Churchyard Archaeology: Archaeological Investigations at the First Baptist Church in America Edited by Zachary Nelson and Katherine Marino Report of Field Investigations at the First Baptist Church in America, Providence, Rhode Island, undertaken August-December, 2006 Churchyard Archaeology: Archaeological Investigations at the First Baptist Church in America. Edited by Zachary Nelson and Katherine Marino Copyright 2007 Report of Field Investigations at the First Baptist Church in America, Providence, Rhode Island undertaken August-December, 2006. Zachary Nelson, Principal Investigator Table of Contents List of Figures .......................................................................................................... iii List of Tables ........................................................................................................... viii Acknowledgments .................................................................................................... ix Section I: The Church and its Archaeology Chapter 1. Churchyard Archaeology and Picnics Zachary Nelson and Zöe Agoos........................................................ 2 Chapter 2. A Brief History of the First Baptist Church in America Katherine Marino............................................................................. 7 Standing Artifacts: New England Church Architecture Cody Campanie................................................................................. 16 Map and Pictoral History of the First Baptist Church Tina Lee Charest............................................................................... 30 Chapter 3. First Baptist Church Geophysical Survey Report Thomas Urban and Robert Jacob..................................................... 46 Chapter 4. Mapping and Testpit Descriptions Zachary Nelson................................................................................. 55 Soil at the First Baptist Church in America Adam Bravo...................................................................................... 75 Section II: Human material culture from the Church grounds Chapter 5. Human Material Culture Zachary Nelson................................................................................. 101 Chapter 6. Human Personal Items From the First Baptist Church Jenna Berthiaume............................................................................. 102 Chapter 7. United State Coinage: A Study of Coins from the Past and the Present Lindsey Fernandez............................................................................ 130 Chapter 8. A General Introduction to New England Ceramics Rodion Tadenev................................................................................ 144 Porcelain at the First Baptist Church, Providence, Rhode Island Melissa Amaral................................................................................. 163 Delftware Artifacts Discovered at the First Baptist Church Adam Moss........................................................................................ 188 ii Chapter 9. Message in a Bottle: Glass Vessels and Objects in Historical Archaeology Christian Piñon................................................................................. 206 Understanding New England’s Historical Past: An Examination of Flat Glass at the First Baptist Church site, in Providence, Rhode Island Carissa Racca................................................................................... 230 Chapter 10. Faunal Bone at the First Baptist Church Aaron Eisman.................................................................................... 238 First Baptist Church Excavation: Shell deposits Jennifer Caraberis............................................................................ 265 Chapter 11. Metal Objects Valerie Gallagher............................................................................. 283 Chapter 12. Bricks Asa Berkley....................................................................................... 298 Chapter 13. Coal: Definition and Major Types Kirin Peagler.................................................................................... 308 Section III: Man’s use of God’s Grounds Chapter 14. Conclusions Zachary Nelson................................................................................. 320 Appendix Artifact Catalog and Descriptions Vanessa Van Doren........................................................................... 322 iii List of Figures Figure 2.1 Plan of St. Martin in the Fields ....................................................... 26 Figure 2.2 Cross Sections of St. Martin’s and Marybone Chapel ..................... 26 Figure 2.3 Meeting House Cross Sections ........................................................ 27 Figure 2.4 Sections of the Meeting House and St. Martin’s ............................. 27 Figure 2.5 The Steeple Styles ............................................................................ 27 Figure 2.6 Exterior of the Meeting House ......................................................... 28 Figure 2.7 East End of the Meeting House ....................................................... 28 Figure 2.8 FBC 1775-1825 ................................................................................ 40 Figure 2.9 FBC 1825-1875 ................................................................................ 41 Figure 2.10 FBC 1875-1925 ................................................................................ 42 Figure 2.11 FBC 1925-1975 ................................................................................ 43 Figure 2.12 FBC 1975-2006 ................................................................................ 44 Figure 3.1 The electromagnetic survey displaying the electric conductivity for 20010 Hz at the First Baptist Church site................................... 48 Figure 3.2 The electromagnetic survey displaying the magnetic susceptibility for 450 Hz at the First Baptist Church site................. 49 Figure 3.3 The electromagnetic survey displaying the electric conductivity for 450 Hz at the First Baptist Church site....................................... 50 Figure 3.4 GPR profile data in the rear yard of the First Baptist Church site ... 51 Figure 3.5 The electromagnetic survey displaying the magnetic susceptibility for 13950 Hz at the First Baptist Church site............. 52 Figure 3.6 The electromagnetic survey displaying the electric conductivity for 13950 Hz at the First Baptist Church site.................................. 53 Figure 3.7 The electromagnetic survey displaying the electric conductivity for 20010 Hz at the First Baptist Church site .................................. 54 Figure 4.1 First Baptist Church grounds. Background image from Google ..... 64 Figure 4.2 Hill slope from west to east along the Church grounds ................... 65 Figure 4.3 Topographic points at the First Baptist Church. Background image from Google........................................................................... 66 Figure 4.4 Unit A1 profile running west to east ................................................ 67 Figure 4.5 Unit A2 profile running west to east ................................................ 68 Figure 4.6 Unit A3 profile running west to east ................................................ 69 Figure 4.7 Unit A4 profile running west to east ................................................ 70 Figure 4.8 Unit B1 profile running north to south ............................................ 71 Figure 4.9 Unit B2 profile running north to south ............................................ 72 Figure 4.10 Unit B3 profile running east to west ................................................ 73 Figure 4.11 Unit B4 profile running west to east ................................................ 74 Figure 4.12 Four types of bedrock in Rhode Island ............................................ 88 Figure 4.13 Detailed description of Bedrock of Rhode Island ............................ 89 Figure 4.14 Glacial deposits of Rhode Island ..................................................... 90 Figure 4.15 Brief descriptions of major soil series ............................................. 91 Figure 4.16 Alignment of East Side Railroad Tunnel and profile....................... 92 iv Figure 4.17 East profile of B1 (in cm.) ............................................................... 93 Figure 4.18 East profile of B2 (in cm.)................................................................ 94 Figure 4.19 East profile of B4, (in cm.)............................................................... 94 Figure 4.20 Strata correlation from pits B4 to B2 and B3 .................................. 95 Figure 4.21 Strata correlation from B1 to B2, B3, and B4 ................................. 95 Figure 4.22 Strata correlation from A3 to B1 and B3 ......................................... 96 Figure 4.23 Strata correlation between A3 and A1.............................................. 96 Figure 6.1 Stanley South’s typology of button characteristics ......................... 115 Figure 6.2 Adrian Oswald’s study of bowl evolution ....................................... 116 Figure 6.3 Bore diameter of pipe stems ............................................................ 116 Figure 6.4 White glass button, found in unit A3................................................ 117 Figure 6.5 White glass button, found in unit A3................................................ 117 Figure 6.6 White glass button, found