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

NEW CASTLE COURT HOUSE PLAZA
NEW CASTLE, DELAWARE
3.0 FIELD RESULTS
Feature 31
Feature 31 was identified as a square cut post mold and hole within EU 15 and appears to be the
latest of a grouping of three replacement posts located directly southwest of the circa 1732 block.
It was identified at the top of the 1820 foundation sand, measures 0.9 by 0.8 ft. and was fully
excavated. Total feature depth was approximately 2.06 ft. From the screened feature fill, a total of
seven artifacts were recovered including coal, creamware, unidentified nails, and mortar from the
post hole and a ball clay pipe stem fragment and brick fragments from the mold deposit. A TPQ
of 1770 is derived from the recovery of a creamware sherd.
Feature 35
Feature 35 appears to be the second in a series of three replacement post holes located within the
southwestern corner of EU 15. It measures 1.1 by 0.9 ft. and extends to a depth of approximately
0.85 ft. beneath the top of the circa 1820 sand layer. Brick fragments were the only artifacts
recovered from the feature fill and these were weighed and discarded at that time.
Feature 36
Feature 36, represents the primary post hole in an identified group of three posts within the
southwest corner of EU 15; it was roughly rectangular in plan, measuring 1.5 by 1.1 ft., with a
total excavated depth of 1.79 ft. beneath the circa 1820 sand layer. At the base of the feature, an
oval post impression was noted. From the feature fill, one olive green bottle glass fragment was
recovered and brick fragments were discarded in the field.
Feature 48
Feature 48 was identified along the southern edge of EU 13 at the top of the 1820 foundation sand
layer. It measures 1.1 by 0.7 ft. in plan and extends 2 ft. into the surrounding subsoil, for a total
depth of approximately 2.3 ft. from the top of the 1820 sand deposit. This feature was bisected
and 26 artifacts were recovered from both halves of this fully excavated feature including an
oyster shell fragment, ball clay pipe bowl and stem fragments, unidentified bottle glass,
cut/wrought nails, brick fragments, and window glass.
Feature 51
Feature 51 was identified in EU 13 as a post hole and mold at the base of the 1820 sand layer
measuring 1.3 by 1.2 ft. in plan with an overall depth of 1.62 ft. The depth of the feature
prevented the complete excavation of the post mold from the surrounding feature and only a
portion of the post mold was successfully excavated. This portion of the post mold yielded
thirteen artifacts including a ball clay pipe stem fragment, a brass straight pin, a porcelain sherd,
three bottle fragments, 2 cut/wrought nails, and five window glass fragments. The rest of the
feature yielded 41 artifacts including three ball clay pipe bowl fragments, three redware sherds,
six unidentified olive green bottle fragments, an unidentified brass or copper object, two
unidentified nail fragments, brick fragments, and 23 window glass fragments.
Feature 52
Feature 52 was identified at the base of the 1820 foundation sand layer along the west wall of EU
13. Approximate dimensions are 0.7 by 0.7 ft. and the portion located within EU 13 was fully
excavated to a depth of 2 ft. A total of seven artifacts were collected from the screened feature fill
including one redware sherd, three bottle glass fragments, one cut/wrought nail, brick fragments,
and window glass.
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