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Montgomery Parks’ Archaeology Program identifies, manages, and interprets archaeological sites on parkland and considers the effects of land-use decisions on cultural resources. Research and excavations contribute to interpretation, public education programs, restorations, and park development plans.
The program provides for the stewardship of non-renewable archaeological resources and an opportunity for public participation in discovering our past right in your backyard. Learn more below.
Current Work:
Josiah Henson Museum & Park
Located just south of Rockville, the Josiah Henson Museum and Park contains the core of the 19th century Riley plantation that once covered hundreds of acres. This is the site where the Reverend Josiah Henson – a Freedom Seeker, minister, abolitionist, husband, and mid 19th century celebrity – was enslaved between c. 1800-1825, along with more than 20 others. Montgomery Parks now owns the former Riley residence, known as the Riley-Bolten house, and just over 3 of the surrounding acres.
Archaeological investigations have taken place on the site since 2009 as part of the stewardship of the property and later, development of the Museum. The excavations have focused on uncovering any material culture remains of the enslaved population that lived and worked on this property. Fieldwork has revealed that parts of the Riley plantation survive intact, covered by the green lawns of modern residential lots, including foundations of former structures and many thousand 19th century artifacts. The site has been continuously occupied for almost 200 hundred years, and the features and artifacts reflect the property’s transition from plantation, to tenant farm, to suburban development, and now, to public Museum.
To date, excavations have identified the location of at least two previously unknown structures, a late 18th-early 19th century kitchen midden, a cobble path, fencelines, and an early 20th century road bed related to the earlier farm road. The kitchen midden feature provided an excellent environment for artifact preservation and contained a large number of artifacts related to the earliest occupants of the site. We are currently progressing with the analysis of all the recovered material and the preparation of a technical report.
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| Decorative part of a horse bridle from the late 18th-early 19th century, excavated at the Josiah Henson site. | Excavated porcelain doll face from Josiah Henson log kitchen. | Various 19th century buttons excavated from the Josiah Henson site. |