Report of the Archaeological Investigations of the New Castle Court ...

NEW CASTLE COURT HOUSE PLAZA
NEW CASTLE, DELAWARE
ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT
From July through October, 2003 John Milner Associates, Inc. (JMA) conducted archeological
excavation and monitoring of New Castle Court House plaza located on the northwestern corner
of Delaware and Seconds Streets in the City of New Castle, Delaware. This work was performed
on behalf of Delaware State Museums (DSM). Earlier field work by DSM in 1995 identified the
potential for eighteenth to nineteenth century archeological material within the stratified fill
deposits beneath the current plaza and intact features within the intact subsoil beneath these
deposits.
The archeological investigation conducted at the plaza of the New Castle Court House is the most
recent in a series of archeological projects undertaken at the site spanning nearly 50 years. These
projects build upon the results and interpretations of the excavations that preceded them,
supplying historical and archeological information important to the Court House’s public story.
Earlier archeological work uncovered the foundation of the first court house and tested the yard
and eastern plaza areas.
The work reported here constitutes the most intensive archeological excavation at the Court
House to date and the results of that work encapsulates many of the contributions that historical
archeology has to offer. Over 7,000 artifacts were recovered and 89 archeological features
identified beneath the plaza. The majority of these features relate directly to construction of the
Court House and its associated plaza. Identified features include scaffolding post holes, erosion
trenches, and drip lines. A secondary feature class relates to known, but previously unexamined
features. Features within this category include the retaining walls associated with the circa 1820
and 1845 plaza sections, the portico foundation adjacent to the main entryway into the center
block. The final feature category consists of previously undocumented features corresponding to
a series of possible palisade trenches, a large burned area in front of the 1845 wing, a brick drain
west of the original circa 1820 plaza, a brick foundation wall on the west plaza, and an unlined
cellar hole in front of the 1765/1802 wing.