This very limited excavation project tested the East Alleyway between the east wall of the main house and the garden wall which separated 820 St. Louis, the main Hermann-Grima property, and 818St. Louis, the lot which the Stable and Stableyard are located. Plans to install the final section of the storm drainage system called for a discharge line to run from a catch basin in the courtyard, along this narrow alleyway (57 ft in length and 5 ft in width) and connect to the city storm drainage system alongSt. Louis St.Only two units were excavated in the East Alleyway, one abutted to the east wall of the main house at the southern end of the run and one abutted to the stableyard wall near the northern end of the run. In the northern most unit, abutting the stableyard wall a small section of disrupted herringbone paving was uncovered which based on brick analysis date ca. 1810-1830. These brick were set in a continuous level of mud mortar. The foundation of the stableyard wall, revealed for the first time by this excavation, showed to be constructed with a four step spread foundation. Brick analysis of the foundation indicated a date of ca. 1830-1885. This provided the first dependable measure of these bricks. Previous analysis of the wall was faulted by areas of extensive patching and reconstruction. With the foundation exposed the original constructions could be sampled.The southern unit exposed the main house foundation and a portion of the ca. 1810-1830herringbone paving which extends under the house as seen in the bathroom unit from the 1983 Stableyard excavations. In the lower levels of this unit, at elevation 97.69 ft, was a partially intact herringbone paving of early handmade French Brick ca. 1720-1780. This paving was disrupted by the main house foundation. A Mean Ceramic Date of 1797 from just below this paving was taken with some measure of confidence and corresponds well with the brick dating.While the East Alleyway project was restricted in it’s scope and small relative to other, past projects, it did provide new information on the front portion of the lot. Very little work had been done on this area of the property and this may have been the only opportunity to have a window into the subsurface of the northeastern part of the site.
Doll Parts
Teaset