archaeological site examination north yard of the ... - Fiske Center

MANAGEMENT SUMMARY
The Jamaica Plain Tuesday Club Inc. contracted
with the Center for Cultural and
Environmental History to conduct an
archaeological site examination at the historic
Loring-Greenough House in the
Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston,
MA. Subsurface testing conducted in 1999
under State Archaeologist permit no. 1826
tested areas to be disturbed by porch rehabilitation,
walkway construction and foundation
work in the carriage house. The second
phase of investigation in April and May
of 2002 under State Archaeologist permit
no. 2145 focused on the temporal assessment
of existing planting beds and identification
of historic planting features in the
north yard of the property. Testing of the
north wall of the carriage house included
under this permit will be reported on under
separate cover.
The initial phase of testing revealed intact
archaeological deposits including a buried
A-horizon, sand bed walkway and two periods
of porch footings on the west side of
the house. In the area of the carriage house
were foundations and associated builders
trenches, deep deposits of mixed fill, possible
refuse pits and a brick walk that predates
the 1811 carriage house. The depth of
deposits suggests significant landscape
modification in the eastern portion of the
property.
The second phase of testing in the north
yard revealed the presence of a buried A-
horizon associated with the eighteenth and
early nineteenth century occupation as well
as sand walkways that may have been laid
down between the 1820s and 1860s when
other changes were made to the house.
Landscaping fill was spread across much of
the property in the late nineteenth to early
twentieth centuries, and this was followed
by additional capping with fill in specific
areas after 1937. The site examination
finds represent an important contribution to
the overall understanding of landscape use
and alteration of the property. Limiting
excavation depth to 16 inches was recommended
for the proposed garden restoration.
Due to the need to place trees and
posts below this depth, the holes for these
new fixtures were recommended to be
archaeologically excavated to mitigate
potential damage to subsurface resources.
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