With the forecast last night indicating we would be in for some thunderstorms (and indeed one big storm rolled in around 6am this morning), we decided that today would be a day to catch up on artifact processing, paperwork, and setting the trailer to rights.
We met in the classroom first thing and had a chance to talk about all we have accomplished so far, and what still needs to get done in the last four days (!) of field school. Then everyone headed to the Archaeology Centre, where we had some people counting and bagging the artifacts that had been washed on Wednesday, while others started in on the bags of artifacts that need to be washed.
It is always fun to see the things that come out of the bags!
I had fun today trying to figure out what some of the enigmatic objects we have are. It was satisfying to ID a John Collins bottle, a vacuum tube, and this artifact:
I knew it had to be from some kind of equipment or machinery, but I couldn’t place what it was exactly. It is cast iron, and has three bolts so it obviously was attached to something larger. I was thinking it might be a tractor step, but I now know this is a step from a horse drawn cart or carriage!
You can see a similar one on this illustration of a hansom cab, mounted right underneath the passenger’s feet. Most of the artifacts we have found on the site date to the later phases of occupation, but every once in a while we have a peek into the earlier times of this site, which is exciting!
Here are some in much nicer condition than the one we found!
Perhaps this was made by one of the many carriage makers we know was established in Peterborough in the nineteenth century. The southwest corner of the stretch of Brock Street between Water and George St. in particular had a major carriage factory owned by George Fitzgerald, known in the 1880s as Fitzgerald and Stanger, and later as Fitzgerald and Co.
George Fitzgerald and Charles Stanger were both masters of the carriage trade. Their original factory at Aylmer and Charlotte burned to the ground in September 1882. Francis Birdsall built a new building at Water and Brock to Fitzgerald’s standards. Unfortunately, the new factory also burned down in September 1883, as a fire in a house at George and Brock spread rapidly through the Water St. livery stables of Hopkins and Montgomery, and from there to the carriage factory. It was rebuilt again and later on became the home of the Canadian Canoe Company.
We got a bunch of artifacts washed and they will hopefully dry over the weekend, the trailer has been cleaned out and organised, and we now have a site map. All in all it was a very successful morning! We stopped at lunch so everyone could start their long weekend a little early.
We’ll meet again on Tuesday for the last four days, happy Victoria Day weekend, everyone!
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