National Park Service Journal: Mostly for Conservationists 

                        Conclusions:  ARCHEOLOGICAL MONITORING
Artifact Analysis
A non-systematic artifact sample from Feature 1 was recovered from its profile along both north and south walls to obtain a date of deposition for the feature. Artifact samples were removed from obvious clusters of objects embedded into the profile. In addition, approximately one gallon of feature soil was collected for flotation.

The artifacts resulting from this collection process appear in Table 1. Analysis of Table 1 indicates that Feature 1 has a terminus post quem, discounting ceramic types of duration greater than one hundred years, of 1765. This date predates construction of the Graff House by a decade, suggesting that the artifacts from this deposit did not originate in the Graff House. However, the curation of tablewares over a period of a decade or more is not unknown. The tablewares also form a high percentage of the assemblage, representing 46% or almost half of the collection. This relative frequency suggests a high-status domestic occupation. Both factors that suggest that the deposit originated in the earliest years of the Graff House's occupation, or, possibly, that it represents the refuse from the original owner of the lot, Edmund Physick, who occupied the opposing corner of Market and Seventh Streets. There also is the possibility that it may be redeposited from either excavation for the Graff House's basement or the initial grading of Market Street (the latter having no direct association with the lot at all). Additional investigation is unlikely to clarify its origin due to its limited remaining extent and difficulty of access. As previously stated, the artifact sample was not collected in a manner amenable to reliable quantifiable analysis, although casual evaluation of the assemblage indicates that the mean ceramic date of the assemblage is 1746, a date consistent with a mid-seventeenth century ascription, and its origin prior to construction of the Graff House.

Summary and Conclusions
Archeological monitoring of the installation of new steam service to the Graff House beneath the Market Street sidewalk revealed that an intact archeological deposit dating to the middle of the eighteenth century existed in that location. Measuring at least five feet wide and twelve feet long, it probably represents domestic refuse from a high-status household. The deposit is bounded by the existing steam service to the north and west , the foundation of the Graff House to the south, and utility disturbance to the west. As such, the remaining portion may be expected to measure, at most, five feet wide between the new steam service and the foundation of the Graff House. Although the deposit has integrity, its limited extent and problematic origin, makes it a non-contributing resource to the National Register status of Independence National Historical Park.
Bibliography
Cotter, John L.
1974 Archeological Observation on the Grounds of 704 Market St., Philadelphia. Ms. on file, Independence National Historical Park. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Gatter, Carl W.
1975 Observations, Excavations, and Findings at the Site of the Graff House, August, 1974, July, August, 1975. Ms. on file, Independence National Historical Park. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Platt, John D.R. Platt
1972 Historic Structure Report Graff House Historical Data Section. Ms.on file, Independence National Historical Park. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Independence Staff
1967 Preliminary Development Plan for the Graff House Independence National Historical Park. Ms. on file, Independence National Historical Park. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Table 1:Artifacts Recovered from Archeological Monitoring
CAT_NMBR OBJ_NAME COUNT DESCR1 OBJ_DATE MEASURE
INDE 15756 SHERD 2 Earthenware, coarse. Redware. AD 1630 TO AD 1940 WT 12.9 G
INDE 15757 SHERD 2 Porcelain. Underglaze blue Chinese. AD 1660 TO AD 1800 WT 1.9 G
INDE 15758 SHERD 1 Porcelain. Chinese. AD 1660 TO AD 1800 WT 0.4 G
INDE 15759 SHERD 2 Stoneware. White salt-glazed. AD 1740 TO AD 1765 WT 0.6 G
INDE 15760 SHERD 2 Stoneware. White salt-glazed. AD 1740 TO AD 1765 WT 0.7 G
INDE 15761 SHERD 4 Earthenware, coarse. Delft. Blue and white. AD 1600 TO AD 1802 WT 0.5 G
INDE 15762 SHERD 4 Earthenware, coarse. Delft. AD 1600 TO AD 1802 WT 4.4 G
INDE 15763 SHERD 1 Earthenware, coarse. Delft. AD 1600 TO AD 1802 WT 24.6 G
INDE 15764 SHERD 3 Earthenware, coarse. Lead-glazed slipware. AD 1670 TO AD 1795 WT 6.1 G
INDE 15765 SHERD FRAGMENT 3 Earthenware, coarse. Redware. AD 1630 TO AD 1940 WT 2.8 G
INDE 15766 SHERD 1 Earthenware, coarse. Redware. AD 1630 TO AD 1940 WT 4.0 G
INDE 15767 SHERD 4 Earthenware, coarse. Redware. AD 1630 TO AD 1940 WT 0.0 G
INDE 15768 SHERD 12 Earthenware, coarse. Redware. AD 1630 TO AD 1940 WT 17.7 G
INDE 15769 SHERD 1 Glass. Dark green. UID Container.   WT 21.6 G
INDE 15770 SHERD 2 Glass. Light green. Indefinite.   WT 0.4 G
INDE 15771 PIPE FRAGMENT 1 Pipe stem.   WT 1.5 G
INDE 15772 BRICK FRAGMENT 16 Brick fragment.   WT 42.0 G
INDE 15773 BONE FRAGMENT 6 UID Mammal.   WT 1.8 G
INDE 15774 BONE FRAGMENT 2 Rib. Large mammal.   WT 33.3 G
INDE 15775 BONE FRAGMENT 1 Rib. Medium mammal.   WT 5.8 G
INDE 15776 BONE FRAGMENT 1 Rib. Medium mammal.   WT 0.9 G
INDE 15777 BONE FRAGMENT 1 Humerus. Medium mammal.   WT 21.1 G
INDE 15778 BONE FRAGMENT 1 UID. Avian.   WT 0.5 G
INDE 15779 BONE FRAGMENT 1 Vertebra. UID.   WT 1.3 G
INDE 15780 SHELL FRAGMENT 3 Mercenaria mercenaria.   WT 1.6 G
INDE 15781 COAL FRAGMENT 1 Coal.   WT 1.4 G
INDE 15782 IRON LUMP 4 Iron lump.   WT 2.3 G

One of a series of Archeological Reports by:
Allen H. Cooper
Philadelphia Support Office
1997



Updated
4/20/98