Research &
Collections
Lectures
A comprehensive look at several aspects of archaeology at Historic St. Mary's City. HSMC Research marks the beginning of the telling of Maryland's story beginning 50 years ago.
Presenters include Dr. Travis Parno, Dr. Henry Miller, Silas Hurry, and Ruth Mitchell. Lecture originally offered April 19, 2019 at Historic St. Mary's City Visitor Center Auditorium.
​Tree-Ring Dating and Historic Structures: A Look at the Science of Dendrochronology with Michael Worthington. ​Mr. Worthington comes to us from the Oxford Tree Ring Laboratory located in Baltimore, Maryland.
Michael Worthington is an Oxford educated specialist in tree ring dating. Dendrochronology is used to date historic land and sea structures, as well as trees themselves.
Travis Parno, Ph.D. and Director of Research at Historic St. Mary's City, shares the story of Antonio, an enslaved African, to illustrate the history of enslavement in the first century of colonial Maryland.
Use the Primary Source
Historians at HSMC use primary source documents, often legal records as the average citizen in the colony could not read or write, and eyewitness accounts from observers of events.
Let's Start Digging
The archaeologists at HSMC use physical evidence such as soil changes and artificats retrieved through excavation to gather evidence of the past. Archaeologists combine evidence with the surviving written record in order to draw conclusions about life in early Maryland.
How do we know what we know?
Archaeologists and historians have been studying records and archaeological evidence since the 1920s to bring an understanding of St. Mary's City to visitors & students. ​​​