Looking at the photos, it seemed to me that the brick dome sat on top of the
cobble underlayment, rather than on the laid-up walls of a cistern. I
thought I saw a leveling course of brick and mortar between the bricks and
the rubble/cobbles. I also see no evidence of parging. I would not discount
a drywell at all, as the structure does not appear to be designed to hold
water. I have excavated a drywell from the late 19th-c. in Mt. Vernon, OH.
It had a brick collar, not a dome, that stood on similar cobble walls with
no parging or mortar. At about 2 m the open well shaft terminated in a
natural lens of well-sorted cobbles that would have provided excellent
drainage.
David F. Klinge, M.A.
Principal Investigator
ASC Group, Inc.
7123 Pearl Road, Suite 107
Middleburg Heights, OH 44130
phone (440) 845-7590
fax (440) 845-7598
-----Original Message-----
From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Melissa
Diamanti
Sent: Wednesday, November 17, 2010 6:13 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Help identifying a 19th C. subsurface feature, a dry well?
I agree with Bob that the most likely identification is a cistern, for water
storage, rather than a privy. The circular top hole and possible association
with piping are indicative.
One thing to look for is whether there is any evidence of mortar or
plastering on the inside brick face (not roof but sides) to help seal the
walls to retain water?
The puzzling part is that you said it was at the back of the property. They
are usually near a corner of the house, so that rainwater from the roof
channels in to fill the cistern.
Meli Diamanti
--- On Tue, 11/16/10, Alexander Keim <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
From: Alexander Keim <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Help identifying a 19th C. subsurface feature, a dry well?
To: [log in to unmask]
Date: Tuesday, November 16, 2010, 11:26 PM
Hello! My name is Alex Keim, a PhD candidate in Historical Archaeology at
Boston University, and I am hoping someone can help me identify a
architectural feature I encountered while doing a on-site consultation in
Lynn, MA. A link to photos is at the bottom of this message. The feature is
located in the rear lot of a townhouse constructed in 1871. The feature in
question is the remainder of a previously partially demolished brick dome or
vault, about 1 meter below current surface level. Based on photographs (see
link) of a very similar feature uncovered by construction crews about 30
meters away (but reburied before I could see it firsthand) I believe the
feature was originally a dome with a circular opening at the top. This
intact feature also had metal piping entering the dome near the base, but
the partial feature I encountered had no surviving piping. The dome is
roughly a meter from top to base, and the intact portion I saw was about 2
meters in
diameter. The feature is
constructed of bricks and mortar. It is set on a large circular pit, full of
cobble sized rubble and rip-rap. I partially excavated the soil fill above
the rubble and determined that it dates to after the feature's demolition,
and I removed a portion of the rubble fill to try to determine the depth of
the hole, but I encountered no sign of a bottom after 70 cm.
I am thinking that this is some kind of dry well, or possibly a cesspool
(but there were no cessy conditions or residue on the interior), but I have
never dug something like this before and would welcome confirmation or other
interpretations. If anyone has encountered a similar feature I would greatly
appreciate some feedback. Following is a link to a webpage that should give
you access to some photographs of the intact feature I did not see
firsthand, and the partial feature I worked on. Thanks for your time!
Sincerely,
Alex
http://img72.imageshack.us/i/intactbrickvaultfeature.jpg/
http://img512.imageshack.us/i/afterpartialremovalofru.jpg/
http://img204.imageshack.us/i/detailoffillremoval.jpg/
http://img217.imageshack.us/i/featureafterexcavationb.jpg/
http://img594.imageshack.us/i/featureafterexcavationb.jpg/
http://img143.imageshack.us/i/featureafterexcavationb.jpg/
http://img138.imageshack.us/i/intactbrickvaultfeature.jpg/
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