First Week of Excavation!

Foundation Walls present in top and right of picture

The 2013 field season at Elfreth's Alley started this week!  Over the weekend we dismantled a portion of the brick patio in the courtyard behind the Museum of Elfreth's Alley; no small feat given the concrete mortar holding the bricks together.  After pulling up the bricks, we prepped the area for excavation.  So far we have opened up one new unit, unit 13, behind 126 Elfreth's Alley.  We have already located several foundation walls in the unit associated with the former structures that stood in this location.  A quick review of the Historic American Building Survey (HABS) map of Elfreth's Alley from 1931 shows the footprint of the structures.  Unit 13 is placed with in the interior of the last structure depicted behind 126 Elfreth's Alley.  Excavation will help illuminate the function of this structure.

Volunteer excavating Unit 13

We got rained out today, but will be back out digging next week!