A Venezuelan household clearance assemblage of 19th-century British ceramics in international perspective

Abstract

In 2010, the authors undertook the analysis of a 19th-century assemblage of ceramics excavated in 2004 in the Venezuelan city of Barcelona. The pilot study was designed to address the hitherto underappreciated importance of South American evidence towards global studies of 19th-century British material culture. Analysis of the assemblage demonstrated that it contained a mid 19th-century household clearance component comprised of British-made ceramics. This article describes the basic typology of the household clearance component, and the scale of the replacement of Spanish-tradition materials with British-made ceramics in the post-independence period. Some preliminary conclusions based on this ongoing research are also offered.     

Percival,Vickers & Co. Ltd: The Archaeology of a 19th-Century Manchester Flint Glass Works

Abstract

The Percival, Vickers & Co. Ltd glass works was amongst the largest glass manufactories in Manchester, and formed one of a regionally significant group of 19th-century glass works in the Ancoats district of the city. All of these works have since been demolished, and the paucity of surviving physical and documentary evidence is in stark contrast to the former importance of the city's glass-making industry. The Percival, Vickers site was recently subjected to a detailed archaeological investigation ahead of redevelopment, providing a unique opportunity to study the buried remains of a 19th-century glass works. In particular, variation in the design of the furnaces provided evidence for the technological development of the later 19th century, which has not otherwise been documented. Additionally, some 110kg of glass fragments recovered from the site furnished important evidence for the composition of 19th-century glass, although the results are beyond the scope of the present paper, which focuses on the documented history, structural, and technological elements of the site.     

Archaeological evidence of fish in the diet of the garrison at the Berry Head Forts,Brixham (Torbay) 1794–1817, with special reference to European hake Merluccius merluccius

Abstract

Post-excavation analysis of animal bones recovered from late 18th-/19th-century military refuse deposits within the Berry Head Forts (Torbay, Devon, UK) has provided evidence for the inclusion of fresh fish in the garrison’s diet. European hake was the principal fish in the food rations of the ordinary soldiers whilst more expensive fish, notably turbot, sole and John Dory, was only eaten in the officers’ messes. Reconstructed lengths of the hake in the archaeological assemblage formed a distribution pattern very different from that plotted from data on modern trawler-caught hake, showing how much post-industrial commercial fishing activity has profoundly altered the age/size structure of modern hake stocks.     

Three 19th-century house sites in rural Ireland

Abstract

This report describes archaeological research at three house sites in rural Ireland. The anthropologically-based research began in 1994 with the goal of attempting to understand the material conditions of daily life in the 19th-century Irish countryside. The excavation results presented here were obtained from individual households in counties Roscommon, Sligo and Donegal, at sites dating from the early to mid-19th century. Two of the sites are known to have been abandoned as a result of forced eviction. Particular attention is paid to the ceramics found.     

Smoking and health in London's East End in the first half of the 19th century

Abstract

The harmful effects of smoking are now proven, but to what extent can tobacco use be identified in 19th-century skeletal remains? The full osteological analysis of 705 individuals from the cemetery of St Mary and St Michael (open 1843–54) in Whitechapel, London, revealed a high prevalence of pipe smoking amongst the male population. In addition to a lower life expectancy, the smokers were found to have increased levels of skeletal evidence for lung disease when compared to the remainder of the sample. This has implications for the health, social structure and cohesion of this Irish migrant population.     

Late Upper Palaeolithic fishing in the Fucino Basin,central Italy,a detailed analysis of the remains from Grotta di Pozzo

Abstract

Fish remains have been recovered from seven Upper Palaeolithic sites in the Fucino Basin, central Italy. Analyses of fish remains from one of these sites, Grotta di Pozzo, are presented here and discussed in relation to previous research on fish remains from other Fucino Basin sites. It is recognised that in previous studies little consideration has been given to identifying, or confirming accumulation agent(s) for fish remains. Three potential non-human accumulation agents are identified and considered in detail, but these do not explain the element representation patterns for fish remains recovered at Grotta di Pozzo. As such, it is likely that the fish bones from this site do represent the remains of human activity. Given this interpretation, the assemblage characteristics suggest that Grotta di Pozzo represents a site used for exploitation and processing of fish for transportation for later consumption, most likely on a seasonal basis. Further work on the fish from other Fucino Basin sites is needed to reliably rule out non-human deposition and increase understanding of fishing strategies in the Fucino Basin during the late Glacial period.     

Relics of 16th-century gutted herring from a Dutch vessel

Abstract

During the excavation of a 16th-century vessel at Biddinghuizen in the Netherlands, barrels containing the remains of thousands of herring were found. The skeletal element distribution made it clear that these fish had been preserved by means of gutting. The large amount of material, combined with the differences in the size and composition of the samples taken allowed the complex to serve as a good reference framework for the variability in the occurrence of preserved herring of this type. The method, described by Seeman (1986), of identifying gutted herring on the basis of archaeological material has been extended to include more diagnostic skeletal elements, criteria for sample sizes and requirements concerning the elements that must be present in a sample to obtain reliable conclusions.     

GLASS RECIPES AND THE OUTPUT FROM A 19TH-CENTURY GLASS WORKS: EXAMPLES FROM PERCIVAL,VICKERS & CO. LTD,MANCHESTER

Abstract

Excavations by Oxford Archaeology North in 2003 revealed extensive structural remains of the former Percival, Vickers and Co. Ltd glass works, one of the principal 19th-century glass manufactories in Manchester. A detailed account of the excavated remains, focusing on the significant developments in furnace design inherent in the exposed structures, has already been published in volume 29.1 (2007) of the Review. However, an in-depth analysis of the 187kg of glass fragments recovered from the excavation was omitted, and this shortcoming is addressed in the present paper. Scientific analysis of the glass compositions revealed that a variety of recipes were used, and these related closely to the different ways that glass was being worked on site, as evidenced by the various types of waste. A relatively small but nevertheless significant number of vessel fragments were also recovered, allowing the output of the glass works to be characterised for the first time.     

The Historic Landscape of the Saga of the People of Vatnsdalur: Exploring the Saga Writer's Use of the Landscape and Archaeological Remains to Serve Political Interests

Abstract

The saga of the People of Vatnsdalur (Vatnsdaelasaga) provides a case study for a new approach to the Sagas of Icelanders (Íslendingasögur). This treats the saga as a cultural product of the 13th century that can give insights into its creator's ideas and worldviews. Fieldwork at five sites in the Vatnsdalur valley in NW Iceland seeks to establish what these places were like in the 13th century. This knowledge, alongside the saga and place-name evidence, illustrates how the saga writer, presumed to come from a powerful 13th-century family, systematically used the landscape and archaeological remains in the valley to serve his political interests when describing 10th-century events.     

Beached Shipwrecks from Channel Islands National Park,California

Abstract

Three shipwreck sites of the 19th century in Channel Islands National Park, California form case studies in evaluating the contribution of beached shipwrecks to maritime and historical archaeology. Two of the sites are consistent with the historically-documented Pacific coast lumber schooners J. M. Colman and Dora Bluhm, but the archaeological record is sparse. Material remains are compared to primary documents, such as original 19th-century construction contracts and insurance classifications, to make a case for the beached shipwreck scatters belonging to these ships. A third site, Comet, presents the other end of the spectrum; its remains have been conclusively identified by historical photographs and the site is a partially-intact hull embedded in the beach sand. This site was also recorded in detail and the formation processes of all three sites were examined to aid in archaeological interpretation.     

Vermin Traps and Rabbit Warrens on Dartmoor

Abstract

This paper examines the siting and operation of stone-built vermin traps associated with rabbit warrens on Dartmoor. A total of 81 vermin traps have been identified from the stone-built funnel walls and at 18 sites the traps still remain in position at the convergence of the funnel. Evidence suggests that the traps are 18th-century or earlier in date and that they do not occur on 19th-century warrens when the use of guns and gin traps for the control of vermin was more usual.     

The Birmingham Button Industry

Abstract

The city of Birmingham has been the birthplace of many industries and, somewhat surprisingly, one of the most important of these is the button industry, since this small but indispensable item appears to have been a major factor behind the increasing prosperity of 18th- and 19th-century Birmingham.     

On Carvings in Morse Ivory

Abstract

Recent excavations at Beverley Minster contribute significant new information relating to the development of the minster from the later pre-conquest period until the 12th century, as well as some technical detail relating to the 14th-century nave. This paper provides a brief overview of later 19th- to 20th-century considerations of the minster’s origins and development. Thereafter, the results of recent excavations are presented and the impact of these in re-shaping the history of the minster’s development is then considered within the wider context of the minster as a whole. More specifically, evidence is presented for the existence of an early pre-conquest cemetery, perhaps focused on a church of an alignment slightly different from that of the present. The implication of further burials pre-dating a 12th-century nave is also examined. Evidence relating to a large 12th-century aisled nave is also presented and discussion given to the impact this nave had on the rebuilding of the eastern parts of the church after 1188 as well as to the origin of the eastern elements that preceded these.     

The Kitchen Area of Northolt Manor,Middlesex

Abstract

The Winchester Moot Horn was found in a chest in the late 19th century when the Westgate was cleared out in advance of its conversion to a museum. Although generally believed to be of late-12th- or early-13th-century date on stylistic grounds, and a civic horn appears in local documentary sources, its excellent state of preservation has always raised some doubt as to its antiquity. Recent study and scientific analyses have now confirmed its early date. A survey of other moot horns from England suggests that at least one other, from Canterbury, dates to much the same time.     

The Don Steel Works and Saville Works: Charting the Growth of the Small Sheffi eld Steel Firm

Abstract

The rapid recent redevelopment of 'brownfi eld' sites in Sheffi eld has resulted in the large-scale demolition and clearance of industrial sites and the loss of important sources of information about the city's historic industries. The ongoing archaeological investigation of former steelmaking, cutlery and edge-tool sites is therefore essential to understanding the complexities of growth, development and diversity of these industries. This paper presents the results of the excavation of three types of Sheffi eld furnace found at the Don Steel Works and the Saville Works, two 19th–20th-century steel works on Savile Street. The works are notable as case studies of urban industrial development in a burgeoning and technologically advancing era in steel manufacture, and represent the early stages of the rapid mid-19th-century expansion of the Sheffi eld steel industry.     

Archaeology and urbanism: railway stations and zoological gardens in the 19th-century cityscape

Abstract

Though later-historical and contemporary archaeology have added an important material dimension to key historical processes such as industrialization and colonialism, the phenomenon of urbanization has hitherto not been addressed. This paper argues for ‘an archaeology of the city’. Building on Habermas' work on the public sphere, it contends that the cityscape, just like the domestic sphere, is a domain for carving out social identities. It also contends that material agency can best be understood as a form of meaningful emergence through bricolage. The arguments are explored through an extensive empirical case study on zoos and railway stations in 19thcentury Europe. Both institutions developed around the same time, through the same liberal industrialism and often in each other's vicinity. Drawing on research into zoo studies, transport history, cultural history and urbanism, it is argued that zoos and stations were instrumental in transforming the 19th-century cityscape into a bourgeois space that provided gateways to the outside world.     

Social Change in 19th-Century Rural Ireland and the Archaeology of the Narrow-Gauge Railway: The Case of Munster

Abstract

Railways are unusual archaeological entities. They lasted, in many cases, only for a short length of time, and in their locomotive-hauled form are of quite recent origin. There is a signifi cant amount of documentary information available, making it well-nigh impossible, as well as inadvisable, to rely solely on the extant material remains. The fact that later incarnations of some of these lines remain in existence today and are to a degree part of our lives means that we possess preconceived notions about rail travel. Railways have featured heavily in literature and art, as well as having infl uenced the development of communication networks, politics and social issues. All of these combined, aside from drawing our awareness to the magnitude of the importance of railways, make it difficult to look at them from an archaeological perspective, or to see what an archaeological perspective can bring to the study of railways. This paper examines what an archaeological study of the narrow-gauge railways of Munster (the south-west of Ireland) can contribute to an understanding of broader patterns of social change in 19th-century rural Ireland.     

Translocated Testudinidae: the earliest archaeological evidence for land tortoise in Britain

Abstract

This paper calls attention to the discovery of what is believed to be the earliest archaeological evidence for land tortoise in Britain. The specimen derived from a late 19th-century context at Stafford Castle and was associated with bones of cats and dogs, which may have been kept as pets by the castle's caretakers. The date accords with the historically attested rise in tortoise importation and with changes in attitudes towards pet animals.     

The Factory Chimney: Some Technical Aspects

Abstract

Outworking was widespread across England, its mundane buildings and landscapes often very functional in nature, yet they represent an important inheritance. Their recentness and familiarity may however militate against them, resulting in patchy and inconsistent protection and curation. Appreciating the nature of outworking is dependant upon the quality of such extant buildings and landscapes, but this poses problems for formal protection, especially where research has been modest. Our understanding and conservation of these assets is investigated by considering outworking in the East Midlands as a case study. Framework-knitting, lace and the boot and shoe industries were important economic staples in this region during the 19th-century, resulting in the expansion of many cities, towns and villages where outworking housing, workshops and masters' houses were essential elements of production.     

Rainton Bridge South Waggonway

Abstract

The waggonways of the north-east of England represented one of the earliest widespread forms of early railway technology; they were in time to evolve into the modern railway as it was adopted worldwide. However, there has been comparatively little opportunity to carry out detailed archaeological examination of specific sites. Recently, Pre-Construct Archaeology Limited has been able to record the remains of an 18th-century waggonway at Rainton Bridge South, Houghton-le-Spring, which has added significantly to understanding of how these systems evolved and how their archaeology survives.