The Refuse Pits
A total of six refuse pits were excavated, five of them entirely or partially sealed beneath the foundations of the kitchen. All five consequently predated that structure, though Pit B (see fig. 5) was probably 20 years earlier than the others. Pits C-F, on the other hand, were probably all dug within a short time of each other. They were approximately the same size and depth and were situated within a few inches of one another, although none overlapped its neighbor. It may be deduced, therefore, that the pits were dug in such close succession that the outlines of the preceding pits were still visible to the digger. It is possible that they may have been privy pits. Concrete evidence indicating the close relationships between these pits was provided by fragments of the same Colono-Indian bowl found in both Pit D and Pit E.
PIT A
This deposit (T.N. 31) was located farthest from the buildings, being situated, as previously noted, about 125 feet southeast of the residence on the south slope of the neck. As elsewhere on the site, the topsoil over the pit had been removed, leaving only the lower portions of the dirty yellow clay deposit intact. This pit measured 8 ft. by 5 ft. and extended to a depth of only 1 ft. 2 in. into the surrounding natural yellow clay. A tree stump obscured a small part of this oval pit, but it is believed that its presence prevented few, if any, artifacts from avoiding recovery. The finds comprised two or three sherds of coarse pottery of no identifiable form, part of the base of an English delftware mug ornamented with sponged manganese, one clay pipe of about 1700, and fragments of at least 18 wine bottles of the period about 1690-1710. One of these fragments bore an "F I" seal from the same matrix as another found in Pit B.
The location of Pit A so far from the house and in a totally different area from the only other pit of the same date (Pit B) suggests that there was little consistency in the deposition of trash in the early years of the century. It is possible that the pits were created when tree stumps were removed and were filled with trash no matter where they happened to be. The fact that modern tree roots invariably sought the richer soil of the pits' contents makes it quite probable that there are numerous other pits on the site that are still hidden beneath standing trees or cut stumps.
Dating: There is little doubt that Pit A was filled during the first decade of the 18th century.
PIT B
This pit (T.N. 30) was approximately circular, with a diameter of 9 ft. 4 in. and a maximum depth of 2 ft. 8 in. It was covered by part of the kitchen's north wall and by the whole of the east side of the kitchen chimney. It was apparent that the builders knew that the pit was there, for a considerable number of brickbats were laid under the foundation of the chimney's northeast corner in an entirely abortive attempt to prevent it from settling. It is probable that the pit was initially a stump hole, there being a large quantity of dirty, greenish-gray clay at the bottom from which no artifacts were recovered (see fig. 8.) It is probable that this clay was redeposited when the stump and attached roots were dug out. Subsequently, the remaining concavity served as a rubbish pit into which more than 120 broken wine bottles were thrown. All these bottles belonged to the same period (1690-1710) as those in Pit A, and among them were five seals marked "F I" and one seal bearing the legend "Richard Burbydge 1701."[112]
Figure 8.—Section through the filling of Pit B.
Other finds included fragments of English delftware, among them a very large polychrome charger that had been intended as a wall or dresser ornament, and a most unusual saucer-shaped vessel, ornamented with splashes of blue, that resembles a reversed form of the London copies of Nevers faïence.[113] Additional finds included North Devon[114] and other coarse earthenwares, a millefiori bead, and an English wineglass in the Hawley Bishop style dating about 1690.
Dating: The evidence of the bottles indicates a filling date in the first decade of the 18th century.
PIT C
Covering the top of this pit was a layer of reddish clay, the same type of clay that was used in the backfilling of the builders' trench around the kitchen foundations. The clay was directly covered by brick rubble from the building's destruction stratum. From between the clay and rubble (T.N. 15) came fragments of an iron saw some 17 in. long and a brass harness fitting of unusual form. Set into the clay level was the base of a brick pier made from brickbats and intended to provide added support over the soft filling of a pit measuring approximately 6 ft. by 4 ft. 3 in. and having a total depth of 2 ft. 6 in. The walls were carefully trimmed and the bottom was flat, leaving no doubt that this cavity was dug as a refuse pit and was not a converted stump hole.
The red clay described above gave way to a yellow clay beneath the brick pier from which level (T.N. 16) came a few unimportant pottery fragments, a shoulder fragment from a wide-mouthed jar, and an iron harness buckle. Beneath this stratum was encountered the main pit filling, comprising a thick stratum of wood ash (T.N. 17) which blended towards the corners of the pit into pale clay (T.N. 18) that has probably silted in from the sides. From the ash deposit came part of a sickle, the bowl of a much-decayed pewter spoon, objects of turned bone, tobacco pipes, and a silvered-brass harness ornament. Somewhat surprisingly, the stratum also contained part of a plate comparable to the delftware charger from Pit B, though the date of the deposit was probably 20 or more years later.
The silted clay at the bottom of the pit included numerous clay-pipe fragments whose stem holes, following the Harrington theory, pointed to a date in the period about 1735-1750. Other finds included coarse earthenwares from Yorktown, delftware, and part of a pewter spoon handle.
Dating: About 1740.
PIT D
This was a rectangular rubbish pit measuring approximately 5 ft. 10 in. by 4 ft. and having a maximum depth of 2 ft. 8 in.—measurements closely resembling those of Pit C, which was situated only one foot to the east. Stratigraphy also followed much the same sequence: Four inches of brick rubble on the top (T.N. 26), then 6 inches of red clay (T.N. 22) overlying the main fill of wood ash and becoming mixed with silted clay at the bottom (T.N. 23). The red clay had mixed with the top of the pit fill and a number of artifacts spanned the division of the strata, among them a rim sherd from a polychrome delftware charger (about 1670-1690) and part of an inverted baluster wineglass stem of the beginning of the 18th century.
Figure 9.—Bowl of buff-colored earthenware with a brown lead glaze and with "ELIZABETH GOODALL 1721" inscribed in slip. Probably Staffordshire. Height, 7½ in. This bowl parallels one of similar ware found at Tutter's Neck (fig. 19, no. 9). Colonial Williamsburg, Department of Collections, no. 1960-430.
The primary ash deposit, which proved to be the richest on the site, included delft drug-jar fragments, porringers and bowls, Westerwald tankard sherds, brown stoneware, Yorktown coarse wares, and much Colono-Indian pottery. Small finds included pewter spoons, scissors, part of a sword guard, iron dividers, and a sickle and table knives of late 17th-century character. Tobacco-pipe fragments pointed to a dating in the third decade of the 18th century, as also did a single wine bottle found at the bottom of the pit.
Dating: About 1730-1740, on the above evidence.
PIT E
This deposit lay some 3 feet to the west of Pit D, and it was found on the last day of excavation. Consequently time only permitted a test hole (measuring 1 ft. 9 in. by 1 ft. 9 in.) to be made into the pit at its northwest corner, from which point horizontal probing indicated that the pit measured 4 ft. by 2 ft. 8 in. and was shown by the test cut to be 2 ft. 9 in. deep. Unlike the other pits in this series, the contents consisted of a single brown-soil deposit (T.N. 24) containing brickbats, oystershells, and a small quantity of ceramics, notably the base of an ornamental delftware cup and a large part of a Yorktown earthenware bowl. Of significance was a fragment of Colono-Indian pottery that joined onto a bowl found in Pit D, indicating that both deposits were of the same date. Additional finds included pipe fragments and an iron horseshoe.
Dating: About 1730-1740, principally on evidence of matching sherds of Indian pottery.
PIT F
This was an oval pit situated 2 feet north of Pit C. Being only partially within the area of excavation and owing to its close proximity to the poorly preserved north foundation of the kitchen, this deposit was only partially excavated, i.e., an area 4 ft. 2 in. by 3 ft. 9 in. The pit had a depth of 1 ft. 10 in. and contained a deposit of ash mixed with dirty clay (T.N. 19). From this filling came several pieces of Colono-Indian pottery, polychrome delftware, Yorktown earthenwares, Chinese porcelain, part of a heavy wineglass knop, and one minute sherd of white salt glaze on which the pit's terminal dating is based.
Dating: About 1730-1740.
OTHER DEPOSITS YIELDING ARTIFACTS
ILLUSTRATED
Deposits T.N. 1, T.N. 2.—Deposit T.N. 1 was in a 6-inch stratum of rich black soil outside the northwest corner of the kitchen and partially covered by a large tree stump. While some of the black dirt overlay the corner foundation, its looseness suggests that it was pushed there during the bulldozing. No traces of the stratum extended inside the kitchen, and the artifacts were consistently of dates prior to the construction of the building. Finds included a pewter spoon handle, brown stoneware with a rare white interior, a tobacco-pipe bowl with maker's initials "H S," a wineglass stem comparable to that from pit B, and panes of window glass measuring 2-1/8 in. by 1-7/8 in. and 1-5/8 in. by 2-7/16 in.
Deposit T.N. 2 was a 2-inch layer of burnt clay flecked with wood ash. It lay beneath the black soil level and probably was deposited when the kitchen was built. Consequently, the upper level can only have been laid down after that time. Finds included one sherd of Spanish majolica and a fragment of a tobacco-pipe bowl bearing the name of Tippet, a family of Bristol pipemakers in the late 17th and early 18th centuries.[115]
Dating: It is assumed that the clay (T.N. 2) was contemporary with the construction date of the kitchen (about 1730-1740) and that the black fill (T.N. 1) was deposited soon afterward.
Deposit T.N. 3.—A continuation of the red clay inside the kitchen chimney. Finds include one Rhenish "Bellarmine"[116] sherd and a pewter spoon handle.
Figure 10.—Fragments of similarly ornamented 17th-century delftware from Tutter's Neck, London, and Holland: 1, with blue and orange decoration, from Tutter's Neck, Pit B; 2, with blue decoration, from Tutter's Neck, Pit D; 3, bowl waster with blue, orange, and green decoration, from Toolley Street kiln site, London; 4, plate with blue decoration from Toolley Street site; 5, plate decorated in blue, orange, and green, from Dutch Limburg. The Netherlands dish, earlier than the English examples, clearly indicates the source of the border design.
Figure 11.—Interior bases of delftware salts with identical Carolian profiles. Left, from Tutter's Neck, Pit D; right, from the Thames at London. Diameter of each base is 1¾ in.
Dating: Same as T.N. 2, about 1730-1740.
Deposit T.N. 4.—A stratum of black soil overlying the red clay outside the southwest corner of the kitchen foundation. Finds include wine-bottle fragments dating about 1690-1710, brown stoneware, Yorktown coarse earthenware, and English delftware sherds.
Dating: After kitchen construction, probably in the same decade, about 1730-1740.
Deposit T.N. 10.—Black humus mixed with plaster and brickbats outside the west wall of the residence's north chimney. The only find of importance is a well-preserved, two-tined, iron table fork.
Dating: The stratum represents the destruction level of the residence, and the scant dating evidence recovered from T.N. 18, etc., suggests that the building had ceased to exist by 1750, or possibly a few years earlier.
Deposit T.N. 27.—The field number covers two deposits that blended together in their upper levels. They comprise the back filling of the builder's trench against the residence's west foundation (see p. [44])—from which came a single delftware charger sherd of about 1680-1700—and a stratum of black humus mixed with mortar and plaster representing the destruction layer of the house. The bulldozing had caused considerable disturbance to both layers, but it can be safely accepted that the delft sherd belonged to the construction date of the residence and that a lead-glass tumbler base and an iron-padlock fragment came from the destruction stratum.
Dating: The construction date for the house relies on the insufficient evidence of the single delftware sherd mentioned above, i.e., after about 1680. The destruction dating comes not from the items noted here but from the bottle neck discussed under T.N. 28, after about 1740.
Deposit T.N. 28.—A test cutting inside the residence on the line of the supposed central hallway that revealed 9 inches of humus mixed with mortar and plaster resting on natural clay. From the above level came one bottle neck of about 1740. On this evidence and on the evidence of unstratified sherds found in the occupation area, it is assumed that the complex had been abandoned by the middle of the 18th century.
Dating: After about 1740.