The difficulties of dating #3: the bigger picture

The stone synagogue built in Christchurch in 1881. Prior to this a wooden synagogue had been built in the same location in the 1860s. Image: New Zealand Electronic Text Collection.

The stone synagogue built in Christchurch in 1881. Image: New Zealand Electronic Text Collection.

Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve looked at some of the methods we use to date archaeological objects found in Christchurch. This week, we’re going to look at how artefacts, documentary evidence and archaeological context can be used to date a site. To do this, we’re going to use the example of a site on Gloucester Street that came to be associated with the first synagogue  in Christchurch.

In the case of this site, we initially focused our efforts on old maps and deeds, followed by more extensive research in local newspapers of the time. In Charles Edward Fooks’ 1862 map of Christchurch, we found that there was at least one building on the site at this time (originally known as Town Section 398). That same building is also visible in Frederick Strouts’ 1877 map of the area. From the old deeds index, we were then able to find that Town Section 398 (and the adjacent 397) was bought by Ann Elizabeth Leslie, spinster (not an occupation you’d find listed today!), in 1851 and remained in her ownership until 1885, when the section (and building) was sold to someone by the name of Zachariah.

Unfortunately – and this is how documentary research can be as frustrating as artefact dating – we couldn’t find much information about Ann Leslie in the newspapers or any other resources. However, thanks to Papers Past, we were able to find out that Zachariah was a rabbi by the name of Isaac Zachariah, who moved with his family from their Hereford Street home to the Gloucester Street site in 1885, staying there until his death in 1906 (Clements n.d., Press 4/11/1881:3). During this time, he was the rabbi for the nearby synagogue, constructed in 1881 (replacing the initial wooden synagogue built in the 1860s). We know from newspaper accounts and obituaries that Zachariah arrived in New Zealand from his home in Palestine in the 1860s and worked as a rabbi during the gold rush on the West Coast before moving to Christchurch in the 1870s (West Coast Times 4/4/1868: 2). He had three sons with his wife, Eve, who would have been 3, 14 and 18 years old when the family moved to Gloucester Street (Star 13/12/1882: 2).

An obituary for the Reverend Isaac Zachariah, who died in 1906. Image: The Star 27/01/1906.

An obituary for the Reverend Isaac Zachariah, who died in 1906. Image: Star 27/01/1906.

The excavation of the site revealed a number of rubbish pits, well outside the footprint of the 1862 and 1877 buildings. If the pits had been in the same part of the section as the buildings, we could have dated them to before the construction of those structures or after their demolition. Since they weren’t, we turned to the artefacts to help narrow down the dates.

A photograph of the site showing the approximate location of the various rubbish pits and features uncovered during excavation. Image: L. Tremlett.

The approximate location of the various rubbish pits and features uncovered during excavation. Image: L. Tremlett.

The base of a Thomas Raines torpedo shaped soda water bottle found at this site.  This bottle can be dated to between 1859 and 1871 by matching the embossed mark to corresponding changes in the name and location of Raine's soda water business in Christchurch.

The base of a Thomas Raines torpedo-shaped soda water bottle found at this site. This bottle can be dated to between 1859 and 1871 by matching the embossed mark to corresponding changes in the name and location of Raine’s soda water business in Christchurch. Image: K. Bone.

Going by their manufacturing marks, the objects from the four pits were all made during the same period, between the early 1850s and mid 1880s. The earliest possible date of manufacture is from a Copeland/Late Spode chamberpot, with a manufacturing range of 1847-1867, while the latest is from a Bridgwood & Co bowl made after 1885 (Godden 1991: 102). Those artefacts that didn’t have specific maker’s marks, especially the bottles, all had manufacturing evidence that could easily fit within the 1850s-1880s date range (which is quite broad, really).

Photograph of the Copeland/Late Spode bowl found at this site, manufactured between  1847 and 1867. We know this thanks to the manufacturing mark on the back, which was only in use during this period of time. Image: K. Bone.

The Copeland/Late Spode bowl found at this site, manufactured between 1847 and 1867. We know this thanks to the manufacturing mark on the back, which was only in use during this period of time. Image: K. Bone.

Without taking into consideration the issues of time lag or bottle reuse, and knowing that these assemblages hadn’t been disturbed since they were first deposited (this is something we can tell from the state of the ground around and within the deposit), these dates give us a terminus post quem or TPQ of 1885.  TPQ (which means ‘limit after which’) refers to the earliest date at which an archaeological deposit could have been put in the ground. It’s usually taken from the date of the youngest artefact in an assemblage – in this case, the 1885+ Bridgwood bowl – since, if that assemblage was all thrown out at the same time, it can’t have been discarded before the bowl was made. We know that it was probably thrown out at the same time or over a very short period of time because of the lack of stratigraphy, or changes in the soil layers, in the deposit itself.

TPQ goes hand in hand with another acronym, TAQ, or terminus ante quem (limit before which), the latest point in time at which an assemblage could have been chucked out. At the Gloucester Street site, we know that a large brick building was built there, directly above the archaeology we found, in 1928. Obviously, this means that those deposits have to have been there before that building was constructed, making 1928 our TAQ. Consequently, the material has to have been buried between 1885 and 1928.

Part of a 1928 plan of the Gloucester street site, showing that a brick building had been constructed on the section by this year. Image: LandOnline.

Part of a 1928 plan of the Gloucester street site, showing that a brick building had been constructed on the section by this year. Image: LINZ 1928.

If we then take into account the questions of bottle reuse, ceramic uselife and time lag that we’ve discussed in the last two blog posts, there’s a good chance that our actual date of discard is a bit later than 1885. Our dates of use are almost definitely later than the 1847-1867, 1851-1862  and 1862-1882 dates of manufacture of the ceramic artefacts. The problem, though, is figuring out how much later. If we go with the American estimate of a 15-25 year time lag for ceramic artefacts (Adams 2003), we’re looking at a discard date of 1900-1910 for the Bridgwood bowl and a period of use for most of the objects spanning the 1880s and 1890s.

Fragments of a Pinder Bourne & Hope plate found at the site. Even though this plate must have been manufactured between 1847 and 1862, it was probably discarded much later than that. In the case of this site

Fragments of a Pinder Bourne & Hope plate found at the site. Even though this plate must have been manufactured between 1851 and 1862, it was discarded at a much later date and provides a good example of how dates of manufacture may not necessarily match up with dates of use and discard. Image: K. Bone.

A pudding doll, or 'frozen charlotte' found at the site, suggesting the presence of children. Image: K. Bone.

A pudding doll, or ‘frozen charlotte’ found at the site, suggesting the presence of children. Image: K. Bone.

 

These dates fit in pretty clearly with the dates for the Zachariah family’s occupation of the site. Even if the 15-25 year time lag estimate isn’t quite right for a New Zealand site and we’re looking at a shorter period of time between manufacture and discard, these artefacts still can’t have been thrown out before the mid-late 1880s, after Isaac Zachariah and his family moved in. To add to this, we found a bunch of children’s artefacts in the assemblages – including a  ‘pudding doll’ and multiple children’s shoes – that suggest the artefacts belonged to a family, and we know that Zachariah had children from the ages of 3 to 18 when he moved in.

It seems clear, then, that the artefacts we found at 72 Gloucester Street are related to Isaac Zachariah and his family. Using their archaeological context and historical records, we’re able to take these objects and put a face and a name to the people who used them through the likely dates of their manufacture, use and discard. By themselves, those dates don’t necessarily tell us much about Isaac Zachariah and his family, but they do let us build a bridge between the historical record of their lives and the material remains of their time in this location. Without that bridge, this assemblage would be just another discarded collection of objects, rather than a window into the experiences of people in the past.

Jessie Garland

References

Adams, W. H., 2003. Dating Historical Artefacts: The Importance of Understanding Time Lag in the Acquisition, Curation, Use, and Disposal of Artefacts. Historical Archaeology 37(2): 38-64.

Clements, M., n.d. [Online] Available at: http://www.nzjewisharchives.org/history.htm

Donaldson, B., Hume, G. and Costello, S., 1990. Antique Bottle and Containers of Christchurch and District. Christchurch Antique Bottles and Collectibles Club, Christchurch.

Fooks, C. E., 1862. Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand, 1862. Cartographic material. Christchurch [N.Z.]: C.E. Fooks. File Reference: CCLMaps 212667.

Godden, G.A., 1991. Encyclopaedia of British Pottery and Porcelain Marks. Barrie and Jenkins Ltd, London.

LINZ, 1928. DP 9042, Canterbury. Landonline.

Star. [Online] Available at: www.paperspast.natlib.govt.nz.

Strouts, F.S., 1877. Christchurch, Canterbury, 1877. Compiled from data supplied to City Council and District Drainage Board by Frederick. Strouts. Cartographic material. Christchurch, NZ: Ward and Reeves. File Reference: ATLMAPS ATL-Acc-3158

The Potteries, n.d.. A History of Stoke-on-Trent. [online] Available at http://www.thepotteries.org.

West Coast Times. [Online] Available at: www.paperspast.natlib.govt.nz.

Wises New Zealand Post Office Directory. 1872-1979. Dunedin: H. Wise & Co.

The difficulties of dating #1: age is not equal to experience

One of the most commonly assumed facts about archaeologists (aside from our ability to have adventures, look good in a fedora and be surprisingly skilful with a whip), is that we can look at an object and know how old it is. While this (much like the fedora and whip thing) is not true of all archaeologists, the ability to date artefacts is an integral part of the archaeological process. It is by no means the only part, but it is an important feature of our work and one that can, on occasion, be a little bit frustrating.

Today’s post is the first of three looking at how we date artefacts and assemblages; what this means for the broader archaeological interpretation of sites and people in the past; and some of the difficulties we encounter along the way. This week focuses on some of the issues involved in using evidence of manufacturing methods to date artefacts – specifically, glass bottles – and how those dates relate to the use and eventual discard of an object.

Illustration of the glassmaking methods used in England in 1858.

The glassmaking methods used in England in 1858. Early glass vessels were ‘freeblown’ or blown by skilled glassmakers without the aid of a mould and are easy to identify, since they’re often asymmetrical with various degrees of imperfections in the glass. Alternatively, bottles blown using a mould can be identified by the seams left on the glass where the mould closed/opened (see below) and by the obviously hand finished tops. There’s an excellent video of the mould blowing process here, under the mould blown manufacturing section. Image: William Barclay Parsons Collection, New York Public Library Archives. Accessed through Wikimedia Commons.

When we find artefacts at a site and get them back to the lab, one of the first things we look at is when they might have been made (even though we’re most interested in when they were used, which is not the same thing). Bottles (and other artefacts as well) are covered in physical clues that can help date when they were made, thanks to modifications in manufacturing techniques and changes in style or fashion over the decades. Such clues are visible in the seams of a bottle, its shape, the type of closure (top of the bottle) and a hundred other scars and traces left behind by the manufacturing process.

Various glass bottle moulds, into which the hot glass would have been placed and then blown into shape by skilled glassblowers during the 19th century.  From left to right: a dip mould, tapered inwards towards the bottom to aid in the removal of the cooled glass. Dip moulded bottles usually date to the first three quarters of the 19th century (not always, though!) and are identified by a ridge  and/or seam running around the shoulder of a bottle, where the mould ended and the bottle was finished by hand.

Various glass bottle moulds, into which the hot glass would have been placed and then blown into shape by skilled glassblowers during the 19th century. These would have resulted in seams running up the sides of the bottles they made (in the case of the two piece moulds) or around the shoulder (where the dip mould stops), which allow us to identify exactly which method was used. Dip moulds tend to suggest earlier dates of manufacture than two piece moulds (although not always!). Images: Lindsey 2010

Image of the Owen's Automatic Bottling Machine, #6. Michael Owen's invention, patented in 1904, was the first fully automated   bottle making machine and paved the way for the 20th century machine made bottle industry. Image: Walbridge 1920, taken from Lindsey 2010.

Image of the Owen’s Automatic Bottling Machine, #6. Michael Owen’s invention, patented in 1904, was the first fully automated bottle making machine and paved the way for the 20th century machine made bottle industry. Image: Walbridge 1920, from Lindsey 2010.

The information these scars provide can be anything from extremely broad date ranges to quite narrow periods of manufacture. There’s an obvious and highly visible distinction, for example, between 20th century machine made bottles and (usually) pre-1900 mould or free blown bottles, but dating an artefact to one century or the other is, unfortunately, a little inexact for our purposes. On the other hand, characteristics like crown top closures (invented in 1892) or the Codd style soda bottle (patented in 1870 (UK) and 1873 (USA) and used until the early 20th century) can help to narrow down the date to a specific decade (Lindsey 2010).

 

From right to left: A 19th century dip moulded black beer bottle, probably made before the late 1880s (note the slightly wonky shape); a crown top Robinson & Sons bottle manufactured after 1892; a 20th century machine made pharmaceutical bottle, dated by the seams you can see running up the side of the bottle to the top of the lip; a Codd style Smith & Holland soda water bottle, made after the style was patented in 1873 (in this case we know the bottle was made between 1920 and 1924, when Smith & Holland were operating). Images: J. Garland.

From left to right: A 19th century dip moulded black beer bottle, probably made before the 1880s (note the slightly wonky shape); a crown top Robinson & Sons bottle manufactured after 1892; a 20th century machine made pharmaceutical bottle, dated by the seams you can see running up the side of the bottle from the base to the top of the lip; a Codd-style Smith & Holland soda water bottle, made after the style was patented in 1873 (in this case we know the bottle was made between 1920 and 1924, when Smith & Holland were operating). Images: J. Garland.

A page from the 1906 catalogue of the Illinois Glass Company, one of the many glassmaking companies operating in the 19th and early 20th century. Image taken from Lindsey 2010.

A page from the 1906 catalogue of the Illinois Glass Company, one of the many glassmaking companies operating at the time. Image: Lindsey 2010.

Unfortunately, however, some bottles have very few traces of the manufacturing process evident on the glass and can only be dated very roughly. Even when the details of manufacture are visible, we have to be aware that the transition from one manufacturing technique to another (and thus their associated dates) was never clear cut. Since these bottles were being made by individual glassmaking companies and, within that, by individual glassmakers, a lot of the variation in early bottles is as dependent on the people behind the process as it is on the technology available. It’s simultaneously one of the coolest things about 19th century artefacts – the personal touch behind each object – and the most frustrating, from a dating perspective at least.

Glass blowers

A 1908 photograph of a gaffer (glassblower) and his team manufacturing glass bottles at West Virginia factory. Image: Lewis Hine photo, Library of Congress, from Lindsey 2010.

Fortunately, we have alternative ways of figuring out the manufacturing dates of glass vessels. As we’ve mentioned before, sometimes bottles will have a maker’s mark stamped on the base and, depending on how often a manufacturer changed their stamp (and how well documented those changes are), we can use these to establish when an artefact was made. Other times, we’ll be able to determine the contents of the bottle from embossing on the glass and figure out when that product was being made or sold – like many of the pharmaceutical and soda bottles we’ve already featured on the blog.

Left: A bottle base made by glassmakers Cooper & Wood, Portobello (Scotland). We know that the company began in 1859, but the partnership dissolved in 1868, giving us a 9 year range for the manufacture of this bottle. RIght: An R & J Milsom Lyttelton aerated water bottle. Again, we know that Richard Milsom and his son James went into partnership in 1879, but James became sole owner in 1885, dating the manufacture of this bottle to the 6 year period they were in business together.

Left: A bottle base made by glassmakers Cooper & Wood, Portobello (Scotland). We know that the company began in 1859, but the partnership dissolved in 1868, giving us a 9 year range for the manufacture of this bottle (Toulouse 1971: 141). Right: An R & J Milsom, Lyttelton, aerated water bottle. Again, we know that Richard Milsom and his son James went into partnership in 1879, but James became sole owner in 1885, dating the manufacture of this bottle to the 6 year period they were in business together (Donaldson et al. 1990). Images: J. Garland.

This is great if the product is a short-lived one that’s well documented, but more often than not we’ll come across a product like Lea & Perrins, which has been made continuously since the 1830s or one like W & W’s Double Refined Table Salt, about which very little information was available (Tasker 1989: 88). Similarly, a bottle manufacturer might have used the same maker’s mark on a bottle for a long period of time: glassmaking company Parke, Davis & Co used the same initials on its bottles from 1875 through until the 20th century (Toulouse 1971: 417). Even if the marks do change over time, if there’s no record of those changes and when they occurred, we still can’t narrow down the date.

Left: A Lea and Perrins bottle, with a date of manufacture somewhere between 1852 (first imported into New Zealand) and the early 1900s. Right: the base of a jar of W & W's Double Refined Table Salt, of unknown age.

Left: A Lea and Perrins bottle, with a date of manufacture somewhere between 1852 (when it was first imported into New Zealand) and the early 1900s. Right: the base of a jar of W & W’s Double Refined Table Salt, of unknown age. Images: J. Garland.

Sometimes a maker’s mark will only be visible as initials or a monogram that we can’t always trace back to the manufacturer. These can be some of the most frustrating artefacts to come across when you’re trying to date a site, because we know that the information is there, on the bottle, but we can’t find or access the resources to make that information useful.

And, while these bits and pieces of information might be able to tell us when a bottle was made, they don’t necessarily tell us when it was used (or how long for) and more importantly, if we’re looking at a whole site, when it might have been discarded. Most of the artefacts we find on 19th century archaeological sites in New Zealand were made overseas and we have to consider the time it would have taken for them to reach New Zealand when we’re figuring out our dates. We also have to consider the length of time for which an object might have been used – its ‘uselife’ – before being discarded or lost, and ending up in the ground.

With bottles, this is a particular problem thanks to an issue known as bottle re-use. A lot of (if not most) 19th century bottles would be reused many times by the contents manufacturer (or another manufacturer entirely) before being thrown out (Busch 1987).In New Zealand, this occurred in response to the absence of a local glassmaking industry until the early 20th century and the effort involved in importing bottles from overseas. Newspapers from the time are filled with advertisements from hotels, soda water manufacturers and pharmacists offering discounts or cash for the return of bottles. There are cases of court action being brought against people or companies who failed to return bottles and were consequently convicted and fined for the offence.

Notices and advertisements in New Zealand newspapers on the issue of bottle return and reuse. Images: Evening Post 10/09/1908; Colonist 13/09/1919; Auckland Star 19/11/1926.

Notices and advertisements in New Zealand newspapers on the issue of bottle return and reuse. Images: Evening Post 10/9/1908; Colonist 13/9/1919; Auckland Star 19/11/1926.

Of course, from a dating perspective, issues like bottle reuse mean that the date of manufacture is almost never an accurate reflection of when a bottle was being used or eventually discarded. It’s just a starting point in the life of an artefact, one piece of information about an object that usually has a bunch of other stories to tell. It’s only when we take that starting point and look at it in light of all the information an object (and the other objects around it) can give us that it becomes a useful window into the past.

And, despite the difficulties involved in artefact dating, it is hugely important that we ask the question in the first place, because it gives us the chance to link assemblages and objects to people in the past. If we can date the use and discard of an object to a specific period, we might be able to figure out who used it and why they threw it away. It’s part of what makes context so integral to what we do, and why we get frustrated with fossickers and people who dig up sites illegally to find collectables – because in doing so, they destroy the additional information that we could have used to link an object with the people who used it.

It’s one of the most important principles of archaeology – that (unlike Indiana Jones) we’re not just interested in the things (although the things are pretty cool and very useful), we’re interested in people and what those things can tell us about them.

Jessie Garland

References

Auckland Star. [online] Available at http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz.

Busch, J., 1987. Second Time Around: A Look at Bottle Reuse. Historical Archaeology, 21(1):67-80.

Colonist. [online] Available at http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz.

Donaldson, B., Hume, G. & Costello, S., 1990. Antique Bottles and Containers of Christchurch and District. Christchurch Antique Bottle and Collectors Club, Christchurch.

Evening Post. [online] Available at http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz.

Lindsey, B., 2010. Historic Glass Bottle Identification & Information Website. Society for Historical Archaeology and Bureau of Land Management. [online] Available: http://www.sha.org/bottle/index.htm.

Tasker, J., 1989. Old New Zealand Bottles and Bygones. Heinemann Reed, Auckland.

Toulouse, J. H., 1971. Bottle Makers and Their Marks. Blackburn Press, New Jersey.