Lot 9, Test Cut I, Wall Cleaning (624.408)

TC I: A single test cut, TC I, was placed in Lot 9* as part of the landfill sampling plan. It was located 11 feet south of the Pearl street base line and seven feet east of the Lot 8/9 boundary wall. TC I was the northernmost of the test cuts excavated during the first phase of the project (Figure 2-3). Excavation of TC I began at the level of the brick basement floor of the most recent building to occupy Lot 9. This floor was present in Lots 9*, 10*, 26* and 27*, which were combined to form Lot 9. Immediately below the brick floor, we encountered a thin layer of mortar followed by a layer of hard packed reddish brown sand with yellow mottling. The sand was probably deposited to level the ground surface prior to construction of the brick floor. The presence of creamware, pearlware and whiteware ceramic sherds in this sand indicate a probable deposition during the early-mid 19th century. This is consistent with the estimated date of construction of the floor derived from the excavations in Lot 10*. Beneath the reddish brown sand, a stratum of yellow/green silty sand with yellow mottling was encountered, followed by a thin stratum of red sand. Both of these strata sloped downward from north to south. The artifacts recovered from these strata are not inconsistent with a seventeenth century deposition except for one creamware sherd recovered at the top of the yellow/green silty sand which was probably intrusive from the overlying 19th century stratum. These two strata may either represent the topmost strata of the seventeenth century landfill or may have been deposited by events which occurred subsequent to the initial deposition of landfill. The red sand layer ended at 13 inches below the surface of the test cut in the north and at a depth of 26 inches in the south. Approximately 15-30 inches of yellow/green sandy silt and green silt were encountered beneath the band of red sand, followed by 4-25 inches of green sandy silt containing pockets of brown and black clay. The latter stratum ended between 50 and 65 inches below the surface of the test cut. In the northern part of TC I, the slit/clay stratum was directly underlain by a stratum of red sand containing rocks. The red sand began at about 55 inches in this part of the test cut and the rocks included in the soil matrix continued to about 75 inches, with the red sand continuing below the rocks. This stratum sloped downward from north to south. It should be noted that the rocks were included in the red sand only in the northernmost three to four feet of TC I. The southernmost part of the red sand stratum did not contain rocks. In the southern part of the test cut, the stratum of green sandy silt with pockets of brown and black clay was underlain, at approximately 52 inches, by a layer of coarse brown sand which also contained rocks. This deposit sloped downward from south to north and ended approximately halfway between the south and north walls of TC I. The base of this stratum was at between 66-72 inches. The stratum was underlain by the red sand which did not contain rocks. Thus there are two separate strata containing rocks which began at approximately the same depth, a stratum of brown sand in the south portion of TC I and a layer of red sand in the north. The latter deposit sloped downward and continued beneath the brown sand in the southern portion of TC I. A post hole test in the bottom of the test cut indicated that the red sand continued to at least 99 inches below the surface of TC I. As described above, two strata of yellow/green silty sand, separated by a thin layer of red sand, were encountered during the excavation of Test Cut I. The uppermost yellow/green silt was excavated as strata IV and VI, the red sand as stratum VII and the lower yellow/green silt as strata VIII and IX. The mean ceramic date for strata IV and VI is 1683.8 (103 dated sherds). The mean ceramic date for strata VIII and IX is 1680.0 (232 dated sherds). Because of the wide range of manufacturing dates for the ceramic types in use during this period, the mean ceramic date may be of limited utility in assessing the relative dates of deposition of these two deposits. The difference in the presence of certain ceramic types may be significant in supporting an earlier date of deposition for the lower silt strata. For example, four sherds of light blue glazed delftware, which had an initial date of manufacture of c. 1690, were recovered from strata IV and VI, and 10 sherds from strata VIII and XI. These figures represent 3.8% and 4.3%, respectively of the dated sherds from these contexts. However, nine of the 10 sherds from stratum VIII were recovered from the first excavated level of this deposit, which is likely to have included material from the overlying strata. The difference in the proportion of 17th century-type salmon and buff/white bodied wares may also be of significance. Fifteen of these sherds were recovered from strata IV and VI, 14.6% of the dated sherds, while 69 sherds were recovered from strata VIII and IX, 29.7% of the dated sherds. The calculated Binford pipe stem date for strata IV and VI is 1697.76 (N=220) while for strata VIII and IX the calculated date is 1677.90 (N=193). This reflects the fact that the modal bore size for strata IV and VI is #6 (67% of measurable bores) while the modal size for strata VIII and IX is #7 (48% of measurable bores). It should be noted that the first excavated level of stratum VIII has a bore size distribution similar to that of stratum IV, reflecting the fact that some of the overlying material was probably excavated with stratum VIlla. The differences in pipe stem dates would otherwise be even more pronounced. other smoking pipe characteristics support the differences in dates. The fleur-de-lis motif, characteristic of Dutch 17th-century pipes, appears on five of the stem fragments from stratum XI. None were recovered from the other strata. Another 17th-century decorative motif, the runs-of-dots, appears on five pipe fragments from strata VIII and IX and only one from strata IV and VI. Eight fragments of pipe bowls with the characteristic Dutch 17th-century belly bowl shape were recovered from strata VII and XI and only one from stratum IV. According to McCashion (1979), Dutch pipes were replaced by those imported from England beginning in the 1690s. Thus increasingly later deposits should contain fewer Dutch pipe fragments. As far as pipe maker Is marks are concerned f the only datable mark from stratum IV is "TO, 11 dated to 1668-1725. The same mark was present on a pipe fragment recovered from the soil excavated immediately above stratum IV. The range of dates for the marks present on pipe fragments excavated from strata VIII and XI is earlier. Four of these marks are "EB," 1624-1668. Other marks from this deposit are "WW," 1650-1677: "PE," 1654-1680, "IW," 1630-1660, and "HG," 1668-1688. The above data suggest that strata IV and VI represent a separate, and later, depositional event than strata VIII and IX. One possibility is that two episodes of filling took place at this location, with a gap of several years between them. Another possibility is that strata IV and VI were deposited either in association with the construction of a building on the lot after the land-filling was completed, or in association with the demolition of the first building constructed on the lot. Although strata IV and VI, as well as the red sand layer which separated strata IV and VI from strata VIII and IX, contained a high density of mortar, neither of these deposits contained high densities of brick or architectural artifacts. Thus the most likely explanation is that strata IV and VI represent a second episode of land filling, with the red sand accumulating while the land was unoccupied between the two land-filling episodes. The fact that strata IV and VI contain a higher artifact and oyster shell density than strata VIII and IX suggests that the source of this landfill was an area of more intense occupational activity than the area from which the earlier landfill was taken. The deposit of green sandy silt with clay which underlay the above deposits contained a lower density of cultural materials in all categories, suggesting that this deposit had a different origin. The mean ceramic date and pipe stem dates for this deposit are 1677.4 and 1664.0 respectively, compared with 1680.0 and 1677.9 for strata VIII and IX. However, these differences may not be significant since the figures for the deposit of green sandy silt with clay are based on only 35 pipe stems and 53 sherds. The two deposits which contained a large quantity of rocks, red sand in the northern portion of the test cut and brown sand in the south, probably had different origins. The rocks present in the red sand consisted largely of smooth cobbles, apparently water-worn. Those present in the brown sand were largely Manhattan schist, and did not appear waterworn. The excavation records suggest that there were few, if any, artifacts in these deposits. However, since much of the brown and red sand was excavated in arbitrary levels, and included soil from both deposits, as well as some of the overlying sandy silt, it is difficult to determine whether either or both of these deposits containing rocks were culturally sterile. Examination of the profile from Backhoe Trench 6, which extended the TC I profile to the north and south (see landfill discussion in Chapter 9), suggests that the deposit of red sand with rocks was present on the river bottom prior to the land-filling while the brown sand with rocks may have been part of the landfill. Several artifacts were noted in the latter deposits in the backhoe trench profile. This conclusion is consistent with the observed differences in the rocks contained in the two deposits. However, as discussed in the same section, other evidence from Backhoe Trench 6 supports an interpretation of the stratum of brown sand with rocks as part of the pre-landfilling ground surface. Backhoe Trench 6 and Extension: Backhoe Trench 6 was placed in Lots 9* and 27* during the mitigation phase of the project. The trench was initially located south of TC I and sUbsequently extended northward, passing through TC I and terminating at the foundation wall of the most recent building to stand on the lot. This wall was located beneath the Pearl street sidewalk. The trench initially extended 50 feet south of the Pearl street baseline. During the final phase of the project, which involved the excavation of Lots 26* and 27*, the trench was extended to a point 100 feet south of the baseline. This portion of the trench was excavated with a front end loader. Profiles were drawn of each 10 foot section of the eastern wall of the trench. Due to logistical considerations, the southern portion of the trench was offset several feet to the west of the northern section. Analysis of the northernmost portion of the trench suggests that the layer of red sand at the base of the stratigraphic profile represents a portion of the pre-filling river bottom deposits. The stratum indicated on the profile as brown/red sand which is present between 0 and 6 feet south of the Pearl street baseline is probably also part of the original river bottom material. Thus, the pre-filling land surface sloped downward to the south. This land surface may have been tidally inundated in this area, as discussed below. At the Pearl street baseline this pre-filling stratum began at 10.07 feet below the level of the Pearl street sidewalk as it existed before construction of the new 7 Hanover Square building. This stratum dropped to 12.21 feet below the sidewalk level at 6~ feet south of the baseline, at which point the brown/red sand stratum ended. The underlying red sand stratum sloped downward more gradually south of this point, levelling out at a depth of 14.73 feet below the sidewalk elevation at a distance of 25 feet south of the baseline. It is likely that the material above the red sand represents the 17th century landfill deposits. In the area approximately 10 feet south of the baseline, the BT 6 profile shows the deposits of red sand and brown sand, both containing cobbles, which were mentioned in the description of TC I. Just south of the location of TC I, the trench profile shows what appears to be a wooden post set upright in the red sand and the underlying grayer sand. As shown in the profile, the top of the post is surrounded by the stratum of brown sand with cobbles rather than being driven through it. This suggests that the latter deposit is, in fact, part of the landfill, and that the post had been driven into the underlying red sand prior to the landfilling. Above this post was a pocket of "humus" which could represent the original top portion of the post that had rotted. At the location of TC I, the soil immediately above the red sand consisted of the brown sand with cobbles. After a point approximately 20 feet south of the Pearl street baseline, the soil above the red sand is described as coarse orange and gray sand with shells. Field notes and photographs indicate that the oyster shells in this deposit are all oriented with the concave side face downward. One interpretation, therefore, is that these shells were deliberately placed in this position. From 12-27 feet south of the baseline, the sand with cobbles or shell was overlain by a thin stratum of orange and white banded sand. Immediately above this sand where it was present, and above the coarser sand in other areas, a thin dark layer of what appeared to be decayed wood extended from approximately 12-25 feet south of the baseline. If the brown sand with cobbles and the orange and gray sand with shells were natural river bottom deposits, rather than landfill, this wood could be interpreted as planking placed at low tide to facilitate the filling process. In this case, the artifacts noted in the underlying deposits would had to have been deposited on the river bottom and have worked their way downward through the loose sand. The other possibility is that the planking was laid down during the filling process after some landfill (the brown sand with cobbles and the orange and gray sand with shells) had already been deposited. From 0-40 feet south of the Pearl street baseline, there does not appear to have been any river bottom silting, and it is likely that the shoreline environment in this area consisted of tidally inundated beach. A lens of gray black silt did overlie the "decayed wood" stratum from approximately 11-31 feet south of the baseline, but it is likely that this material is part of the landfill, possibly material dredged from the river bottom at another location and deposited at this site as landfill. At a distance of 40 feet south of the Pearl street baseline a thin stratum of gray black silt overlay gray sand at the base of the exposed profile. This material probably represents river bottom silt. If the profile drawings are accurate, the gray sand overlies the coarse orange and gray sand with shell, discussed above, between approximately 30 and 35 feet from the baseline. If the gray silt represents the naturally deposited river bottom silt, therefore, the orange and gray sand with shell, as well as the associated brown sand with cobbles further to the north would have to represent the original river bottom deposits. Unfortunately, the stratigraphy at the extreme northernmost limit of the gray silt stratum is obscured by what appears to have been the remains of a stone wall, perhaps a portion of a foundation wall. The post described below plus the hypothesized upper portion would have extended to the top of the brown sand/cobble stratum. The gray silt stratum is present at the base of the trench profile from the 40 foot mark to the end of the trench at 100 feet south of the Pearl street baseline. The presence of the water table prevented excavation to greater depths. The gray silt stratum began approximately 12.4 feet beneath the Pearl street sidewalk and 13.4 feet below the datum plane discussed in the following section. The surface of the stratum sloped downward about one foot between the 40 and 55 foot mark and then remained fairly level. It is interesting to note the variations in the composition of the landfill as indicated in the BT 6 profiles. North of the possible foundation stones (approximately 40 feet south of the Pearl street baseline) noted above, the major landfill deposit consisted of a brownish green silt. An overlying band of gray silt containing mortar and brick between 15 and 29 feet south of the baseline may have been associated with a construction episode on Lot 9*. South of the disturbed foundation stones, the landfill consisted primarily of deposits of mottled brown or orange/brown sand with downward sloping bands of gray clay and silt in some areas. The downward sloping bands indicate that the land was filled progressively outward, with the fill being consistently deposited from the built-up surface of the land, whereas the fill to the north appears to have been built up vertically in layers. Comparison with the excavations conducted in the other lots suggests that the stone wall at 40 feet probably represents the remains of a foundation wall of an early structure built on Lot 9*. Like most of the early foundation walls on the site, this wall would have been constructed prior to the deposition of the landfill, and would have served to support the landfill deposited to the north. The fact that the base of the wall is at about the same level as the gray/brown sand beneath the level of the layer of decayed wood in the northern portion of the lot strengthens the interpretation of this material as a pre-landfill river bottom deposit. After the land north of the wall was filled-in, the land south of the wall was filled using different sources for the landfill and a different land-filling strategy. The landfill south of the wall could have been dredged from the river bottom, with the bands of silt representing the river bottom silts and the more abundant sand deriving from the river bottom sand underlying the silt. Includes catalog numbers: Cat. #408: Lot 9, Test Cut I, Wall Cleaning

• Collection method

  This context was excavated using trowels. All of the soil was screened using 1/4 inch mesh.