Artifacts in Focus: Cast Iron Toy Bank (February 19, 2020)

Privies, which are essentially historic outhouses, can contain a wealth of information about the individuals who used them and are remarkably reflective of the time period of their use! "Archaeologists have found that privies embody 'ideas about cleanliness, health, beauty, and privacy, as well as providing data on diet, socioeconomic status, divisions between households, construction methods, and maintenance behavior,' according to Kathleen Wheeler..."

This cast iron toy bank was recovered from a privy identified during an archaeological excavation. What might this object say about the individuals who used the privy?

Learn about privies and their historical significance here: https://daily.jstor.org/privies-vaults-of-the-past/, and let us know what you think about this fantastic find! 

📸: Joshua Butchko

Artifact of the Month: December 2015

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Photograph by Allison A. Gall

Artifacts found below an 1820s-1840s summer house associated with the 19th-century St. Mary's Hall female Episcopalian Seminary in Burlington City, Burlington County, New Jersey. The artifacts include glass tubes from the science lab (A), tobacco pipe stem (B), a Catholic ivory rosary bead (C), a faux gem glass love token given by one student to another that says "Love To Thee" (D), a perfume stopper (E), a writing slate with scored lines (F), slate pencils (G), perfume bottle (H). The site contained important information about education and boarding school life at a 19th-century female seminary. (Description by Michael J. Gall)