Introduction: Lots 8, 9, and 15 are modern designations for adjacent parcels of land that were owned together and used as a single property until the early 1830's. Excavations produced important discoveries like that of the Colonial-era Lovelace Tavern, proving that significant archaeological resources could still exist in urban spaces. Project archaeologists were able to lobby for increased time and funds to continue their work on the strength of these finds, leading to additional discoveries. In all, the project provided considerable information about the history of New York City and its inhabitants from the 17th to the 20th centuries.
The tavern was constructed by the second English Governor of New York, Francis Lovelace, around 1670. Taverns were important spaces for colonial communities, serving as centralized meeting places that fulfilled important social, recreational, political, and economic functions. Lovelace Tavern became New York's temporary City Hall starting in the late-17th century after the Stadt Huys fell into disrepair and was demolished in 1706.
Rationale: Remains of the Lovelace Tavern were first encountered during the excavation of Test Cut AQ. Overall, archaeologists excavated 27 test cuts inside, adjacent to, or within the walls of the tavern, representing around fifty-percent of the total area. Together, Test Cuts BK and BQ formed a 17.5-foot long trench in the southwestern Lovelace area. Both BK and BQ contained significant Lovelace Tavern materials and layers, including the burned remains of the original wooden floor. The western portion of Test Cut BQ included stones from the original Tavern wall. However, sewer work in the early-19th century destroyed much of the intact Tavern layers in the western third of the test cut. Abundant diagnostic artifacts and intact tavern layers made both test cuts integral to the archaeological project.
Results: A hard-packed soil layer containing a large amount of 17th- and early-18th-century artifacts was discovered underneath the disturbed fill layer in Test Cut BQ. This deposit was more compact than almost any other stratigraphic layer found in the Lovelace area. As a result, project archaeologists theorized that this layer was a living surface, created and used sometime after the destruction of the Lovelace Tavern in 1706.
Lot 8, Test Cut BQ, Strata VI, Level C
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Collection method
Trowel, Screen (1/2-inch mesh). Arbitrary Level.
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Soil description
Mottled Red, Brown and Yellow Silty Sand
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Munsell
10YR 6/4 - 10YR 5/3
