I had several features just like this in downtown Louisville, Kentucky.
They were cesspools/drainage wells that dated to the early twentieth
century. They peppered half of a city block (my project area) where
there had been dwellings and shops in the mid to late nineteenth
century, and once most of them were demolished and other commercial
establishments were built in the early twentieth century, these drainage
wells were excavated and constructed. According to several informants
that visited the project area, these early twentieth-century
cesspools/drainage wells are ubiquitous to that part of downtown
Louisville because there was such a need mitigate surface water drainage
problems. By the time we were there, some of them had been filled,
others still had large voids, and some were relatively empty (requiring
us, of course, to use extra caution when traversing the site).
Tanya
*Tanya A. Faberson, PhD, RPA No. 15693*
*Principal Investigator*
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Corporate Headquarters
151 Walton Avenue
Lexington, KY 40508
859.618.5084 office
859.254.3747 fax
859.221.3038 cell
http://www.crai-ky.com <http://www.crai-ky.com/>
*
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*
*
*
On 9/30/2020 11:23 AM, Andrew Sewell wrote:
> I excavated a very similar feature at the Harmony Brickworks site in Leetsdale, Pennsylvania, dating to ca. 1890. The project constraints did not allow us to get to the bottom, but from the internal profile of the fill and significant gaps in the brickwork, I interpreted it as a water disposal feature set into the corner of one of the wings of the main brickworks building.
>
> Andrew R. Sewell, RPA
> Senior Historian/Principal Investigator
> Lawhon & Associates, Inc.
> 1441 King Avenue, Columbus, Ohio 43202
> 614-481-8600 ext 174
>
> ########################################################
> Date: Tue, 29 Sep 2020 17:01:14 -0400
> From: "[log in to unmask]" <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Brick Feature
>
> Hello fellow historical archaeologists. I'm hoping one or more of you may have some ideas about what this recently exposed circular brick feature might be. It has not been excavated yet. We wanted to gather some ideas about what it might be before finalizing an excavation strategy. The interior diameter is approximately 3.5 feet. The bricks are dry-laid (no mortar) and manifest evidence of significant burning. The interior of the feature does not have the same gaps between bricks that you see on the exterior. The feature was uncovered near a historic church. Any ideas you have as to what it might be would be most appreciated. Thank you!
>
> You can see photos of the feature at this link:
>
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__photos.app.goo.gl_KdpXFwxnk1NNkz2CA&d=DwIFaQ&c=euGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM&r=JMqsfnrXuuAHVueegGYyvYbshh8SNlGUBYG0FdJERGc&m=Utacogep_6aSIIGzP3FjpEt8Zf85d4nenMjZ7WnzKOo&s=P4Zd0q6Tkc8DiaGCLWEhsqN-RPO40wrXEE8UyFfgaQc&e=
>
> Cell: 614-562-2616
>
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