This context (Catalog #99: Lot 12, Test Cut F, Stratum 9, Level a) consists of artifacts found within lenses of either reddish-brown sand, mustard-colored silt, or light brown sand with crushed shell, excavated from Test Cut F in the back portion of Lot 12. The strata yielded a moderate density of brick, mortar, and shell, but few artifacts. These strata were not present beneath the stone wall of the Verplanck house in the south part of the test cut. It is likely that the builder’s trench to construct the Verplanck house was dug through these earlier deposits.
Below these deposits, the 17th-century landfill deposits were encountered. This context was likely deposited in the early to mid-18th century. The mustard-colored silt may have represented the basement floor of the Henry Van Vleck House, which was constructed in the mid-18th century and demolished in a fire in 1778.
For more information about the deposits associated with Lot 12, please read pages 155 to 191 of the 7 Hanover Square site report.
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Collection method
Excavated this context using trowels. All soil was wet-screened using 1/4 inch mesh.
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Soil description
Yellowish-brown silt
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Munsell
Not recorded
