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We
are a dedicated group of privy diggers, artists, collectors,
researchers and educators who have an ongoing passion for
salvaging and unearthing bottles and artifacts on private
property here in New York City and sometimes further afield.
In the manner that it is practiced by our group, historical
digging, privy digging and dump digging basically, is neither
garbology nor treasure hunting exclusively, nor does it
claim to be or aspire to be academic archaeology of any
kind. It is a niche pursuit in its own right, an avocation
perhaps and maybe even an artistic expression of some kind
when looked at from a certain angle. One which involves
various aspects of a variety of different researching and
'hunting' and locating and excavating techniques, depending
on ever-present time and terrain constraints and other inherent
challenges and obstacles associated with this type of salvage
work.One of our main focuses is to locate dwellings from
the mid 19th century which were built without the luxury
of modern plumbing and therefore most likely have a subterranean
privy vault somewhere on the original property.
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These
vaults (loosely referred to as "wells" here in New York
City), which are generally constructed of fieldstone, schist,
brownstone or red brick, sometimes contain shards of pottery,
glass, and other objects which were thrown into the opening
in the ground under the privy while they were active as
everyday household latrines. De facto trash holes for discarding
broken tableware items or rancid foodstuffs from the kitchen
or soiled rags, an abundance of clam and oyster shells,
food bones and small animal carcasses, etc. and also a seemingly
endless assortment of common and essentially valueless old
bottles. These things obviously no longer served any useful
purpose to the occupants of the house and therefore were
deemed junk and thrown away.
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Most
of the trash holes we locate are slated for demolition
to one extent or another and those that aren't have nearly
always been "disturbed" already. Commonly this took place
right around the time the home received indoor or modern
plumbing of one kind or another. The emptying and refilling
process, which is referred to as 'privy dipping' oftentimes
went straight to the bottom of the vault with no mercy.
Furthermore, while emptying and then refilling the hole
with fresh material, such as coal-ash from a nearby factory
or other business or just plain dirt, etc. this technique
had a nasty tendency of damaging, destroying or removing
the intact bottles and other sought after containers along
with the entire contents of the privy chambers (the wells)
we explore.
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In
addition to the privy-vaults, i.e., privy-chambers, wells,
pits or just plain privies (essentially all the exact same
thing in practice though each varying considerably in width,
depth, volume, contents and location and so on) we also
dig out cisterns, bottle dumps and landfills whenever they
can be pinpointed and are available to us. These can occasionally
contain rarer or scarcer bottles depending on the particular
dump or landfill site being pursued but all too often are
generally from a time that did not have many hand or mold
blown bottles around anymore to throw away (1915-1925 or
even later). Additionally, most of the more obvious and
presumably better dumps containing 1850s-1880s period bottles
were dug through and exhausted by the enthusiastic pioneers
of this hobby or destroyed and/or made inaccessible during
the last several decades by development work, etc.
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Bottle
digging and hunting as we know it can be traced to the late
1960s or thereabouts. Privy digging commencing around the
same time. By the 1970s and 80s avid digging and collecting
clubs were everywhere. As a result not much that's truly remarkable
is usually found within those particular tailings and for
the most part unspoiled or worthwhile sites are no longer
easy to find. However, from two decades of experience and
literally hundreds of digs along the way, we humbly admit
that there's always plenty of exceptions to that general rule
just waiting to be uncovered when the time is ripe and the
spade hits just right. Ironically, it can be construction,
demolition and excavation projects which occasionally reveal
good dumps, landfills and even privies containing antique
bottles to the knowledgeable, diligent or just plain fortunate
seeker today. |
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The
stories, photos and bottles on this site, are meant
to convey in part some of the more gratifying results
of a timeless theme 'the pursuit of discovery.' This
taking place in the context of a rather inglorious,
often totally misunderstood and arguably monetarily
thankless activity but one which we are nonetheless
committed to.
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Highway construction site off Park Row where
an 18th century privy was discovered. Located near the entrance
to the Brooklyn Bridge it is arguably one of the more historic
areas in New York City. Starting in the mid 19th century
it was one of the most densely populated places on earth.
The dates of the latest items in the privy were circa 1830s.
Presumably whatever stood here was most likely gone before
the area became swollen with multitudes arriving daily from
across the pond. Something which was well underway by the
end of the 1840s, continuing for many decades thereafter. |
This
section of Park Row (a street which ran through the infamous
Five Points at one time) was partially layed over an 18th
century woodlined privy. It was characteristically sparse
regarding bottles. Hidden snugly therein for ages were only
a handful of vials or small bottles from the mid-late 1700s
to about 1810, an 1820s black glass quart, 1 plain gallon
size crock, 2 light green ointment pots, 1 chocolate glazed
ointment pot and not much else that was intact. Noteworthy
as well were several burlap sacks worth of tantalizing early
shards and the neck-less remains of an embossed, dark olive-green,
rectangular medicine (?) bottle displaying Hendries
London on one panel. The 6'x6'x4' privy chamber
was literally jam packed with tableware shards, broken or
damaged food and beverage containers, etc.
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Items
from the rivers edge at low tide,
London. Many basically spanning the
entire 18th & 19th centuries
and in
some cases even earlier.
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Artifact
hunting on the Thames during a 2 week
excursion by bus, boat, foot, car & train throughout
England, Scotland & Ireland, 2006.
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Assisting
outside the 7' x 16' foot privy hole during
Winter in downtown Manhattan, frigid with
20 below zero wind-chill.
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Tim
emerging from an 1850s privy in Brooklyn, 1997. *The outdoor
flush toilet in
use here between 1880-1920s,
which emptied into the sewer line in the street, was built
directly over this old privy.
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A
rare eye-popping cache containing nearly a full dozen
intact clay beers from roughly 1875. These were almost
missed due to the fact that they were lying at the
bottom of the privy, outside the wall.
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Exploring
in a bottle dump in the Andes in Colombia,
2004.
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Sight
searching (see figure back left) in Northern
France 2003. Discoveries dated from
approximately 1590s-1750s.
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Reconstructions
from four privies on contiguous sites in Greenwich Village,
New York City, excavated in 1998.
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Cobalt
medicine bottle from one of the most recent privy digs in
Harlem. A string of pits which produced more than 150 intact
bottles from varying periods.
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Working
against the clock in Harlem at the very top of a privy,
2007, as large scale excavation equipment inches ever closer
to this site.
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A moment of repose lying inside a New York City privy, downtown,
with the first soda of the dig. What was to be an 8 foot
wide 14 foot deep hole (aka The Gape-Mouth) containing 100
bottles from the 1840s
to just after the Civil War.
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False
teeth, a thimble, a dolls arm, several shell buttons, a
flow blue shard and an assortment of medicinal vials which
eventually numbered over 40,
from a woodlined privy outside of New York City.
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This
Brooklyn privy was finally located, with the assistance
of a sledgehammer, after a grueling search of the concrete
covered backyard.
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Reconstructions
from four privies on contiguous sites in Greenwich Village,
New York City, excavated in 1998.
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A
plethora of sodas & beers from a single privy in Manhattan,
2007.
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At
the beginning of one of several privy
digs conducted on an early 19th century
property which was leveled soon after.
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These
are what was left from the original privy of a house built
in 1816. As stated earlier most privies we dig have already
been disturbed long before we get there (dipped). Of the
many bottles, cups, crocks, jugs, plates, pipes, etc.
implied from this assortment
of shards, nothing more remains. Moreover, like so many
others, this entire site was bulldozed right
after this photo was taken in 2002.
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Valerie,
on loan from MSDW, exploring in an 1850s brick-lined Brooklyn
privy, 1998.
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Directly
from a New York City privy a hard to come
by oval ten pin embossed with an "F", circa 1850,
being held by it's discoverer on the roof of her
Manhattan residence, 2000.
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New
York Public Library Map Room, 2002. Researching the history
of property lines and original building details pertaining
to ongoing demolition projects around New York City.
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Surrendering
to the unrelenting 100 degree New York City Heat Wave
of 2007, deep within a fairly large privy vault, measuring
a total of 7 feet across at its widest point.
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Central
Mexico, 2000. Ruins in a reservoir where
we researched.
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Filling in an 1850s & 60s period privy vault which
was
uncharacteristically located in the middle of
a driveway on Staten Island, near what was
generally referred to as Factory Lake, during
the 19th century, 2002.
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Encountering
dozens of intact bottles while digging in one small portion
of a monster hole, Manhattan, 2006.
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Vigorously
tearing through remarkably solidified topsoil (concretion)
and debris in what was a parking lot for
many decades, as a definitive privy outline swiftly
makes itself known. |
Cache of bottles in situ, circa 1865-75, Manhattan. *Including
an amber example of Hyatt's Life Balsam N-Y Double Strength,
back center, 2004.
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From
a New York City privy dig, 1999.
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Laser
lights from Ground Zero commemorating the WTC.
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