Ye Pleasant Mount: 1989 1990 Excavations - Open site which ...

Types of European pottery recovered from Trader Point include yellow slipware
(dotted, trailed, and combed varieties), delftware, Whieldonware, Astbury Ware, refined
agateware, refined white salt-glazed stoneware, scratch blue stoneware, Jackfield
stoneware, Burslem stoneware, and several varieties of gray and brown European saltglazed
stoneware. All of these pottery types were in common use only during the
eighteenth century, or earlier. Pottery imported from Europe comprised 58 percent of the
ceramics in Levelland 41 percent from Level 2. In Levels 3 through 7, however, it is
overshadowed by Aboriginal pottery.
The most common European ware found at Mount Pleasant was English delftware.
Three varieties were identified: undecorated, blue decorated, and polychrome decorated.
Most of the delftware was found in the upper zone (Levels 1 and 2), but it also was present
in the lower zone. Delft was uncommon in feature contexts--only two delftware sherds
were recovered from features.
The next most common non-Indian ceramic was coarse earthenware. This is a lowfired,
predominately lead glazed ware that was used for utilitarian purposes (food
processing, cooking, and storage). Similar pottery is extremely common at the Salzburger
settlement of Ebenezer. As with delftware, coarse earthenware was recovered primarily
from the upper zone, but unlike delftware, it was more common in features--ll sherds
were recovered from features.
A minimum vessel analysis was conducted on the ceramics recovered from Trader
Point. This estimate was calculated using rim sherds, or body sherds in instances where
unique vessel body sherds were found. A total of 72 distinctive vessels were
conservatively estimated including 24 that were of Indian origin and 48 made by non­
Indians. Twenty-three distinct vessels ofEuropean manufacture and 13 imported Chinese
vessels were identified. Twelve vessels were either ofEnglish manufacture or were locally
made by European colonists. Imponed, or non-Indian, pottery included 16 cups, 13
bowls, four creampans, three plates, three teapots, one jug, one lidded bowl or pot, and
eight unidentified vessels. A minimum vessel estimate of non-Indian pottery found at
Trader Point is presented in Table 8.
Porcelain was an expensive pottery ware during the early eighteenth century, and one
might not expect it to be found on the rugged frontier. Chinese porcelain comprises less
than 10 percent of the ceramics at Trader Point. By comparison, it constitutes less than 2
percent of the ceramics in the Ebenezer settlement. Although porcelain was found
throughout the Trader Point midden, it is most common in the upper zone.
South has observed that porcelain is often found on frontier military sites, and he
suggests that the use of porcelain as pan of the tea ceremony helped to maintain social
stratification within these settlements (South 1977). By serving tea in fine china, the
British colonists set themselves apan from the lower classes.
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