimore by showing how the defenders took advantage of the terrain in laying out the entrenchments. They also provide us with the important information we need to preserve and protect the earthworks from future development activity in the park.
Stop by the project site anytime to say hello or join us for light refreshments on Thursday evening to meet the project principal investigator Dr. John Bedell with the Louis Berger Group and Dr. Tim Horsley who will demonstrate the equipment in use this week! Registration is not required for this free and informal program.
I would say that the results of the work last week exceeded my expectations – I was not expecting to find much of the earthworks beyond what you can see looking at the current landscape. Finding more was a big and pleasant surprise. I really enjoyed working with the Archeological Society of Maryland volunteers. I found them to be enthusiastic and eager to learn… The weather was really a big challenge last week. When you schedule weeks in advance and have a specialist traveling 800 miles to be there, you have to work in the rain and snow.
Tim (our long-distance specialist) shared his own reflections and satisfaction with a “very productive week” in the park:
