excavating the john kent russell site has spawned a new collection consisting of 19th century bottles

after spending weeks sporadically visiting the site where the pre-fire john kent russell frame house once stood, we have collected hundreds of fragments found in privies and ash pits. we have gathered enough material left behind to further understand living conditions of working class families that came and went through the doors of the russell house.

the "dug" collection thus far consists of several beer bottles, china, marbles, various medicinal tonics and a substantial amount of animal bones, suggesting that many of their meals were rather heavy on the meat. nearly all of the collected material dates between 1880-1900, so we have a ways to go before we discover artifacts possibly left by the russell family around the mid-19th century.

during the process of excavating urban archaeological artifacts, my appreciation for bottles (emphasis on soda and mineral water) dating between 1830-1870 has gradually turned into an obsession, which naturally, spawned a rapidly growing collection of bottles i've been acquiring purely from a subjective standpoint (i.e., bottles that show their age, numerous production flaws, vibrant colors and embossed markings.

the gallery below depicts a sampling of my collection thus far.