19th century graystone two-flat excavation site yields several hutchinson bottles

beginning monday, i found myself documenting a dig site where a prototypical late 19th century graystone two-flat  (demolished earlier this year) once resided. with the exception of  an early 1880's cobalt john a. lomax hutchinson unearthed at the front of the lot, a surprisingly large assortment of 1870's bottles and shards were discovered in condensed "deposits" under an enclosed porch (an addition likely constructed sometime around 1920) and near the cement slab where the garage once stood.

when built, the house was outfitted with indoor plumbing, so the buried artifacts were likely just in trash pits. this is corroborated by the large quantities of ash (and lack of human waste) found in and around the bottles. interestingly, at least two of the smaller pits contain bottles and earthenware dating to at least 20 years before the graystone was built. they were either from an older wood-frame dwelling built before the graystone, or the site was a dumping ground for the city's night scavengers.

what makes this excavation noteworthy is the fact that so much material was left behind, mainly in the form of soda and mineral water bottles offered by the lang brothers, stenson, etc. a massive quantity of hutchinson bottles are in remarkable shape, with very few chips, cracks, or spots of case wear. with so many residential sites of this period yielding very few bottles, it was quite refreshing to discover such a large quantity buried in a single lot.

day one:

day two:

day three: