CHAPTER 3A:  THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXCAVATIONS

Paul Shackel

INTRODUCTION

The following is an overview of the archaeology performed in the summers of 2004 and 2005.  A large proportion of the archaeological data comes from the plow zone and is descriptive in nature, although we did discover several sub–plow zone contexts that reveal clues about the town’s growth and development.  These features provide an opportunity to create a more detailed analysis of nineteenth– and early twentieth–century lifeways in New Philadelphia, and they also helped us to move forward in listing the town site on the National Register of Historic Places. 

METHODS

Likes Land Surveyors, Inc. of Barry, Illinois assisted greatly in the exploration of New Philadelphia.  They located the original plat and imposed the town plan over the existing topography, marking the boundaries of the town, blocks, and lots.  Likes Land Surveyors, Inc. then produced a map, which was overlain on an existing aerial photograph (similar to Figure 3A.1), which then guided our initial archaeological survey in the fall of 2002 and the spring of 2003 (Gwaltney 2004).

Figure 3A.1. 1998 Aerial Photograph of New Philadelphia site with an overlay of the block, lot and street boundaries. The large numbers are the Blocks and the smaller numbers are the lots. (Image courtesy, Natalie Armistead and overlay by Christopher Fennell.)

In order to create an excavation and research strategy, the archaeology team decided that a pedestrian survey should be the initial phase of work.  The survey helped locate and identify artifacts on the surface and allowed the team to determine which areas were settled within the town proper.  New Philadelphia is approximately 42–acres, and prior to this survey the archaeology team asked the New Philadelphia Association to plow the fields that have already been disturbed by prior agricultural activities. They plowed on the average of 0.25 ft.to 0.5 ft.deep and covered about 26½ acres.  This plowing allowed for greater than 75% ground visibility in the fields.  The archaeology team did not survey about 2¼ acres of protective prairie grasses that surrounded the several remnant foundations.  About 3¾ acres of privately owned land were surveyed.  An additional 9½ acres was not surveyed because of terracing for soil conservation, existing historic roads, tree cover, or coverage by part of an artificial pond.  The walkover survey was conducted over the newly plowed fields (Gwaltney 2004).

The walk over survey under the field supervision of Joy Beasley and Tom Gwaltney (see Gwaltney 2004) provides important information that furnishes artifact distributions over the site.  The clustering of artifacts shows distinct patterns that are highly informative for understanding the town’s settlement (Figure 3A.2).  The analysis of the plow zone data indicates that there are large concentrations of artifacts found within the lots bordering Broad Way and Main Street in Blocks 3 (Lots 3–6), 4 (Lots 1, 2, and 8), 7 (Lot 1), 8 (Lots 1–8), 9 (Lot 5), and 13 (Lots 3–4).  Blocks 4 (1856), 8 (1844), and 7 (1854) have the earliest mean ceramic dates and Block 9 has a mean ceramic date of 1858.  Very little work–related materials, like tools associated with blacksmithing, are present in the assemblage (Gwaltney 2004).

Figure 3A.2. Distribution of historic artifacts found at New Philadelphia (from Gwaltney 2004).
(click on image for larger view)

Kitchen wares tend to have the higher proportion of artifacts in each of these blocks and indicate that each of these blocks included domestic structures.  A 1939 aerial photograph shows a domestic structure on Block 7, although the relatively larger proportion of architectural versus kitchen artifacts may indicate that the structure was occupied for a relatively shorter time than the other houses.  An oral history by one of the town’s neighbors suggests that the house was abandoned in the early twentieth century (Burdick 1992: n.p.) and it was dismantled in the 1930s because of its derelict condition and the desire to transform the land into agricultural use. 

While the archaeological data from the walk over survey are from a plowed context, the artifacts provide some very important information that guided our excavation strategies.  This information indicates that there is a high probability of locating the past, domestic occupations of the town. 

After determining the areas of highest artifact concentrations, a geophysical survey was performed by Michael Hargrave (U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Construction Engineering Research Laboratory [CERL]).  This work indicates the presence of subsurface anomalies and allowed the archaeology team to concentrate excavation units on more specific areas of the town site (see Hargrave report).  

In general we have a very good sense of land ownership (based on deed research) and the general population of the town (based on census data).  Based on the historical documentary evidence, archeological survey, and geophysical survey, the archaeology team chose to work in several areas of the town site, including: Block 3, Lots 3–6; Block 4, Lot 1; Block 7, Lot 1; Block 8, Lot 4; Block 9, Lots 4–5; and Block 13, Lots 3–4. 

The archaeology team used engineers scale since it is the most commonly used form of measurement in historical archaeology.  The archaeology work then proceeded in two steps.  First, a form of sampling using 5 x 5 ft. excavation units retrieved data from the town lot and gave us a sense of the plow zone, subsurface features, and artifact concentrations.  Once we established a sense of subsurface artifact concentrations and feature locations, students proceeded with a larger block excavation using 5 x 5ft. excavation units.  Since the area was mostly plowed, these excavations proceeded quickly until the archaeology team encountered subsurface features and/or undisturbed sub–plow zone stratigraphy.  Features, such as pits, were bisected and excavated according to stratigraphy, and the team systematically collected samples for flotation in order to retrieve archaeobiological data. 

The artifacts were analyzed and grouped into several megastrata.  Megastrata I is a mixed context that includes the plowzone.  Megastrata II  is an undisturbed late nineteenth century context and megastrata III is a mid–nineteenth century context.  The subsoil, where no cultural activities occurred is designated megastrata B.

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LAB WORK AND ANALYSIS

During each season, five weeks of fieldwork at New Philadelphia was followed by five weeks of laboratory work and analysis at the Illinois State Museum (ISM) with museum staff members serving as mentors.  Students cleaned, labeled, and identified archaeologically retrieved data. The data were entered into a computer database.  Students then performed a minimum vessel analysis for the archaeological materials found in undisturbed contexts.  Students also learned stabilization procedures for archaeobiological specimens. Marjorie Schroeder (ISM) mentored students during the  SEQ CHAPTER \h \r 1macrofloral analysis.  The students processed soil samples through a flotation device in order to recover archaeobotanical remains, small–scale animal remains, and very small artifacts such as glass beads.

Terrance Martin mentored the NSF–REU students with the identification of animal remains and demonstrated various ways of categorizing anatomical elements as cultural entities (skeletal portions and butchering units), recognizing natural modifications (e.g., carnivore and rodent–gnawing) and cultural modifications (burning, sawed or chopped margins, and knife–cuts), and quantifying faunal assemblages in terms of specimen counts, minimum numbers of individuals, and biomass (Figure 3A.3).

Figure 3A.3. Dr. Terrance Martin, Curator, Illinois State Museum, Instructs students in faunal identification

(Courtesy, Paul A. Shackel).

The development of collegial relationships and interactions is an important part of this NSF–REU project.  For 10 weeks students worked together in a collaborative fashion, using scientific methods to collect data and analyze it.  While we encouraged a sense of team work, mentors were always present showing students how to develop and change methods when necessary, analyze data, and think about the results of their work.  This relationship ensured the development of student–faculty interaction and student–student communication.

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THE REGIONAL ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD

While we know a tremendous amount about the McWorters and their association with the development of New Philadelphia, the archaeology provides a voice to the many other occupants about whom we know very little.  The archaeology helps contribute to the social history of the town and provides clues related to health, diet, social interaction, and consumer behavior. For a more detailed description of the archaeology, see the Unit Summaries set forth in Appendix A. The following section provides an overview for some of the features and artifacts found on the lots in which excavations were conducted over the past two summers.  This section is then followed by subchapters which provide an overview of the archeology in each lot along with a list of deed, tax, and census data.  This description helps us form a preliminary understanding of the use and development of these portions of the New Philadelphia town site.

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AN OVERVIEW OF FEATURES AND ARTIFACTS – 2004 and 2005

Robert Mazrim’s (2002:161–172) synthesis of historic sites found on the Illinois frontier provides a comparison for understanding the archaeology in New Philadelphia.  His work focuses on the identification of features and artifacts found on Illinois frontier sites. While his work is helpful for understanding the earliest settlement of New Philadelphia, it also serves as a baseline for the later archeological materials found at the site.  Useful for this project is Mazrim’s (2002) identification of three types of feature pits that could be found in a rural frontier site.  This information is used here as a guideline for the New Philadelphia site.

In frontier Illinois there may have been little need for refuse pits, but as towns developed refuse disposal became more prominent. Hogs and other wild animals, like dogs, raccoons and small rodents, may have roamed the grounds of New Philadelphia, devouring food remains.  A preliminary review of the recovered faunal assemblage shows a considerable amount of rodent gnawing. Other materials, such as ceramics, bottles, and architectural remains were probably disposed in areas farthest from the house and probably close to property boundaries.  Whether a frontier, a developing rural community, or an urban area, pits such as cellars, storage areas, or privy vaults, would eventually be filled after their primary functional uses were no longer needed. This fill would still consist of surrounding soils and debris.  Sometimes this filling occurred before abandonment of the original function, although in rural contexts it probably occurred more often after abandonment.  For instance, a cellar pit may function as a place to store goods under the floor of a cabin, but after the building is abandoned and the cabin torn down or salvaged for materials, the cellar would be filled with either the remaining architectural debris, or with trash from the surrounding area. The identification of artifacts and their known manufacturing dates provides a good indication of the feature’s secondary use.

Houses

The early settlement houses on the Illinois frontier tended to be log cabins.  For instance, John Woods, an English immigrant who settled the area after the War of 1812, described in detail the 16 x18 ft. log structure built by one of his neighbors.  These early houses were generally one story.  Two doors were placed on opposite sides of the house and the chimney placed at the end.  The chimney was constructed of wood and plastered on the inside with either clay or loam.  Stone or clay lined the hearth.  Another cabin built in 1817 in the Wabash Valley was described as being 12 x 14 ft. with an earthen floor.  A chimney did not exist, but rather there was a space between the clapboards so that the smoke could escape.  Some cabins also had a loft or attic space for storage (from Mazrim 2002:18–19).

Subfloor Pit Cellars

Cellar pits tend to be geometric in plan and usually one to three feet below the plow zone.  Phillippee and Walters (1986) note that some mid–nineteenth century subfloor features measured 5 x 7 ft., and most measuring 8 x 12ft.  Charles Faulkner (1986) observed pit cellars measuring 6.5 x 5ft., 8 x 8ft., and 10 x 15ft.  Mazrim (2000:163) notes that several frontier–era pit cellars in Illinois measured from 3 ft. to 9 ft. wide by 6 ft. to 11.5 ft. long.   These features tend to have flat bases and straight walls, although the sides may have slumped to provide a concave shape.  The pit cellars tend to fall into two categories.  The first type is wide and shallow and could have been used for crawl space.  The second type tends to be smaller and more regular in dimension, but deeper.  Remains of such pits tend to extend from 1.0 to 2.0 ft. below the base of the plow zone.

In the 2004 excavations at New Philadelphia, archaeologists located two subfloor features in Block 8, Lot 4 and another in Block 9, Lot 5.  The Block 8 feature (Feature 4) measures about 12.5 x 12.0 ft. and is at least 2.5 ft. below the plow zone.  Few artifacts, faunal, or botanical remains came from this feature, although the filling episode dates to the 1850s.

The Block 9 feature (Feature 1) measures about 5.0 x 5.0 ft. and it at least 0.5 ft. below the plow one.  This cellar pit may be shallower than the ones identified by Mazrim since the plow zone may be a bit deeper than most sites (see below for more detail).  The feature materials date to about the 1850s to 1870.  According to the tax records the building was dismantled before 1870 and another one was constructed over the filled cellar.  It stood until the 1940s.  The feature fill is associated with Casiah Clark’s occupation of the lot.

Exterior Crop–Storage Pitss

Exterior crop–storage pits served to store fruits and vegetables during the winter months. A shallow hole would be excavated, then stacked with crops, and finally covered with straw, branches, and soil to insulate it from frost. When the family needed food, the covering would be pulled back in one section and vegetables could be retrieved.  These pits are often found near wells or near fence lines and they tend to be more oval and/or oblong in shape when compared to pit cellars and can be up to 1.0 ft. deeper than the base of the plow zone (Mazrim 202:163–165).

Privy Vaults

Mazrim (2002:168) has identified several features that he describes as privy vaults.  While these features are difficult to identify it appears that many located in a rural setting may have been shallow and periodically shoveled out through a rear trap door.  While they tend to be geometric in shape, they are also smaller in size when compared to pit cellars and they are no more that 1.0 ft. deeper than the base of the plow zone. While expecting to find fecally–deposited seeds such as blackberry and raspberry, Mazrim suggests that these seeds are non–staple foods and are not a significant part of the frontier diet of the 1830s and 1840s. 

Material Goods

St. Louis served as a major port of entry for consumer goods for the region.  Ceramics from Great Britain and redware and stoneware vessels from places like Louisville, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh found their way to the inland regions via St. Louis (Davis 1998). 

By the 1830s the markets expanded considerably.  In 1832 steamboats connected Chicago and the Midwest to eastern ports via the Erie Canal and the city of Buffalo.  Work on the Erie Canal in New York State eventually spurred canal projects in Illinois and eventually bound Illinois to northeastern markets (Davis 1998).

By the 1850s the increased transportation and communications development effectively closed the Illinois frontier.  For instance, in 1834 about 230 steamboats traveled through the Mississippi and its tributaries and by 1848 about 1,300 navigated through the waters (Davis 1998). 

In 1851, for example, Chicago shipped nearly 40 percent of the corn entering Buffalo, over 42 percent of the oat, over half the wheat, nearly 54 percent of the bacon and hams, nearly 57 percent of the beef, nearly two–thirds of the corn.  Chicago, moreover, shipped over 22 percent of the furs, nearly half the hides, and over 99 percent of the buffalo robes (Davis 1998:358).

By the end of the decade Chicago shipped over 18 million bushels of grain.  The Midwest economy became a major player in developing the American capitalist economy.  The Illinois and Midwest region was no longer isolated and other regions depended on its products (Davis 1998).

Ceramics

Stoneware and redware vessels are rare on Illinois sites that predate 1835 and their presence does not increase until steamboats commerce increases. “Food storage vessels consist of small to medium–capacity pots and jugs.  Food preparation vessels consist primarily of multipurpose, deep kitchen bowls” (Mazrim 2002:217).  Milk pans can also be found at sites, although their quantities are low.  The lack of regional potters in the first quarter of the nineteenth century meant that crockery vessels are almost non–existent on these early sites.  Many of these vessels do not appear in the archaeological record until about the 1830s (Smith and Bonath 1982:937).  Illinois redware potters primarily made utilitarian kitchenwares, such as pots, bowls, and jugs, prior to the 1840s.  Local potters in the German communities of Quincy’s post–frontier era provided the area with an array of objects for cooking such as pipkins, mush mugs, porringers, herb pots, or bean pots (Mazrim 2002:245, 265).  The available redware assemblages became much more elaborate. Stoneware was not made in any quantity in Illinois until the mid–1830s (Mounce 1989). Food service vessels, such as table plates and bowls are prevalent on early nineteenth–century domestic sites.  Chamber pots and apothecary vessels are also common, while yellowware vessels tend to be rare (Mazrim 2002). 

Yellowware is a simple hollowware form that was first manufactured in England in the late eighteenth century and by the 1830s potters in New Jersey and Vermont manufactured this type of ceramic.  By the 1840s potters in Ohio and Indiana produced it, and by the 1850s potters manufactured it in Illinois (Ramsey 1939).  By the mid– to late–nineteenth century, yellowware (1830–1900) became a popular ceramic used as a container in the area of New Philadelphia.  Several of these vessel types have a banded design. The largest quantity of utilitarian wares (used for food storage) found is buff pasted stonewares (1840–1900).   Most of the refined earthenware ceramics (used for dining and serving) found at New Philadelphia tended to be undecorated whitewares (1820–1900) and a few transfer prints have been identified.  The most common print design is blue, while pieces of brown, black, cranberry and green transfer prints are also present throughout the town.  Most of the shell edge pieces are painted with molding (Figure 3A.4).

Figure 3A.4. Ceramics from the New Philadelphia site. Clockwise from top left: undecorated whiteware, banded yellowware, sponge–decorated whiteware, and hand painted whiteware
(Courtesy, Gary Andrashko, Illinois State Museum).

(Click image for larger view)

Generally, the proportion of refined earthenware shards (and vessels from the features) is much higher than course earthenwares found at New Philadelphia.  In the sites examined by Mazrim (2002:248) he finds that the ratio of refined earthenwares to utilitarian wares is no less than 5:1.  While this ration might be surprising for sites established in a frontier context and counter our beliefs about life on the frontier, it is really the norm since these places were well connected to eastern ports.  On the other hand, several sites in western Pennsylvania, dating to about 1790–1840 and closer to the eastern ports, have a much higher proportion of course earthenwares (Mazrim 2002).  This phenomenon may be attributed to members of the German communities relying more heavily on established local redware potters for their tableware ceramics.

Glass

Container glass is rare on pre–1835 rural sites in Illinois.  The archaeological assemblages tend to be small, unidentifiable, and aqua shards.  They are most probably medicine bottles or glass vessels used for household chemical products (Mazrim 2002:219).  Olive green glass containers tended to hold wine and other spirits.

 During the late nineteenth century occupation at New Philadelphia most of the container glass is highly fragmented from being part of the plow zone, and the original function is difficult to discern.  There is a portion of an aqua–green scroll flask container that would have come from a pear–shaped vessel with an oblong base.  There are a wide range of scroll flasks manufactured in the middle of the nineteenth century, all with pear–shaped bodies and stylized designs.  Some were made as early as the beginning of the 1830s and most were manufactured from 1840 to 1855 and were produced in the Midwest (Spillman 1883:38).  At New Philadelphia the scroll flask shard was found in a late nineteenth–century context in Block 9, Lot 5.  Since it was manufactured in the mid–nineteenth century and disposed of at a much later date it may have been a family possession for several decades before being discarded (Figure 3A.5).

Figure 3A.5. The remains of a scroll flask found in Block 9, Lot 5 (Photograph by Christopher Valvano)

(Click image for larger view)

Glass lid liners are found throughout the entire town.  Most are fragmented, although archeologists found a complete liner in Block 9, Lot 5 (Figure 3A.6).  The lid liners are an indication of the wax seal technology that developed by the mid–nineteenth century.  Glass jars were covered with matching glass or tin lids and a wax or grease element formed an airtight seal.  John Landis Mason, a New York tinsmith, developed a process of pressing zinc lids for threaded canning jars.  By 1868 the first glass inserts were developed by Salmon B. Rowley.  They tended to be opaque milk glass.  The screw lids with lid liners decreased the chances of spoilage and facilitated the canning process (Munsey 1970:146).

Figure 3A.6. Complete lid liner found in Block 9, Lot 5

(Photograph by Christopher Valvano).

(Click image for larger view)

Ink Bottle

In Block 8, Lot 4 archaeologists recovered fragments of a container glass immediately above a subterranean feature (Feature 4) (Figure 3A.7). When mended the container has an embossed makers’s mark – “J.J. Butler/Cin.”  The J.J. Butler Company was a Cincinnati based manufacturer of inks.  The square bottle was manufactures between 1854 and 1860.  More information and photos can be found at www.ottlebooks.com/Butler/butlerbottles.htm .[i]

Figure 3A.7.  J.J. Butler bottle manufactured in Cincinnati between 1854 and 1860 found above Feature 4 in Block 8, Lot 4 (Photograph by Christopher Valvano).
(Click image for larger view)

Activity Related Artifacts

Activity related artifacts are found in relatively low frequencies during the frontier era, although the most common artifacts found are related to sewing, writing, grooming and leisure activities.  Sewing related artifacts include straight pins, thimbles, small scissors, and spindle wheels.  Straight pins often dominate the sewing assemblage and writing slate and slate pencils represents the writing category.  Grooming related artifacts found at sites include fine–toothed combs (Mazrim 2002:221).

Many of these activity–related artifacts dating from the late nineteenth–century occupation of New Philadelphia were more common in the archaeological record.  Feature 1, related to the 1850s–1870 occupation of Casiah Clark’s household on Block 9, Lot 5, contains six thimbles, a scissor handle, and milk glass, bone, and shell buttons.  There is one shell button platform that appears to have been broken during the manufacture of the button.  A fine–tooth comb, also known as a lice comb, was also found.  All of these artifacts are related to specific domestic and grooming activities (Figure 3A.8 and 3A.9).

Figure 3A.8. Thimbles found in Feature 1, Block 9, Lot 5 (Courtesy, Gary Andrashko, Illinois State Museum).
(Click image for larger view)

Figure 3A.9. Lice comb found on Block 9, Lot 5

(Photograph by Christopher Valvano).
(click on image for larger view) 

Leisure Activities

Leisure activity artifacts generally include smoking pipes, gaming pieces, and jaw harps.  Smoking pipes are the most regionally diverse product.  For instance, in the American Bottom the redware Moravian–type forms are common.  These tend to have anthropomorphic figures, much like those found in the South Carolina region (Bivan 1972).  In the Sangamon region the pipes tend to be undecorated redware elbow pipes.  Mazrim (2002:221) believes that a local potter John Elby may manufacture these. The English long stem white kaolin pipe is also present in the region.  White kaolin pipes are also found in the Wabash Valley region (Mazrim 2002:221).

New Philadelphia has a mix of both terracotta (described above as redware) and kaolin pipes.  While the assemblage was fragmented, the four terracotta bowl fragments are from different individual pipes (Figure 3A.10).  There are two kaolin pipe fragments.  It appears that finding a mix of kaolin and terracotta pipes is common for this region of Illinois (Smith and Bonath 1982:954). 

Figure 3A.10. Redware pipe bowl fragments from the New Philadelphia site
(Courtesy, Gary Andrashko, Illinois State Museum) (Click image for larger view)

Very few jewelry pieces are part of the New Philadelphia assemblage and they are mostly beads, and only two are black, while another is milk glass.  A crinoid (fossil) found in a historic context may have been used as a bead.  The surface collection yielded two Job’s Tear beads.

Archeologists found several toy objects throughout the site.  In Feature 1 of Block 9, Lot 5, archaeologists found a miniature pewter toy set that included a pitcher and an urn.  In Block 3, Lot 3, they uncovered a glazed multi–colored large marble and one whole and one fragment of an unglazed kaolin marble. 

Mancala pieces have been found in almost every area excavated in 2005 (Figure 3A.11). Mancala refers to a large family of games based on distributing seeds, pebbles, or shells into holes or cups. Mathematicians who study games often call the Mancala family "sowing games."  Mancala, derived from the Arabic word manqala meaning, "to move."  Also called Adi, Adji, Awale, Awele, Awari, Ayo, Ayo–ayo, Gepeta, Ourin, Ourri, Oware, Wari, Warra, or Warri, the game is played by distributing gaming pieces into holes or cups.  The game developed about 4000 years ago in the Middle East and is also played widely in Africa (Cullin 1894).  African people often played with pebbles or cowry shells, using hollows scooped into the earth or pecked into stone.  They brought their variations of mancala with them to the United States during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.  Different versions of the game have been found in the Near East, Egypt, West Africa, and the Caribbean (NPS 2005a; Samford 1994; also see Galke 2000; Patten 1992).

In 1919 Felix von Luschan mentioned warra as played in southern states and communities with large populations of African Americans (Luschan 1919).  Mancala has been identified at a variety of eighteenth and nineteenth–century plantation sites as well as at a free African–American site.  The mancala pieces are typically small, diamond–shaped objects fashioned out of broken ceramic and glass shards.  These ceramic shards are smoothed and worn around the edges from years of play (NPS 2005b).

Figure 3A.11. Possible gaming pieces from a game known as mancala were found throughout the New Philadelphia site

(Photograph by Christopher Valvano). (Click image for larger view)

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