We are in the process of cataloguing artifacts that were excavated from Washington’s whiskey distillery. An archaeological catalogue has two main purposes: 1) to identify, classify, and record attributes of all materials collected from an excavation and 2) to serve as the primary collections management tool. The catalogue should identify and help to organize material from an archaeological site and aid in the successful curation, or long-term storage, of a collection.

The distillery assemblage is currently housed in approximately 420 boxes. These boxes are filled with washed and labeled artifacts. Additionally, the boxes also contain soil, pollen, and phytolith samples, 1/16” water screen artifacts, and light fraction artifacts from flotation. This is not all of the distillery collection, however. Because the distillery was a large building and we excavated more than 75% of the site, we have lots of architectural material (such as rocks and brick) that are too big for boxes. We also have some wooden fence posts and other building-related wooden artifacts that are currently undergoing conservation.

The primary distillery excavation spanned 56-10x10’ units. Every artifact we catalogue gets a record entered into Re:discovery, our cataloguing database. An archaeological site’s collection includes not only the artifacts and various samples, but also the paper and digital records of the actual excavation itself. We have boxes of photographs, files of digital images, and paper excavation records. These records include maps and provenience cards (which record aspects of each layer that was excavated). We enter provenience cards into our database and have so far entered cards from 31 of the 56 units. There are 887 layers currently in the system.

The distillery assemblage is dominated by architectural material (i.e. brick, mortar, sandstone), but there are also domestic and distilling-related artifacts. Below are some highlights of the collection that we have catalogued this far.

Architectural Evidence

These three oddly shaped bricks were recovered from the Distillery’s well, which was dug in the spring of 1798 to supply fresh water for the whiskey. They are referred to as “compass” bricks because they were purposely made with tapering sides to form a circle when laid together.

A large fragment of burned plaster was excavated from the distillery. You can see the marks of where the plaster squeezed into the joints of the bricks or stones that it covered.

 

A large oyster shell is visible sticking out of this large chunk of mortar. Oyster shells were crushed and burned to make the lime needed to bind the mortar together. Such a large, uncrushed shell may provide supporting evidence that the distillery was build very quickly.

Distilling Evidence

We find some artifacts that help us better understand the distilling process. This assortment of copper alloy artifacts are evidence of some of the distilling equipment used to make whiskey.

Domestic Evidence

This conserved broach, in the popular witches’ heart design, was excavated from a distillery-period context. The jewels are glass set into a copper alloy frame.

This conserved button is copper alloy with a silver-colored wash. It appears to have been engraved, after manufacture, with the initials “R A” (though the first initial is difficult to read).

On the back of this conserved copper alloy button is a stamp that reads “GILT BIRMINGHAM.”

From documentary evidence, we know the distillery burned in 1814. This event is also reflected in the artifacts; this image shows burned nails and ceramics and melted glass.

Slate pencil possibly used by the distiller to record transactions.

Archaeologists found many fragments of drinking glasses and ceramic dining vessels (such as this pearlware teabowl). These items probably were castoffs of John Anderson, the Distillery manager, and his assistant Peter Bingle. The men lived in chambers in the loft at the north end of the building.

This is a glass tumbler with a diamond molded decoration.