Maryland Archeology Month

-April 2009-

Sponsored by:

St. Mary's City:
375 years old, thousands of years young

Explore!

Archeology Gallery

Pope's Creek pottery

Excavations at the St. John's site found evidence of human occupation dating centuries before the arrival of the Europeans. This is an example of a pottery called Pope's Creek Ware.

Pope's Creek Ware is named after the first archaeological site where it was found and described. Pope's Creek is in Charles County on the Potomac River. The pottery was first described by William Henry Holmes in the early decades of the 20th century. The pottery is made of clay with sand mixed in as what is known as a tempering agent. Temper is a non-clay material added to the blend to help the pot stand the effect of firing.

The ceramic's surface bears the impression of knotted net like the drawings above by Holmes. The ceramic vessels were generally concoidal in form and made of coils of clay mashed together. Radiocarbon dating suggest a period of use of about 2500 to 1700 years ago.