Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Library Research Report Series - 1487
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Library
Williamsburg, Virginia
1990
Page | |
Table of illustrations | |
Preface | 1 |
Survey of archaeological artifacts recovered during the excavations of 1938 | 2 - 35 |
Introduction | 2 |
Part I | |
Area 21A1 | 3 - 4 |
Area 21A2 | 5 - 9 |
Area 21A3 | 10 - 17 |
Area 21-A4 | 18 - 20 |
Area 21A5 | 21 - 28 |
Area 21A6 | 29 |
Part II | |
Excavation of the South Well and Dairy foundation, May - June, 1958. Summary | 30 - 34 |
Survey of artifacts from the South Well | 35 - 56 |
Ceramics | 37 - 41 |
Glass | 41 - 50 |
Small Finds | 50 |
Stone | 54 |
Wood | 53, 55 - 56 |
Frontispiece - Wythe House South Well in course of excavation | |
Archaeological plan of site 21A | following p. 2 |
PLATE I Glass from vicinity of South Outbuilding | 3 |
II Small finds of brass and copper | 4 |
III Iron items from vicinity of North Kitchen | 7 |
IV Examples of Creamware, Chinese porcelain, saltglaze, Delft and slipwares | 11 |
V Objects of iron, copper, pewter and bone | 15 |
VI Lug-handled stone mortar | 16 |
VII Wig-curlers, marbles and counterfeit halfpenny of George III | 17 |
VIII Examples of polychrome and monochrome decorated Chinese porcelain | 18 |
IX Examples of coarse wares and brown stoneware | 20 |
X German stonewares and English Delft | 21 |
XI English saltglaze, scratch-blue and creamware | 23 |
XII Glass beverage bottles of the period c.1740-60 | 27 |
XIII Iron shears, pewter spoon and iron equestrian items | 28 |
XIV Diagrammatic section through South Well | 31 |
XV White earthenware chamber-pots | 37 |
XVI Chinese export, ironstone and other ceramics | 38 |
XVII Native, white earthenwares and American stonewares | 39 |
XVIII Coarse wares, Chinese Export and white earthenwares | 40 |
XIX Pharmaceutical glass | 41 |
XX Ceramic ointment pots and miscellaneous glass | 44 |
XXI Chemical and table glass | 45 |
XXII Snuff, blacking or pharmaceutical bottles | 47 |
PLATE XXIIIGlass beverage and storage bottles | following p. 48 |
XXIV Bottles various & glass and ceramic tablewares | 49 |
XXV Glass beverage and chemical bottles | |
XXVI Small finds of bone, pipe-clay, brass and iron | 51 |
XXVII Objects of iron from the well's lower levels | 52 |
XXVIII Base of wooden paint tub and inscribed wooden fragment | 53 |
XXIX Items of brick and worked stone | |
XXX Fragment of inscribed gravestone | 54 |
XXXI Shaped timbers, possibly from the well-head | 55 |
XXXII Measured drawings of well timbers | 56 |
The Wythe property was excavated in seven major subdivisions, namely areas, A-1, A-2, and "Central Area" which encompassed the two lots occupied during the Wythe ownership and areas A-3, A-4, A-5, and A-6, which are on the lot to the west of the two Wythe lots and became a part of the property after the Wythe ownership. (See the report by Mary Goodwin dated February 1958, THE GEORGE WYTHE HOUSE ITS FURNITURE AND FURNISHINGS for a full discussion of the property ownerships and occupancies.)
The artifacts recovered from the excavation of the South Well in 1958 are included in this report and are presented in the same detail as finds dating from earlier periods because it is important to identify material which post-dates as we" as that which pre-dates the period of restoration.
18th June. 1958
I. N. H.
These notes deal almost entirely with artifacts in the Laboratory collection and are intended to serve as a supplement to the archaeological report dated August 31, 1939. Details of the excavations relating only to structural features are covered in the earlier report and are here omitted unless they have some bearing on the artifacts. When making use of this survey it should be remembered that all the items are unstratified and consequently can neither date the structures with which they may be associated nor by virtue of their archaeological provenance provide dating for each other. Consequently the given dates are based, not on their archaeological context, but on parallels from elsewhere, dated collectors' items, or more frequently by unsupported opinions. Many items which are clearly of post 18th century date have been omitted as also have pieces too fragmentary to be safely identified or to be of significance to the curator and architects.
It will be noticed that the described pieces were recovered from areas now the garden and outbuilding sites and not from the Wythe House itself. Some of the "finds" appear to have been recovered from cellars or pits which may have been used as disposal areas for refuse. Such pits contain rubbish from various parts of the property and consequently the artifacts do not necessarily bear any relationship to each other beyond the fact that they were thrown into the same feature.
1st November. 1957
I. N. H.
This heading covers three features, an outbuilding tentatively described as an early kitchen and with less certainty an office, a dairy mentioned in an insurance plat of 1815, and a well which was excavated to a depth of 9 ft. in 1938 and yielded up nothing that was considered datable. This well was 4' in diameter, seemingly unlined and undated, but was used in evidence in the identification of the supposed kitchen and dairy.1
There is no differentiation between artifacts from any of these three features. It can, therefore only be said that the finds cover a period stretching from c.1730 to well into the 19th century.
Ceramics
Glass
It might be construed that the Delft and drinking glass (a) come from an earlier deposit than the rest of the material from this group. But there is no indication of any such division in the archaeological records of the area.
Small Finds
Hardware
This heading covers the area of the present kitchen, the chimney of which stood in a ruined state at the time of restoration. There is some evidence (see archaeological report dated 1939) suggesting that this kitchen dated prior to 1776.
Finds from this area range in date from c.1720 to the nineteenth century.
Ceramics
Glass
Small Finds
This heading embraces two separate features and is consequently misleading in that it cannot offer any association of date or purpose among the artifacts recovered.
The premier feature is described in the archaeological report as follows:
"A filled-in pit was dug out to a depth near 4 feet (sic). Its length (east to west) was about 12 feet, its width about 8. There were no evidences of paving or lining. Short sections of filled trenches at grade level to south and west may mark the location of foundation walls, or may indicate nothing more than old trenches of unknown purpose.
Brick steps were found leading into the pit from the northwest. This entrance way had been bricked across near the bottom by an 8-½" brick wall.
This pit may have been used as a storage cellar under an outhouse of unknown function. Brick: Size varies. Well brick in steps. Mortar: Shell."
The description of the secondary feature reads as follows:
"A fill in the same area was excavated to show a trench about 10 feet square on the outside, and nearly two feet wide and deep. Meat bones, glass brickbats, and mortar were taken out, but there was no continuous brickwork. It is possible that this trench contained a foundation which was later salvaged, or that it was dug for a building which was never erected."
The date range on the artifacts from the combined features may be set at c.1720 to late nineteenth century.
Ceramics:
Glass:
Small Finds:
Builders' Hardware
NOTE: The archaeological drawing of this area provides the following significant information:
"This excavation contained mostly old bricks., bats and shell shell mortar. Several coins dated 1773 and a number of small 18th century objects were found."The dated coins, If stratified, would have provided important dating evidence for the group. However, no reference to these coins occurs in the archaeological report and no coins from feature 2lA3 are included in the Wythe House collection.
This stage of the excavation may, perhaps, have cut through a reasonably tightly dated deposit, for there are fewer late intrusions than from any other area on the site. Furthermore, the archaeological record (1939) describes only one feature.
"A pit was opened up which was roughly similar in character and dimensions to that in Area A-3, except that there were no steps, nor any indication of foundations. The two pits are equidistant from the north property line, and separated from each other by about 35 feet."
Were it not for the presence of English white earthenware of the first quarter of the 19th century, the group of artifacts might have represented a valuable association.
Ceramics:
Small Finds:
This area includes but one unit and yielded a large number of artifacts, many of which must have been in use contemporaneously. The archaeological field report reads as follows:
"A pit 6 feet deep and roughly 4 x 13 feet in plan was dug out near the southwest corner of the property, about 20 feet from the church wall. There was no archaeological evidence as to the purpose of this pit, but its 18th century date was attested by the character of the fragments recovered (china, iron items, etc.)"
However, no mention is made of the base of a large ironstone china basin bearing the mark STONE CHINA H.BURGESS.BURSLEM, a firm which war, not established in Burslem until 1851 which is in the collection from this feature.
When evaluating the significance of deposit 21A5 notice should be taken of the large number of equestrian items found therein.
Ceramics:
Glass:
Small Finds:
Hardware:
The above area covers the north end of colonial lot #241 and embraces a fragmentary brick foundation thought in 1938 to be the stable building recorded on the insurance plat of 1815. The archaeological field report (1939) mentions the discovery of "several large brass harness buckles."
The archaeological notes in the report read as follows:
"The west wall is 30-40 feet from the present west property line (wall and line not parallel). The north wall is 4-½ feet from the north line. The foundation is 20 feet 5 inches wide. No trace of the east wall could be found, but the length of the extant north wall showed that the building was more than 27 feet long. There was no trace of floor or other paving. Bricks: 8-¾ x 4 x 2-¾, color: Reddish buff. Bond: English. Mortar: Shell."
Few artifacts recovered from 2lA6 but their relationship to the building is not known.
Small Finds:
Hardware:
As part of the research project to determine the original use of the Wythe House south outbuilding, it was suggested that the excavation of the associated well might reveal evidence of the building's purpose. The suggestion was approved and the excavation was carried out during the months of May and June, 1958.
The top of the well had previously been excavated during the full archaeological investigation of the site in 1938 and was reported on in the subsequent report (p. 8) as follows:
"A filled-in well 4 feet in diameter, between the South Outbuilding and the Dairy, was opened up to a depth of 9 feet. No evidences of a lining were discovered, nor any indication of the date of the well.* Its location offers some support to the assumption that the nearby remains may be those of a kitchen and a dairy."
The results of the 1958 excavations throw some new light on the foregoing statements. It is now considered unlikely that the well and the south outbuilding were in use contemporaneously, no evidence that the well was dug prior to c.1800. However, it is likely that the well and dairy were of the same date, i.e. c.1800-1815.
31.The salient factors supporting these premises are as follows:
At 13' below the present grade the top of the brick lining was encountered, the upper courses having been removed for re-use, probably during the decade 1860-70. A fill of mixed clay, dirt and trash extended from 8'6" 1 to 18' representing a deposit inserted after the upper well bricks had been robbed. The inclusion of two pieces of printers' type in this fill suggested that it had been brought from the site of the Printing Office (18H).
At 18' the sealing deposit gave way to an accumulation of refuse thrown into the well during the last days of its existence. This wet, organic stratum descended to a depth of 28' below modern grade and contained a large quantity of refuse deposited no earlier than 1853. The presence in the layer of medicine bottles, flasks and items of chemical glassware indicated that the artifacts came from the Wythe House during the occupancy of Professor John Millington who rented it in 1835, bought it in 1841 and sold it in 1866. It should be added that Millington was, for a time, Professor of Chemistry and Natural Sciences at the College of William and Mary and that in 1848 he had gone to the University of Mississippi in a similar capacity. Evidence of this move is indicated by the presence in the well of a small lead glazed pot of non-European manufacture, probably a souvenir brought back from the Professor's southern travels. It seems probable that the refuse may have been thrown into the well in 1866 when Millington sold the Wythe House.
At 28' four large timbers were found wedged in the shaft and it was these which had prevented the upper filling from sinking to the bottom. 32. When these timbers were removed the remainder of the filling which they supported sank into ten feet of water. It has been deduced that the timbers -possibly part of a simple well-head - collapsed into the well and floated on the surface of the water. Subsequently, Millington's trash was thrown down, some of it sinking past the timbers, but the majority piling up on them until a platform or false-bottom was established. Evidence of this is derived from the discovery of fragments of the same ceramic vessels, both above the platform and at the bottom of the well.
After a long delay caused by an inability to pump out the water, work was resumed and the remains of the collapsed upper layer was extracted. Beneath this, at approximately 38', was found a quantity of refuse which had fallen past the timbers when first thrown in. The finds included ox skulls, chemical glasswares and pieces of mid 19th century ceramics. A small number of coarse sherds, possibly dating from the 18th century, were also recovered, but as they overlay 19th century material they cannot be used in evidence.
The bottom of the brickwork was reached at 39'7", under which was found a well-preserved wooden form, 3" in thickness,1 resting on natural blue marl.
The absence of any primary deposit of 18th century artifacts at the bottom of the well could indicate firstly, that the well had remained completely clean until it was abandoned, secondly, that it had been totally cleaned out during the course of its life or thirdly, that the well was of 19th century date. The first theory may be dismissed as highly improbable, but the second demands careful consideration. However, the realization that the water still flows into the well too fast for it to be emptied without the 33. aid of mechanical pumps and that the shaft is too deep even for these to function properly, indicates that it would have been virtually impossible for 18th century well cleaners to have extracted anything but large items which would have been reached by a grapple. Small artifacts and the natural accumulation of organic silt could not have been extracted by this means. Providing that this "fact" can be accepted, there remains only the third explanation.1
The diameter of the well at the top surviving course was approximately 4' 7-½", but tapered to 3' 4" at the bottom. A number of well bricks were found in the fill above the timber platform, many of them with shell mortar attached. However, none of the bricks found in situ had been mortared, indicating that the upper courses only had been mortared and that in prying them loose, some had fallen into the well. One of the well bricks was retained and measures 8' x 4-3/8 x 3-¼" x 3", 37 of them making up the circumference of the well.
The re-excavation of the S.W. corner of this foundation revealed a single course, 1 brick in thickness, unmortared. It was found that a lone well brick had been incorporated in this foundation, the brick, measuring 8" x 4-7/16" - 3-¼" x 3". The similarity of measurement and texture between this brick and the specimen from the well could indicate that they came from the same source. Furthermore, the absence of mortar on the well brick could suggest that it was left over after the digging of the well and that it was thereupon incorporated into the foundation of the dairy. If this were so, then it would automatically follow that the well must have been completed prior to 1815 when the dairy first appeared on an insurance plat. The dairy's absence from the plats of 1801 and 1806 indicates (though does not 34. prove) that it was not in existence prior to 1806 and 1815.
The archaeological data recovered from the re-excavation of the dairy did not provide any conclusive dating, although some general pointers were provided.
The difficulties encountered during the excavation of the above well made it impossible to determine the exact position of each artifact. However, the fact that the contents of the shaft could be divided into three distinct strata, each of them a unit unto itself, made it necessary to record only that the finds came from layers I, II, or III. These divisions were as follows:
Artifacts recovered from the well were numbered by bags, each containing material recovered from a point lower than the last. It was found that the contents of each bag represented the finds from approximately 1' of fill. All artifacts from the well excavation bear the Excavation Register number 44. Material from the filling deposited after the well bricks had been robbed is labelled E.R.44A and E.R.44B (A = 8'6" -11"6" and B = 11'6" - 18'). Artifacts found below 18' are marked E.R. 44C1-14, the latter numbers indicating bag and level in progression down the shaft. Finds from the three strata of the well are accordingly identified as follows: 36.
Layer | Excavation Register Number |
---|---|
I | E.R. 44A and E.R. 44B |
II | E.R. 44C1 to E.R. 44C9 |
III | E.R. 44C10 to E.R. 44C14 |
All the principal items from the well are illustrated in the following plates and described below. However, there were also innumerable fragments of glass and pottery which did not merit photography; these have been retained but have been omitted from this report. Significant among the omissions were the skulls of two oxen, one calf and a horn from a second young ox, all of which were found at the bottom of the well (E.R.44C14). From E.R.44C8 came a fragment from the plastron of a turtle (possibly a snapper). A facial fragment of a human skull comprising maxilla, two molars and part of the nasal cavity, was recovered from E.R.44C1. Also of note were five semicircular coping bricks from E.R.44C2-5, only one of which was retained. This measures 11-3/8" x 5-½" x 3" and is pale orange in color.
37.Left. Small white "Staffordshire" chamber-pot with flat and everted rim, small, angular footring, the base raised within, the glaze slightly blue in the crevices, handle missing, but with thumbed pad surviving at its top junction with body. Height: 5-1/8 Diameter: 7-7/8". E.R.44C6-7. First half of 19th century.
Center. Large chamber-pot, details similar to the above, but with more shallow footring. Height: 5-¾", Diameter: 9-½". E.R.44C9. First half of 19th century.
Right. Large Ironstone chamber-pot with elaborately moulded body in the style of an acanthus leaf decorated capital. The handle follows in the same stylized foliate mod; the rim thick and slightly everted, the foot equally heavy and streading, the base slightly raised within the foot and bearing the mark "IRONSTONE" above "H & G late HARVEY," the complete legend capped by the English royal arms and supporters. This mark is an important piece of evidence in the dating of the well filling. The initials H & G stand for Holland & Green who took over the business of C & W Harvey of Longton in 1853. The new management specialized in the exporting of ironstone to North America until 1862 when they switched to South America. It may, therefore, be assumed that the chamber-pot dates between 1853 and 1862 with the bias towards the earlier date on the evidence of the reference to "late HARVEY"; it being reasonable to suppose that the new management would trade on the good name of the old firm only during the first years of its operation. Height: 5-7/8", Diameter: 9-1/8", E.R.44C5-7. c.1853-62.
PLATE XXI
Left. Square bodied bottle,. the corners flattened., diminutive everted rim, the latter springing from a curving shoulder, the base flat and pitted with the marks of a clay (?) mould and with pontil-mark, the metal amber-green and much bubbled, American made. Height: 4-3/16", width at base: 2-3/8" E.R.44C8. First decades of 19th century.
Center. Octagonal moulded bottle, broad faces at back and front, three smaller at either end, curving shoulder tapering upwards to a slightly everted mouth, the base gently rising and with a tubular pontil-mark. The metal amber and much bubbled, American made; probably for snuff or blacking. Height: 6-¼", greatest width: 2-¾". E.R.44C1. First decades of the 19th century.
Right. Wide mouthed bottle, free-blown, cylindrical body incurving at the base, the latter gently domed and with an oval tubular pontil-mark, the shoulder angular and the neck tubular everted and down-tooled at the top to provide the rim. The metal deep green and bubbled. Probably of American manufacture. Height: 4-¾". Diameter: 2". E.R.44C9. First decades of the 19th century.
Left. Beverage bottle, moulded, the neck slightly constricted at junction with the shoulder, the string-rim an angular collar below a thickened lip. The base conical. The metal amber-green with some bubbles. Height: 8-½", base diameter: 2-5/6". This bottle may be compared with examples from the site of the Raleigh Tavern which burned in December 1859. E.R.44C0 & 3.
Center. A large cylindrical storage bottle, the body moulded and reticulated on the surface, the base thick and gently domed. The shoulder rounded and rising to a short., slightly tapering neck topped by a thick marvered trail forming a heavy and uneven rim. The metal is an olive green and remarkable for its extreme thinness in the body. Height: 12-½", base diameter: 5-3/8". E.R.44C9. Presumably first decades of the 19th century.
Right. Wine-bottle, a tall tubular neck slightly widening at the top with a trailed string-rim ¼" below the roughly cut mouth. Slightly twisted striations down the neck are typical of bottles of this type. A tall conical kick at the base; the metal olive green. French. Height: 1-1/8", Base diameter: 3-3/8". E.R.44C9-11. Additional fragments were subsequently recovered and these had been added when the bottle was rephotographed, Plate XXV. The remains of grey wax are still attached to the string rim. Mid 19th century.
Left Small beverage bottle, cylindrical body and short neck slightly tapering towards the string-rim, the latter created from an applied trail thickening the lip and down-tooled to create two overhanging ridges - a style copied by the moulded string-rims of the 19th century. The base rising in a conical kick, the metal a rich olive green and the body slightly pitted from contact with the mould. Height: 7-¼", base diameter: 2-7/8". E.R.44C11. c.1800.
Center Heavy, clear metalled bottle,, somewhat conical in the body and with slightly domed base. The neck rises to an everted mouth thickened by an applied trail. Were it not for this last feature the bottle's shape could be compared to that of a common decanter form of the mid 18th century. This bottle is probably an item of chemical glassware. Variations in color are caused by some of the fragments having been burnt after breaking. Height: 13-1/2", base diameter: 6". E.R.44C13. 19th century.
Right Wine-bottle as illustrated and described under Pl. XXIII, right, but with additional fragments added. E.R.44C9-11. Mid 19th century.
Fragment of heavy slate gravestone inscribed "...elation ... F]riend." E.R.44B. 18th century.
E.R.44C7
1 thick tapering board end, 2-5/8" at greatest width, ¾" in thickness, possibly the end of a fence paling.
1 small decorative furniture fragment, a strip 1-¾" in width, 3/8" in thickness, curving outwards and narrowing at one end into a disc terminal.
1 fragment of garden chair with the name DIXON inscribed on one side and the initials A.M. on the others. See. Pl. XXVIII. No. 2.
E.R.44C7-10
18 small fragments representing trimmings from boards, posts, etc., none large enough to be identifiable.
E.R.44C8
A single jointed board, possibly from a small well head, nails through wings from above. Pl. XXXII. No. 1.
20 pieces of board of various widths, all tapering at one end - possibly debris from shingle-making, widths ranging from 4-4/8" to 7/8 Thickest fragment ½" at the butt.
1 piece-of board 3-3/8" in width, 5/8" in thickness and chamfered along one edge.
1 lid for a well (?) pitcher, cut to fit a spout, having a semi-circle trimmed out at the right side to allow the handle of a ladle to protrude; traces of central nail to hold knob for raising the lid. Length, rear to spout: 6-¼", width: 5-5/8", thickness: 1".
E.R.44C9
7 possible trimmings from shingles.
4 indeterminate trimmings.
9 staves and a group of fragments from a small paint tub. The base or top of this object is illustrated in P.. XXVIII. The 56. staves bound with willow.
E.R.44C11-12
7 rectangular sectioned lengths of wood each cut at one end to lock into another timber and each roughly chopped at the other. It has been suggested that the objects were driven into the ground when in use and were subsequently cut down. No nail holes. Surviving length of specimen example: 15-¼", width: 4-¼", thickness at one side: 2-½", thickness at the other: 2", thickness above Joint 7/8 Depth of recess 1-¾", to 1-¼", height of recess: 6-7/8". See Pl. XXXII. No. 6.
1 bucket bottom (incomplete) diameter: 11-¼".
5 trimmings of various sizes.
E.R.44Cl3
15 trimmings of various sizes., 1 tapering fragment pierced by small nail.
1 chopped section of rough timber probably from the fork of a tree.
E.R.44Cl4
3 fragments from bucket bottoms, average diameter approximately: 11-½"
A group of four large, shaped timbers which may have formed part of a windlass or well-head. For details see measured drawing Pl. XXXII. No. 2-5. These timbers had floated on the water surface and had helped to create the false bottom described on P. 37. E.R.44C7-9. See Section through well, Pl. XIV.
As part of the research project to determine the original use of the Wythe House south outbuilding, it was suggested that the excavation of the associated well might reveal evidence of the building's purpose. The suggestion was approved and the excavation was carried out during the months of May and June, 1958.
The top of the well had previously been excavated during the full archaeological investigation of the site in 1938 and was reported on in the subsequent report (p. 8) as follows:
"A filled-in well 4 feet in diameter, between the South Outbuilding and the Dairy, was opened up to a depth of 9 feet. No evidences of a lining were discovered, nor any indication of the date of the well.* Its location offers some support to the assumption that the nearby remains may be those of a kitchen and a dairy.
The results of the 1958 excavations throw some new light on the foregoing statements. It is now considered unlikely that the well and the south outbuilding were in use contemporaneously, no evidence that the well was dug prior to c.1800. However, it is likely that the well and dairy were of the same date, i.e. c.1800-1815.
-2-The salient factors supporting these premises are as follows:
At 13' below the present grade the top of the brick lining was encountered, the upper courses having been removed for re-use, probably during the decade 1860-70. A fill of mixed clay, dirt and trash extended from 8'6" 1. to 18' representing a deposit inserted after the upper well bricks had been robbed. The inclusion of two pieces of printers' type in this fill suggested that it had been brought from the site of the Printing Office (18H).
At 18' the sealing deposit gave way to an accumulation of refuse thrown into the well during the last days of its existence. This wet, organic stratum descended to a depth of 28' below modern grade and contained a large quantity of refuse deposited no earlier than 1853. The presence in the layer of medicine bottles, flasks and items of chemical glassware indicated that the artifacts came from the Wythe House during the occupancy of Professor John Millington who rented it in 1835, bought it in 1841 and sold it in 1866. It should be added that Millington was, for a time, Professor of Chemistry and Natural Sciences at the College of William and Mary and that in 1848 he had gone to the University of Mississippi in a similar capacity. Evidence of this move is indicated by the presence in the well of a small lead glazed pot of non-European manufacture, probably a souvenir brought back from the Professor's southern travels. It seems probable that the refuse may have been thrown into the well in 1866 when Millington sold the Wythe House.
At 28' four large timbers were found wedged in the shaft and it was these which had prevented the upper filling from sinking to the bottom. -3- When these timbers were removed the remainder of the filling which they supported sank into ten feet of water. It has been deduced that the timbers -possibly part of a simple well-head - collapsed into the well and floated on the surface of the water. Subsequently, Millington's trash was thrown down, some of it sinking past the timbers, but the majority piling up on them until a platform or false-bottom was established. Evidence of this is derived from the discovery of fragments of the same ceramic vessels, both above the platform and at the bottom of the well.
After a long delay caused by an inability to pump out the water, work was resumed and the remains of the collapsed upper layer was extracted. Beneath this, at approximately 38', was found a quantity of refuse which had fallen past the timbers when first thrown in. The finds included ox skulls, chemical glasswares and pieces of mid 19th century ceramics. A small number of coarse sherds, possibly dating from the 18th century, were also recovered, but as they overlay 19th century material they cannot be used in evidence.
The bottom of the brickwork was reached at 39'7", under which was 1 found a well-preserved wooden form, 3" in thickness,1 resting on natural blue marl.
The absence of any primary deposit of 18th century artifacts at the bottom of the well could indicate firstly, that the well had remained completely clean until it was abandoned, secondly, that it had been totally cleaned out during the course of its life or thirdly, that the well was of 19th century date. The first theory may be dismissed as highly improbable, but the second demands careful consideration. However, the realization that the water still flows into the well too fast for it to be emptied without the aid of mechanical pumps and that it is too deep even for these to function -4- properly, indicates that it would have been virtually impossible for 18th century well cleaners to have extracted anything but large items which would have been reached by a grapple. Small artifacts and the natural accumulation of organic silt could not have been extracted by this means. Providing that this "fact" can be accepted, there remains only the third explanation.1 The diameter of the well at the top surviving course was approximately 4' 7-½", but tapered to 3' 4" at the bottom. A number of well bricks were found in the fill above the timber platform, many of them with shell mortar attached. However, none of the bricks found in situ had been mortared, indicating that the upper courses only had been mortared and that in prying them loose, some had fallen into the well. One of the well bricks was retained and measures 8' x 4-3/8 x 3-¼" x 3", 37 of them making up the circumference of the well.
The re-excavation of the S.W. corner of this foundation revealed a single course, 1 brick in thickness, unmortared. It was found that a lone well brick had been incorporated in this foundation, the brick, measuring 8" x 4-7/16" - 3-¼" x 3". The similarity of measurement and texture between this brick and the specimen from the well could indicate that they came from the same source. Furthermore, the absence of mortar on the well brick could suggest that it was left over after the digging of the well and that it was thereupon incorporated into the foundation of the dairy. If this were so, then it would automatically follow that the well must have been completed prior to 1815 when the dairy first appeared on an insurance plat. The dairy's absence from the plats of 1801 and 1806 indicates (though does not -5- prove) that it was not in existence prior to 1806 and 1815. The archaeological data recovered from the re-excavation of the dairy did not provide any conclusive dating, although some general pointers were provided.