Pit 27: Level 3

Completed November 18, 2012 by DC Locke, Martin and Emma Kate Banks, Fred Morrison, and David Brinkman. What a level this turned out to be and Emma Kate continued the Banks beginners luck with some great pottery finds and our first clothing item... a colonial period thin brass button. It was in excellent condition with the thread loop still in place. We were all very excited about this one as it adds a missing link to what is now a great collection of artifacts. Fred and Emma also pulled out the top of a shotgun shell. We wondered how such a thing could get so low in level 3. After cleaning and magnification, we discovered it was the first loaded Winchester shotshell (Rival line) of 1886. The brass top was imprinted with "W.R.A Co" which is the Winchester Repeating Arms Company and was a "No 12". Further research showed that this was line of shotshells was made in 1886 but could have been used into the early 1900's although later production would not have been made of brass like this one. The bottom of the brass piece also seemed to have cloth attached to it where newer shells are plastic. DC also found a strange metal piece which reveals a shiny silver surface where corrosion and rust was scratched-off. Could it be a silver item? If this wasn't enough, Emma Kate found our first pipe stem from the 1750-1800 period and Fred found a nice decorated pipe stem from 1720-1750. Level 3 went to the full 50cm depth and produced maybe a record number of pottery artifacts and nails for a single level. The brick count picked up a lot but was, overall, a little low for the hot zone. The glass pieces also showed up in level 3. Just a great level and it puts pit 27 into the top 5 of pits. Counts for all 3 levels: 63 pieces of pottery, 54 pieces of glass, 23 nails, and 2 pipe stems.

Pit 27: Level 3 produced: 48 pieces of pottery, 49 pieces of glass, 22 nails, 2 pipe stems, a brass button, and a very old shotgun.