Selected Photos Group 1 2

Digs: Site Activities

SELECTED DIGS' PHOTOS - May 14-15, 2013, Strong-Howard House, Windsor CT

For additional information on Kaolin clay pipestems and how it's used in archaeology, please click Clay.

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( all photos taken in May, 2013 by various participants and observers )

State Archaeologist Dr. Nick Bellantoni checks the depth setting. He's sitting on one of the floor beams exposed during the initial phases of the excavation.

FOSA volunteer Jim Trocchi examines a map of the property, to help establish the locale of the grids and their provenance.

Excavation is underway! The small pink containers are used to hold both bagged artifacts and location documentation.

Screening. A dirty, dusty and all-important activity in an excavation, intended to bring to light artifacts which excavators missed initially.

The approximate manufacture date of a kaolin clay pipestem fragment (letter ā in the image)
can be determined by measuring the inner diameter. In this case, that diameter (5 60forth of an inch) suggests a manufacture date of between 1720 and 1750 (letter 'B' in the image).

The approximate manufacture date of a kaolin clay pipestem fragment ("A" in the image) can be determined by measuring the inner diameter. In this case, that diameter (5/64 of an inch) suggests a manufacture date of between 1720 and 1750 ("B" in the image).

More screening being photographed. FOSA member Glenda Rose is assisting here.

FOSA President Cynthia Redman examines items exposed during Glenda's screening.

Cynthia Redman and Nick Bellantoni confer over an item exposed during screening.

Nick Bellantoni and others examine the soil beneath the floor beams.

Additional sampling of soils beneath the floor beams..

End of a day at the site, with the soil area cleaned and the next day's grid areas marked.

MORE ABOUT KAOLIN CLAY IN ARCHAEOLOGY

Kaolin is a type of clay used for making disposable pipes from the early 17th century thru the late 19th century. Its use was widespread, and age can be determined from several factors, including bowl design and pipestem diameters. The latter was developed by J. C. Harrigton.

Information on kalolin clay can be found by clicking Britannica

Information on the Harrington method (as well as others) can be found by copying the following web address and pasting it into your browser:
https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1005&context=mrd_pubs

This is a Pritchard Shipyard Kaolin Pipe Analysis, a South Carolina archaeological paper.