Excavations at the Irish Shrine

We have wrapped up two weeks of excavations at the Irish Shrine on Lemmon Street in West Baltimore. With temperatures topping 100°F and the occasional visit by some friendly rats, students enrolled in the 2011 Field School dug two excavation units. During this search for privies located in the rear lots of these row homes, several interesting features were uncovered as well as a wide range of artifacts.

In one unit, we found a fairly recent concrete foundation that rested above a deep pit (going down 1.5 meters from the surface). In this pit, the dark and loose soil indicated a fill layer which is further supported by the discovery of a mix of nineteenth-century domestic artifacts, such as doll parts and buttons, as well as twentieth-century domestic artifacts and architectural debris, like plastic toys and bricks.

So what can a Sprite bottle and an 1830's painted plate tell us? Having these and other items in the same layer of soil suggests that an earlier feature, perhaps a privy, was disturbed by later excavation or renovation of the row homes and their yards— resulting in a mix both of artifacts and soil.

The other and adjacent unit proved even more interesting. Relatively quickly, a soil stain was identified which resembled a post hole. Further investigation uncovered a collared metal pipe situated vertically in the soil. Even more perplexing, below and connected to this pipe sat another pipe running perpendicularly from north to south [Image 1]. We still are researching their possible function, but one theory is that these pipes may have been used as a venting mechanism for a later water closet.


Image 1: Pipes and circular stain/wood of barrel

Equally fascinating, underneath these pipes was a dark circular stain the approximate dimensions of a barrel bottom. Careful excavation unearthed a well-preserved wooden board that fit exactly within the circular stain. This board likely is the last remnant of a barrel from a barrel-vaulted privy (a privy placed over a buried barrel and regularly emptied but some very unfortunate person). Perhaps, the barrel was cleaned around the turn of the century and the pipes were then added for a water closet? Any ideas? White ball clay pipes, bone buttons, and various ceramics are among some of the nineteenth and twentieth-century artifacts that came from this unit and its features [Image 2].


Image 2: Recovered artifacts, washed and drying in the sun

After several days of mapping and recording soil data and other information, the students backfilled the units. The students of the Field School have endured some extremely difficult climate conditions [Image 3], but their diligence and hard work paid off with many exciting discoveries!



Image 3: Field School student, Alex, working through the heat

This short excavation demonstrates the rich heritage and history of Baltimore that is available archaeologically when excavated and documented systematically and scientifically. We would like to thank the Irish Shrine and the residents of Lemmon Street for the opportunity to excavate and their patience during the last two weeks.

The remainder of the field school will be in Texas, Maryland, and will be our third year of studying this nineteenth and twentieth-century quarrying community. More soon to follow!

Paul Flynn and Adam Fracchia
June 23, 2011