It's a fake!

Hi All!
While going through the Scott Lawrence Collection, Anne and I came across this really unique wine bottle. It looked to be an 18th century Belgian "onion-shaped" wine bottle.

The bottle has all the characteristics of an onion shape: a height of .53', a 5.5" base, a .77" mouth hole, a .47" rim finish, the classic string rim finish (found on onion shaped bottle in the 1700s), it even has a combination pontil scar (an open pontil and sand pontil scar).

However, upon further research on SHA's website, we decided that it is a little too perfect...Just perfect enough to be a reproduction. The shape is entirely too symmetrical: the heel was even in thickness and the neck was perfectly straight. The base was also too clean looking with no signs of wear on it. Unfortunately, because it is a reproduction, dating it is virtually impossible.

~Alyssa

Also, we will be at Port Tobacco tomorrow, Wednesday, starting a new unit next to the Burch House!

Whatever he's got, they should bottle it.

Today Alyssa and I began cataloging the Scott Lawrence Collection. Scott generously donated 30 glass and stoneware bottles to PTAP. As we research each bottle, using the SHA website, we will report back to you, our faithful readers.

Today's bottle is a large one, 1.14 ft high and 0.48 ft in diameter at the base. It likely held soda water or mineral water.
It has a cup-bottom mold seams that run from the base and fade away at the neck. The rim finish was applied by hand. The lack of air vent marks narrows the manufacture date to the 1880's.

Stay tuned for more from The Lawrence Collection!

Due to weather, we will not be at Port Tobacco tomorrow. We are shooting for Wednesday instead.

Anne

Wading through a Sea of Buttons

The wooded unit behind the Burch House has given up another interesting little artifact. From Stratum 1 comes this copper alloy button! Despite lengthy online research, we can't seem to find a similar button. This one is stamped and pierced, but the details are etched in by hand. The button's diameter is 17.5 mm.
Stamped pierced buttons were popular during the Victorian era. The decoration may be a fleur de lis, gathered plants, or feathers. If you have a good button book and see this little darling, let us know!

~Anne and Alyssa~

Fancy a Haircut?

While doing the normal lab work of washing and cataloging artifacts, I came upon a cool find…Scissors! This then made me want to know exactly how old these scissors are, and maybe get a brief history lesson of scissors in as well.

I did a little web research and found numerous articles that date scissors back to our pyramid-building friends in Egypt around 1500 BCE. At this time, they were but a single piece of bronze metal formed into a U shape in which either side was sharpened into blades. The curve of the U acted as a spring in which to push the sharp blades together in order to cut (think of grilling tongs).

The cross-blade scissors are attributed to the Romans around 100 AD. These scissors were essentially shears, used more for sheep and gardens. Ivor Noël Hume mentions in Artifacts of Colonial America, that these types of shears were used onward into the early 17th century. These big chunky shears were anchored together in the middle by a rivet and two washers on either side of the blades.

So how old are the scissors found in Unit 95, Stratum 2 behind the Burch House? Drum roll please…We believe they are mid-17th – early 18th centuries. This is due to the fact that the axis for the rivet is well below the eyelet handles. Furthermore, the handles themselves are thin and curve up and outward back into themselves, which is typical in mid-17th century scissors.

That’s all for now!
Alyssa


We will be at Port Tobacco tomorrow, behind the Burch House. See you there!

Alyssa Marizan

For this week's blog, I would like to introduce myself as the newest member of the GAC team!

My name is Alyssa Marizan; I grew up as a typical military brat...around the world...however, I consider Alaska home (even though my family is technically from Guam)...

I started my college career at the University of Alaska Anchorage, getting a two-year Associates Degree. I finished my undergrad at George Mason University, getting a B.A. in Anthropology in 2008. Since then, I worked at Mount Vernon; where I met the lovely Anne Hayward! I joined the GAC team the day after Labor Day. Jim has put me to work immediately: excavating, cataloging, mapping in AutoCAD and...today, blogging. He also has me focusing on what it is about archaeology I'm interested in.

Apart from archaeology, I spend time with my wonderful husband, Marvin, and our "she-devil" dog, Annie. We just got married this past March and are loving married life. I also enjoy traveling, singing, reading, and other leisurely activities...Who doesn't!?

As for future plans, I would like to continue my education in archaeology by going to grad school within the next two years.

Midwest Historical Archaeology Conference

A slight departure from the usual posts...

The 6th annual Midwest Historical Archaeology Conference will take place Saturday October 9th on the campus of Heidelberg University, Tiffin, Ohio.

The conference will feature 4 invited speakers who will give presentations on their research into the archaeology of conflict. Topics include an Indian trading post, the American Revolution, and the American Civil War. A fifth guest speaker will give an evening lecture on the excavation of mass graves from the Spanish Civil War.

Submissions are being accepted for poster presentations on any aspect of historical archaeology. Student submissions will be entered into a student poster prize to be voted on by attendees. Winners will receive a cash award.

A series of small roundtable discussions will provide opportunities for individuals with similar research interests and career goals to interact. These discussions will be led by experts in each area.

All attendees must register for the conference. The cost is $20 per person. Undergraduate students can register for $15 if they include a copy of their student ID with their registration materials. This cost includes a catered lunch and morning coffee/tea. The deadline to register is Monday, September 20th. The deadline to submit poster titles and abstracts is Friday, September 17th.

Additional details and registration forms are available at:
http://herald.heidelberg.edu/mwhac10

Please send questions and poster submissions to mwhac10@heidelberg.edu

Yep, got it!

I am confident that I know the approximate location of the Atzerodt Brothers carriage factory. Their 1857 advertisement in The Port Tobacco Times places the shop opposite the dwelling of Dr. Neale, and that is roughly on the east side of Main Street and High Street (see map) and includes the Hamilton lot and a portion of the lot immediately to the north.

This is the lot on which Griffin Carter operated his vehicle shop from at least as early 1842. Blacksmith Charles E. Wade probably succeeded Griffin, after the Atzerodts ceased operations, first working briefly for Carter than acquiring the operation for himself. Given widespread changes in industrial production after the Civil War, and especially in the mass-production of wheeled vehicles, Wade probably did little in the way of manufacturing and increasingly concerned himself with repairs.

If I'm correct, the Carter-Atzerodt shop is on the land of the Wade family, just south of the house in which they now live. There is no evidence pointing to the Atzerodts' shop, or any other shop, behind the Chimney house.