Permit Application for Intensive Survey Testing at the Hedge House Plymouth, Ma. PARP April 2016 I. GENERAL INFORMATION The Plymouth Antiquarian Society (PAS) plans to replace the fences at the Society's headquarters, the Hedge House, located at 126 Water Street in Plymouth, Massachusetts (Figures 1-3) . The existing fenceline is a modern welded steel fence supported by wooden posts. The new fenceline will consist of a shorter steel fence raised two feet above the ground on sections of brick wall. The wall sections will be joined at two foot wide brick pillars. While the wall will rest at or near ground level, the pillars will be sunk into the ground for stability. A limited amount of grading (within 3 m [10'] of the street on the north and west sides and within 3 m [10'] of the property line on the west side) will be associated with the new fenceline installation. As part of the process to acquire Massachusetts Preservation Project Fund (MPPF) funding in 2002, a preservation restriction agreement between the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the Plymouth Antiquarian Society (PAS) was formulated by the Massachusetts Historical Commission (MHC) for the Hedge House/ Plymouth Antiquarian House property. This preservation restriction ensured that the property would be preserved for public enjoyment and appreciation of its architectural, archaeological and historical heritage. Under this restriction, the PAS is not allowed to make major alterations of the landscape that may adversely affect archaeological resources without approval by the MHC. The current document is the permit application to conduct an intensive archaeological survey on the portions of the proposed landscaping improvements that may affect any archaeological remains. This permit is being applied for in compliance with Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 9, sections 26-27c (950CMR70). Figure 1. project area shown on USGS topographic map Plymouth quadrant. 1 Permit Application for Intensive Survey Testing at the Hedge House Plymouth, Ma. PARP April 2016 Figure 2. Aerial view of project area (Source: Google Earth). 2 Permit Application for Intensive Survey Testing at the Hedge House Plymouth, Ma. PARP April 2016 11 x17 Figure 3. Project area. 3 Permit Application for Intensive Survey Testing at the Hedge House Plymouth, Ma. PARP April 2016 II. QUALIFICATIONS Craig S. Chartier MA, Lead Principal Investigator Tasks Field Surveying Laboratory processing Artifact Cataloging Preparation of fieldwork results, artifact analysis portions of completion memorandum and final report Contribution to interpretation, conclusion and recommendation portions of the completion memorandum and final report Field Photography Laboratory Photography Greg Walwer PhD, Co- Principle Investigator Preparation of permit application research design and testing strategy, permit application editing, and quality control Preparation of artifact analysis portions of final report Contribution to interpretation, conclusion and recommendation portions of the final report Report editing, and quality control of field and laboratory photography Jean Marie Johnson, Graphic and Report Production Specialist Tasks Coordinating layout and formatting of the final report Creation of professional quality graphics Creation of professional quality cartographic materials based on field survey results Field Crew Up to two additional field crew Schedule and Level of Effort Site Examination Hedge Hous e Plymouth, MA Permit application 20 hours Background research 8 hours Fieldwork 40 hours Lab/ Report 40 hours Total 108 hours 4 Permit Application for Intensive Survey Testing at the Hedge House Plymouth, Ma. PARP April 2016 III. RESEARCH DESIGN A. Statement of Purpose The research design for the Site Examination was designed to examine the natural and historical aspects of the project area and to place the project area within a prehistoric and historic context associated with the Town of Plymouth and the broader Southeastern Massachusetts region. B. Documentary Research Preliminary examination of the pre-Contact and historic site files, historic maps, and the Plymouth Town Report (MHC 1981) was conducted at the Massachusetts Historical Commission in order to assess the pre-Contact and historic potential of the project area and develop an initial pre-Contact and historic context. Further research was conducted at the Plymouth Town Hall, the Plymouth Public Library, Pilgrim Hall, the Plymouth Antiquarian Society, and Plimoth Plantation. Further historical research may be conducted at the Plymouth County Registry of Deeds and the Registry of Probates, and the Massachusetts State Archives as needed to answer specific research questions regarding findings that may arise as a result of the intensive survey fieldwork. C. Field Methods and Expected Results Intensive archaeological surveys are designed to determine presence or absence of potentially significant archaeological resources within a proposed project area. The Hedge House property, located in the core of historic Plymouth and the native community of Pawtucxet, may have the potential to contain significant resources related to the prehistoric, early historic, and historic periods. 1. Environmental Context The Town of Plymouth is located on the Coastal Lowlands in Plymouth County. It is bounded to the south by Wareham, Bourne and Sagamore, to the west by Carver, to the east by Plymouth Harbor, and to the north by Kingston and Plympton. Drainage is via Town Brook and the Eel River in the northern portion of the town, and the Agawam River, Beaverdam Brook, and Indian Brook in the south. As a result of its glacial and immediate post-glacial history, Plymouth has a varied topography with level areas interspersed amidst numerous hills and rises. The project area consists of an open lawn located between buildings on the west and south sides, Water Street on the east, and Memorial Drive on the north. Medium-size apple and Linden trees border the property on the north side. Soils are recorded by the USDA as Urban land (602B), a generic designation without further details. Soils to the west are recorded as being Carver loamy coarse sand on a 3-8% slope (259B), giving a high probability that the soils of the project area are also of the Carver series. Carver loamy sands are deep, excessively-drained soils on outwash plains and glacial lake deposits. They are poorly suited to cultivated crops, hay and pasture, and woodland due to their excessive droughtiness. 5 Permit Application for Intensive Survey Testing at the Hedge House Plymouth, Ma. PARP April 2016 2. Prehistoric Context New England's prehistory is poorly understood relative to that of other regions in North America. Throughout the majority of the region’s prehistory, river drainages defined physiographic units within which human communities operated. This pattern follows from the longitudinal diversity of habitats that occur along drainages, forming ecologically unique wetland habitats, together with the transportation routes afforded by their watercourses. In the clearest examples, rivers provide access to maritime and upland resources at each end of the drainage, and to the diverse habitats in between. The exploitation of those habitats can be integrated into a seasonal round that differs at various historical moments. The prehistory of southern New England is divided into seven periods, each identified by characteristic projectile points, pottery and other artifacts. These periods are the Paleo Indian (10,500-9000 BP), Early Archaic (9000-8000 BP), Middle Archaic (8000-6000 BP), Late Archaic (6000-3000 BP), Early Woodland (3000-2000 BP), Middle Woodland (2000-1000 BP) and Late Woodland (1000-350 BP). These cultural periods also are distinguishable on the basis of changing patterns of site location, activities, and size. Sites of the Paleo Indian and Early Archaic periods are most frequently located across and around drained lake beds that formed at the end of the Pleistocene (Ice Age). These sites are generally small, and often represent single episodes or short events involving hunting and gathering, or natural resource processing. Sites of the Middle and Late Archaic tend to appear at the edges of upland wetlands, ponds, and streams, and on the banks of rivers. The upland interior sites tend to be small and represent episodes of special activities, with larger, repeatedly used sites appearing next to large wetlands and at fords or rapids in rivers. Beginning with the end of the Late Archaic and continuing through the Late Woodland period, sites tend to appear more frequently on the coast and the banks of rivers, and especially near river estuaries. The Woodland period is marked by basic technological and economic changes, notably the production and use of pottery and a gradual shift to food production (maize, beans, squash, sunflower, and other vegetables). a. Known Prehistoric Sites A total of 14 prehistoric archaeological sites are recorded in the MHC site files within two kilometers of the two project areas (Table 1). Table 1. Known prehistoric sites within 2 km of project areas Site Water Type Date Finds First Brook 19-PL-532 First Brook Shell Midden Middle Archaic-Contact Shell, bone, lithic points 19-PL-530 First Brook Unknown Unknown Unknown 19-PL-427 Cold Spring Unknown Unknown Point tips, edge tools, flakes 19-PL-307 First Brook Unknown Transitional Archaic Orient Fishtail point Town Brook/ Poorhouse Pond/ Plymouth Harbor 19-PL-443 Town Brook Unknown Unknown Unknown 19-PL-439 Unnamed Pond Unknown Middle