Small Finds, Big Stories: Pickers’ Check
A pickers’ check found at the Caulkers’ Houses in Baltimore tells us a lot about the lives of immigrant farm workers in the early 20th century.
Category: Small Finds, Big Stories
Small Finds, Big Stories: Two Marbles from the Caulkers’ Houses
Children’s toys are delightful to find, since they are instantly recognizable and retain much of their charm, even after spending hundreds of years in the dirt. These two marbles, both recovered from the Caulkers’ Houses, are no exception! But what do they actually tell us about the past? To find out, we’ll take a deep… Continue reading Small Finds, Big Stories: Two Marbles from the Caulkers’ Houses
Small Finds, Big Stories: Westerwald Jug
We had a cool find at the Eutaw site while doing some drone photography today (more on that later)! While walking the ca. 1760 mill tailrace, Jason came across this interesting ceramic, brought to the surface by tree roots and rain. It’s a tiny piece of a medallion from a Westerwald jug! Terminology clarification: I’m… Continue reading Small Finds, Big Stories: Westerwald Jug
Small Finds, Big Stories: The Last Day Curse
We just wrapped up another season of fieldwork at the Eutaw Manor House, and as usual, we were struck by the Last Day Curse: the uncanny phenomenon that causes us to find the most puzzling and intriguing things at the absolute last possible minute of a dig. Earlier this week, as we were digging in… Continue reading Small Finds, Big Stories: The Last Day Curse
Small Finds, Big Stories: House Bell
Most artifacts recovered from a site are easy to identify. Broken ceramics that were once part of a serving dish or tea cup, shards of olive-colored glass that were parts of a wine bottle, nails that held down the floorboards of a house that has vanished from the landscape. These artifacts are ubiquitous on historical… Continue reading Small Finds, Big Stories: House Bell
Small Finds, Big Stories: Wine Bottle Seal
Sometimes it’s amazing what you can learn from a single artifact. This wine bottle seal, the only one we’ve recovered so far from the Eutaw Manor House, is an outstanding example of just how much everyday items can reveal about the people who owned them. But first, what even IS a wine bottle seal? The… Continue reading Small Finds, Big Stories: Wine Bottle Seal
Artifacts of the Day: Nails!
Nails are among the most commonly occurring artifacts found on nineteenth and twentieth century archaeological sites, yet their importance is often overlooked. Unlike ceramics and glass, nails left in the ground for a prolonged period of time become heavily corroded and malformed, and are just not that pleasurable to study or easy to identify. But… Continue reading Artifacts of the Day: Nails!
Artifact of the Day: Pipes!
Today’s artifacts of the day are a handful of clay tobacco pipe fragments recovered from Eutaw Manor. Clay pipes were first developed in the early 17th century and were in use into the late 19th century. Tobacco pipe fragments are one of the more common artifacts found on archaeological sites in America. The bowls were… Continue reading Artifact of the Day: Pipes!
Artifacts of the Day: Window Lead and Sash Weight
Today’s selection of artifacts of the day come from the Eutaw Manor excavation last spring. By the way, it’s only 49 days until we return to Eutaw Manor for the Spring 2016 Field Season. The first artifact (top) is a small piece of turned window lead, also known as lead-came. Such items would have been… Continue reading Artifacts of the Day: Window Lead and Sash Weight
Artifacts of the Day: North Devon and Red Border Ware
Today’s artifacts of the day come from the Eutaw Manor excavation from the Spring of 2015. While testing in the west yard of the 1762 manor house, volunteers recovered several pieces of ceramic that date to the earliest European occupation of the park. The two artifacts in the left of the picture are fragments from… Continue reading Artifacts of the Day: North Devon and Red Border Ware
The Herring Run Archaeology Project 