Scott,
I think Bill certainly points-out an excellent possibility to explain
the presence of the mattress ... disposition of everything that had come
in contact with someone who had died by a contagious disease I would
think should be an avenue for further archival/historical research.
Bob Skiles
On 4/7/2015 12:31 PM, Bill Liebeknecht wrote:
> Scott,
>
> In 1999 Hunter Research, Inc. excavated a couple of late 19th century
> privies in Newark, New Jersey. In one example there were many complete
> items (such as bottles, drinking vessels and ceramics) including some
> catholic religious items such as rosary beads, a complete glass cruet and a
> glass crucifix candle holder (in an Irish neighborhood) suggesting someone
> had died and in order to prevent the spread of a contagious disease, the
> contents of the room, where the person passed away were disposed of in the
> privy. The privy was no longer needed as city water and sewer had recently
> been connected.
>
> Bill Liebeknecht, M.A., RPA
> Principal Investigator
> Hunter Research, Inc.
> Trenton, New Jersey
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
> Williams, Scott
> Sent: Tuesday, April 07, 2015 12:37 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Privies and house abandonment/cleanout
>
> We recently excavated a late 19th century privy that was
> packed-literally-with artifacts. What is curious to me is the range of the
> artifact types: besides the usual medicine bottles and broken bits of
> pottery were whole liquor bottles (some half full), twelve shoes of
> different sizes, at least one book, a metal pan, lots of metal cans, other
> household goods such as condiment and perfume containers, and mattress
> springs. We're thinking the privy was filled after the house was vacated,
> either due to the death of the resident or their eviction. The material
> doesn't look like it was deposited in the privy over a long period, as if
> the privy was abandoned and then the hole was used for trash disposal over
> time.
>
> The privy is located in an area of packed glacial till, meaning that
> excavating the privy shaft would have taken some effort and filling it with
> trash while it was still in use seems counterintuitive (and assuming no one
> stuffs a mattress into a privy they are still using). A nearby privy of the
> same age was more "typical", in that it was not packed full of artifacts and
> had a much more limited range of materials in it.
>
> Has anyone seen examples of privies that appear to have been purposefully
> used for one large disposal event, such as clearing out a house that became
> suddenly vacant? My experience excavating privies is limited.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Scott S. Williams
> Cultural Resources Program Manager, WSDOT
> Ph: 360.570.6651
> [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
> WSDOT Cultural Resources
> Program<http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Environment/CulRes/default.htm> on the Web
>
> "Development is not stifled by history, but enriched by it."
>
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