Maryland Archaeological Conservation Lab

The Maryland Archaeological Conservation Laboratory (MAC Lab) is a state-of-the-art archaeological research, conservation, and curation facility located at Jefferson Patterson Park & Museum, the State Museum of Archaeology, in ​southern Maryland. The MAC Lab serves as a clearinghouse for archaeological collections recovered from land-based and underwater projects conducted by State and Federal agencies throughout Maryland. The MA​C Lab also houses a number of major collections acquired through private donations to the Maryland Historical Trust. All of these collections are available for research, education, and exhibit purposes to students, scholars, museum curators, and educators.

Click here for information on our Gloria S. King Research Fellowship in Archaeology.​

For assistance with artifact identification, click here​.

Research
Collections Conservation Library
​​ Research​ ​​​​ Curation​​ Conservation​​​​​ Library​​
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About the M​AC Lab

MAC Lab Tours

MAC Lab public tours are on hold during the lab expansion project, slated to run from May 2024 to September 2025. Tours will resume in late 2025.

Online Research Tools

The MAC Lab has created or contributed to several web sites or web applications. Click on the image to select an application from the list below.​

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MAC-DiagnosticArtifacts MAC-MarylandUnearthed MAC-CuratorsChoice
Introduction to significant types of datable archaeological artifacts
Learn about MAC Lab collections available for study
Monthly series highlighting an artifact from the MAC Lab collections
MAC-ArtifactsOfOutlander MAC-MarylandHistoryByTheObject MAC-ColonialChesapeake
Exhibit comparing Maryland artifacts to the Outlander series
Blog using artifacts to highlight Maryland's past​
​Compare data from eighteen 17th-century archaeological sites​
MAC-ArchCollectionsInMaryland MAC-MarylandArchaeobotany MAC-WoodAndCharcoalIndentification
Explore records and photos from 30 of the lab's most significant sites
Database of paleobotanical finds from sites in the MAC Lab collections
Identification tool for wood and charcoal species of the Mid-Atlantic
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Preserve America Grant County Exhibits​