Archaeology

Another super cold snow day, so I waste some time sorting through our garden finds. It’s amazing how much of the pottery goes together, I even pieced some bits together like a jigsaw. Much of this was found near the house and under the study window. Apparently when things got broken they were literally thrown out of windows, especially kitchen windows! Makes a lot of sense when we find so many pieces that belong together.

We found absolutely nothing outside the front of the house when the French drains were dug out, odd when the back garden was so rich with finds. We suspect the top soil in the front was added more recently which would explain it.

A mug/tankard with many pieces, you can see where the handle was attached. My favourite jigsaw as so many pieces fitted together.

Another tankard with the top rim.

This is something George dug out from under the study window and is a traditional willow pattern meat platter, similar to this one.

Another one that George dug up, and another willow pattern but a plate this time similar to this one.

We are pretty sure this was a chamber pot from the shape and size. This would have been the base.

This was one of our favourite finds, an old pot of ointment called “Poor Man’s Friend”, which I documented back in June in the blog and the main reason I spent a few hours in the bottom of the skip rescuing all these finds! So pleased to have it back.

More pieces from blue and white willow pattern plates and jugs, and a chunky handle.

Pieces of earthenware pots and jugs with simple glazes.

Pieces of a stoneware jug.

A brown handle found in a lump of concrete. This is not the first one we have found and we like to think it was something a builder may have broken and hidden by burying it in a wall. We found another one in the window sill of Zanna’s bedroom and suspect that future owners may find some of our mugs buried in the walls… Many disappeared!

Pieces of glass and bottle tops.

These two heavy lumps of glass are glittery and seem to have been painted gold.

The obligatory clay pipes, a devil’s toenail fossil and only one oyster shell. The stone object in the middle looks like an old knife sharpener that our Grandparents gave to Dad many years ago, it’s the same shape and type of stone.

Old bones and a hairpin.

These are bits of an old range (stove) that came out of the window seat in the study, possibly from a range that was used in the study fireplace. If the study was a kitchen at some point it would make sense that a lot of these broken pots were found under this window.