Colonial Remnants From Lower Manhattan
by DS McGee
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For
centuries New York's everyday garbage was liberally deposited
into coastal marshes, rivers, streams, ponds, and other places,
and left to decompose. From early on this helped curtail some
of the problems associated with scattered refuse rotting at
curbside. At the behest of large scale operators connected
to industry and commerce, dumping projects were implemented
around the city which created acres of viable real estate
and helped generate vast wealth for those in charge of the
city's burgeoning waste removal and street sweeping empire.
The items above are representative of what has been discovered
in early downtown dumping spots.
The shells at the edge of the photo were part of a thriving
oyster trade which began in the 1600s. A constant reminder
of how plentiful and readily available that particular bivalve
was around old New York and neighboring communities. Once
as inexpensive and accessible as chips and pretzels are today,
people at all levels of society consumed them in great quantities
annually. Harvested oyster shells are routinely found on historical
digs as late as 1900, a time when extensive ongoing pollution
and the mass consumption of the briny delights took its toll.
Additionally, a wide range of pre-European shell middens attest
to the fact that many local native groups also had a hearty
appetite for oysters, although seemingly little use for the
friable packaging.
On rare occasions among the newly excavated black muck, an
historical digger might encounter an array of objects such
as cannon balls, musket balls, bar shot, commemorative uniform
buttons, bayonets, a tricorn hat, coins, badges, keys, shoes,
an assortment of bottles, crockery, the remains of wooden
boats and more. However, no matter how potentially productive
these occasional piles around New York and New Jersey can
be, they generally recede into obscurity as quickly as they
surface. Complex processing and recycling, along with trucking
the material to a new location and reusing it as modern-day
landfill, accounts for at least some of the mystery surrounding
the swift disappearance of the coveted "black dirt".
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Leather
shoe bottoms collected from 18th century landfill mud in New
York City. Pointed toe shoes and slippers became popular by
the 1720s and some versions were still being worn during the
1790s. The longest example is 10 1/2 inches, the shortest
is 9 inches.
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Blue
and white factory grade slipware fragment.
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Blue
and white factory slipware fragment from an 8 inch plate.
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Yellow
ware plate or platter shards. These often surface with material
from earlier, deeper sites.
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Pottery
shard with floral incision and cobalt design. The complete
item was probably a small jug of some kind. One presumably
in use during the late 1700s.
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Inkwell
fragment from Tribeca. The original piece would have
had additional quill holes and a central opening for
dipping the pen.
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Bottle
necks, consistent with dated examples, ranging from about
1760 to 1810. Cylindrical form pints and quarts ("Ps
& Qs") of this particular type were designed primarily
for holding beer and wine. To a much lesser degree they were
also used to serve, store and ship cider, medicinal waters,
oils, and other products.
During the early 1600s English bottle-glass factories in particular
began switching from wood- to coal-fired furnaces. The new
fuel was connected to the development of a darker, less expensive
and more durable glass known as "black glass"; actually
a dark green or olive colored glass when held to the light.
As a result of its good reputation, in a relatively short
amount of time, black glass containers of many different sizes
were being produced in enormous quantities and making their
way to ports around the colonial world. By 1700 written accounts
illustrate that in England alone approximately 3,000,000 black
glass bottles were being produced annually at about 42 different
glasshouses.
At the onset the English "wine" or "ale"
bottle was distinct from others being produced in Europe (e.g.,
Belgium, France and Holland), but over time glasshouses in
several countries began making them as well. By the early
1800s some glassmakers in the United States began successfully
imitating them too. Hence, telling the 'imitators' from their
predecessors when they are encountered on excavations or elsewhere,
can be difficult.
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Logistical assistance provided by Dave Sludge and Mya Whitney.
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References:
Chaplan, M. (2005). The Urban Treasure Hunter: A Practical
Handbook For Beginners. New York: Square One Publishers.
Jones, O. (1986). Cylindrical English Wine &
Beer Bottles, 1735-1850: Studies in Archaeology Architecture
and History. Ottawa, Ontario: Research Publications, Environment
Canada.
Kurlansky, M. (2006). The Big Oyster: History on the Half
Shell. New York: Ballantine Books.
Lewis, T. (2005). The Hudson: a history. New Haven
& London: Yale University Press.
Miller, B. (2000). Fat of the Land: Garbage in New York:
The Last Two Hundred Years. New York: Four Walls Eight
Windows.
Sussman, L. (1997). Mocha, Banded, Cat's Eye, and Other
Factory Slipware. Boston: Council for Northeast Historical
Archaeology.
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