Plate 15. Plan view <strong>of</strong> excavated palisade trench post holes (Features 40 through 42) within Feature 29, EUs 15 and 16; view to grid west.
NEW CASTLE COURT HOUSE PLAZA NEW CASTLE, DELAWARE 3.0 FIELD RESULTS Feature 21 Feature 21 is a mortared fieldstone retaining wall associated with <strong>the</strong> circa 1820 plaza. The retaining wall encloses all but <strong>the</strong> newly expanded section <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> plaza and ranges in thickness from approximately 2.5 to 2.7 ft. The exterior <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> foundation wall has been faced, white washed, and capped by a 1.6 ft. wide slate capstone crowned with a wrought iron railing. Twenty artifacts including one chert flake, bone, oyster shell fragments, tin glazed ear<strong>the</strong>nware, creamware, miscellaneous clear lighting glass, nonelectrical wire, olive green bottle fragments, cut/wrought nails, and brick fragments were recovered from fill immediately adjacent to <strong>the</strong> interior sections <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> retaining wall in EUs 5, 12, and 20. Based on <strong>the</strong> presence <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> nonelectrical wire recovered from EU 12, a TPQ <strong>of</strong> 1831 was assigned. Pockets <strong>of</strong> recent fill were noted immediately adjacent to <strong>the</strong> interior sections <strong>of</strong> this wall; some <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> recovered artifacts may have originated from <strong>the</strong>se recent intrusive events. Feature 22 Feature 22 is <strong>the</strong> associated builder’s trench to <strong>the</strong> circa 1820 retaining wall, Feature 21 (Plate 11). It appears that prior to <strong>the</strong> construction <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> plaza, <strong>the</strong> area within <strong>the</strong> footprint <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> circa 1820 plaza was carefully prepared. The topsoil was removed and subsoil cut in order to allow for <strong>the</strong> retaining wall’s construction. This feature was identified and sampled in EUs 5 and 16 and 39 artifacts were recovered including one jasper flake, bone, an oyster shell fragment, charcoal, a brass straight pin, ball clay pipe bowl and stem fragments, tin glazed and buff-bodied ear<strong>the</strong>nware, redware, gray salt glaze stoneware, table glass, unidentified olive green and clear bottle fragments, nails, brick fragments, and window glass. This assemblage was assigned a TPQ <strong>of</strong> 1690 based on <strong>the</strong> recovery <strong>of</strong> a Fulham stoneware fragment from EU 5. Feature 30 Feature 30, a concave decomposing brick-filled trench, was identified at <strong>the</strong> base <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> foundation sand layer within EUs 14 and 15. Overall feature orientation is north-south and <strong>the</strong> length is 4.85 ft. and maximum depth was 0.45 ft. Only brick fragments were recovered from <strong>the</strong> feature fill. Feature 32 Feature 32 is a mortared fieldstone retaining wall, dating to <strong>the</strong> 1845 plaza expansion, measuring approximately 1.9 ft. thick and 1.75 ft. high. Based on <strong>the</strong> excavation <strong>of</strong> EU 22, this foundation wall was constructed directly on top <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> underlying subsoil. This L-shaped wall section extends from <strong>the</strong> southwestern corner <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> 1845 addition and abuts <strong>the</strong> southwest corner <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> original circa 1820 plaza at <strong>the</strong> western edge <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> stairway. The overall finish <strong>of</strong> this section <strong>of</strong> wall appears very similar to <strong>the</strong> circa 1820 portion. The exterior has been faced, white-washed, and capped with a 1.7 ft. wide slate capstone crowned with a wrought iron railing. No artifacts were found in association with this section <strong>of</strong> wall. Feature 33 Feature 33 may represent a utility trench adjacent to <strong>the</strong> interior <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> feature. Dimensions are approximate and measure 1.4 ft. in depth and 0.65 ft. wide. This feature was identified at <strong>the</strong> top <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> foundation sand level and extends to <strong>the</strong> base <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> brick/mortar destruction level. A total <strong>of</strong> 25 artifacts, in addition to brick and mortar fragments, were recovered from <strong>the</strong> sampled portion <strong>of</strong> Feature 33. The assemblage includes bone, clam and oyster shell fragments, one porcelain sherd, one clear bottle fragment, an unidentifiable metal object, 12 cut/wrought nails, and five window glass fragments. 51
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