We are finding many animal bones in the sink (latrine) from Block 8 being excavated this year.  Two of these bones are from a cow, the radius and ulna.  In the pictures below, you can see one end (the proximal end of the ulna) shows a growth cap having yet to seal and the other […]

One of the first artifacts to be located within level 1 of Feature 124 (a latrine used in late 1862 or early 1863) was this 12-sided bottle. The bottle is just over 10 centimeters in length and 5 centimeters in width.  We have yet to remove the bottle from the latrine, but expect to in […]

  This artifact was discovered within the excavations of the Block 8 area.  It appears to be lead, having been flattened out and small cut-outs removed.  I can’t explain the very small holes, but the other cut-out shapes may have been lead pieces being used for sets in jewelry.  It is quite a unique piece […]

Today, July 7, 2009, Hannah (a student in the Heidelberg University archaeological field school) discovered this hard rubber ring in the 1862-1863 prison hospital latrine.  The ring is made from hard rubber, first patented in 1851.  Prisoners made this jewelry to send to their families, friends, and to sell to fellow prisoners.  Several prisoners were […]

by Juli, Phil, and Tim One of the more intriguing finds of the past couple of weeks has been the fragments (referred to collectively as the “vessel cluster”) of a Kaolin clay tobacco pipe unearthed while excavating Block 6, the hospital block (Figure 1). Kaolin, a soft, white mineral, was first mined centuries ago in […]