Lab in Calvert provides unique facilities

Friday, Dec. 7, 2007

Click here to enlarge this photo Staff Photo by Darwin Weigel Maryland Archaeological Conservation Lab director Patricia Samford, left, and federal conservator Sara Rivers-Cofield glue a ceramic bowl from a dig in Baltimore back together at the lab at Jefferson Patterson Park & Museum in St. Leonard. E-Mail This Article | Print This Story

The Maryland Archaeological Conservation Lab in the 560-acre park opened in 1998, said Patricia Samford, an archeologist who is the lab’s director.

The state-of-the-art facility houses more than 7 million archeological treasures recovered from land and underwater sites throughout Maryland.

The conservation of artifacts, particularly those from underwater sites, requires equipment and expertise different from traditional fine arts conservation, according to the lab’s Web site. Artifacts are often extremely fragile and are subject to decay once they are removed from the environment in which they have rested for hundreds or even thousands of years.

The artifacts must be stabilized, cleaned and conserved for future study and exhibition, according to the lab archeologists.

Artifacts must be treated, including removing harmful contaminants such as salts. Treatment often includes structural support of fragile artifacts such as leather and textiles.

The lab also houses a number of major collections acquired through private donation to the Maryland Historical Trust, Samford said. The artifacts are stored at the facility for research, education and exhibitions for students, scholars, museum curators and educators.

More than 70 archeological sites have been uncovered at the park, Samford said.

‘‘We have artifacts from 9,000 years ago to the early 20th century,” Samford said. ‘‘They cover most of the range of human occupation in Maryland. This is a really great place to have a lab.”

The fragile artifacts are kept in plastic boxes and are stored in a climate-controlled atmosphere, Samford said.

‘‘The artifacts must have the proper temperature and humidity so that they ... don’t decompose any further,” she said.

Tours of the lab are available by appointment throughout the year, Samford said, adding the lab sponsors archeological digs where the public can pitch in between May and July at the park.

‘‘The public is welcome to come out and help us,” she said. ‘‘During the cold months we usually don’t go out.”

When the lab first opened it drew archeologists and curators from all over the region, Samford said.

‘‘There was a big influx of archeologists who wanted to see the facility,” she said. ‘‘There aren’t many places in the United States that have a facility like this.”

A new archeological exhibition is under way at the park’s visitor center that should be opened early next year, Samford said.

The lab holds historical treasures that Southern Maryland residents should make an effort to see, Samford said.

‘‘We have artifacts recovered from all over Maryland that come here for long-term preservation,” she said. ‘‘Archeologists know where all the artifacts are so they can put their hands on them.”

‘‘One of the frustrating things for us is this is a really, really interesting place,” Kathy Concannon, the lab’s educator. ‘‘If people knew about it they would find something here to fascinate them. This is a really unique facility. There are only a few other labs in the country that do what we do.”

Nancy Bromley McConaty