This context (Catalog# 975: Lot 15, Test Cut S, Stratum 29, Level a) consists of artifacts found in the disturbed deposits within a wooden box cistern in Test Cut S, located in the southern portion of Lot 15. The deposition of the artifacts within the wooden box likely occurred after it was no longer in use as a cistern. While some artifacts from the wooden box cistern had been disturbed from construction activity prior to excavation, the southeastern portion of the box was intact.
The difference between the ceramic assemblage in this deposit and that associated with the clay deposited when the wooden box cistern was installed suggests that the deposit within the box accumulated after it was no longer used for its original purpose. It is possible that the box served as a repository of domestic trash after its period of use. However, large quantities of architectural artifacts were also found within the deposit, indicating that the feature may have been filled with a mixture of domestic and architectural debris from a structural demolition or repair on Lot 15.
During the period of deposition, Lot 15 was occupied by Gerardus Duyckinck II, the great-grandson of Evert Duyckinck, who was the original water lot grantee of Lot 15. For more information about the deposits associated with Lot 15, please read pages 281 to 305 of the 7 Hanover Square site report.
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Collection method
Excavated this context using trowels. All soil was dry-screened through 1/4 inch mesh.
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Soil description
Mottled gray/yellow/red sandy silt with mortar
