As we are only a week into excavation, let me summarize the progress in each unit so far: (All the units and designations have continued off from were the 2010 Field School ended.) In Excavation Unit (EU) 9, Miguel and Katie found various artifacts ranging from the nineteenth century through the present which tell us that the site has been disturbed. We know this because the nineteenth-century clay tobacco pipe bowls and stems should not be in the same context layer as plastic bags. By midweek, two features were discovered that appear to be a post and posthole in what was originally thought to be a pit (Image 1). Limestone, plaster, and coal littered this hole as well as several small artifact fragments such as whiteware and glass.
Image 1: Possible Post and Posthole Partially Excavated in EU9
With Paul and Erika, I dug EU 10 a few meters to the south of EU 9. This unit is the rockiest of the units due to the layers of rocks that include limestone, plaster, and quartz (Image 2). This unit has five soil layers in it and all but the last soil layer has had coal. As we dug into the unit, the rocks did tend to lessen with depth, but excavation proved to be slow and tedious. No distinct features were identified, and the soil contexts were clearly defined on the unit's wall. We found several clay tobacco pipes stems and bowl fragments as well as several large pieces of whiteware with different designs on them (spatter, sponge painted, and transfer printed), and a slate pencil and writing slate. With these artifacts in the first soil layers, we found more modern artifacts like twentieth-century beer bottle fragments, wire nails, and plastic. The last soil context excavated was a reddish brown clay and contained no artifacts so we considered it sterile and backfilled the unit.
Image 2: South Wall Profile of EU 10
Only two meters to the west sits EU 11 dug by Alex and Rachel. This unit is like a mirror image of EU 10 based off of the soil layers and artifacts (Image 3). Matching the profiles of soil in the walls of both units shows gently sloping soil contexts with little disturbance. This leads us to ask what activities were happening in this area of the backyard.
Image 3: A Sampling of Artifacts from EU 11 (a thimble, ceramics, glass, writing slates, a clothing hook, a pendant?...)
In an entirely different lot closer to Church Lane, Paul and I have just started to excavate EU 1 (Image 4) in an area thought to contain a privy. This grassy lot abuts a lot containing a turn-of-the-century home now, but the boundaries of these lots likely have been altered at some point. Therefore, the lot we are excavating in might have held one of the original homes bordering the south end of Church Lane where the current house now stands.
This unit so far has had mixture of modern artifacts, like aluminum nails and wrappers, and older ones, like amethyst glass. We also found an old flask-like bottle that could have had medicine in it, but next to it was a plastic-handled screwdriver and screws. This tells us that at least the top part of the unit has seen recent use because of the mixture of artifacts in it. Yet, as we dug down on Friday, the artifacts seem to be fewer but older. We have hopes of finding the privy at the end of this lot and will continue to dig. Keep your fingers crossed!
Image 4: Excavation of EU 1
Peter Flagle
June 27, 2011
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