Part 20 (2/2)

Since the interior of this structure was not excavated, many uncertainties remain as to its ident.i.ty. The peculiar fluelike structure pa.s.sing through its foundation, the rubble of bricks used to form the foundation, the huge quant.i.ties of oystersh.e.l.ls in the flue, with partly burnt coals underneath, give rise to various speculations.

So does the orientation of the structure, which is off both the true and polar axes and is also unrelated to the mansion or the wall system.

The most likely explanation seems to be that Structure F was the foundation of a smokehouse. A recently excavated foundation in what was known as Brunswick Town, North Carolina, is almost identical (except for the use of ballast stone in the fire chamber and the building foundation). This also is believed to be a smokehouse foundation, since similar structures are still remembered from the days of their use.[159]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 53.--VIRGINIA BRICK from Structure B (left) 9 by 4 by 2-3/4 inches. Right, small brick from Structure F, probably imported, 7-1/4 by 3-1/2 by 1-3/4 inches. Perhaps one of the 630 bricks brought on the _Marigold_ by Captain Roger Lyndon and purchased by John Mercer.]

The position of the Marlborough structure, outside of the enclosure wall but not far from the kitchen, the relative crudeness of its construction, and its off-axis orientation, support the likelihood of its being a utilitarian structure. The firing chamber and the flue show unquestionably that it was a building requiring heat or smoke.

Marlborough had two greenhouses, according to Thomas Oliver's inventory, and these would have required heating equipment. But the small size of this structure and the absence of any indication of tile flooring or other elaboration suggested by contemporary descriptions of greenhouses seem to rule out this possibility.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 54.--STRUCTURE D, an unidentified structure with debris-filled refuse pit at left.]

FOOTNOTES:

[159] STANLEY SOUTH, ”An Unusual Smokehouse is Discovered at Brunswick Town,” _Newsletter_, Brunswick County Historical Society (Charlotte, N.C., August 1962), vol. 2, no. 3.

XIII

_Pits and Other Structures_

STRUCTURE D

An exploratory trench was dug northward several yards from a point on Wall D, on axis with Structure B. An irregularly shaped remnant of unmortared-brick structure, varying between two and three bricks wide and one course high was discovered at the undisturbed level. This measured 8.5 feet by 6 feet. Adjacent to it, extending 5.8 feet and having a width varying from 6.5 to 7 feet, was a pit 2 feet 8 inches deep, dug 2 feet below the undisturbed clay level, and filled with a heavy deposit of artifacts, oystersh.e.l.ls, and animal bones. The artifact remains were the richest in the entire site. Some of the most significant of these are the following:

59.1656 Key (fig. 88)

59.1942 Iron bolt (ill. 69)

59.1663} 59.2029} Two-tined forks (ill. 55-57) 59.1939}

59.1664 Jeweler's hammer (ill. 78)

59.1665 Fragments of a penknife (fig. 85c)

59.1668 Knife blade and Sheffield handle (fig. 86b)

59.1669} 59.1670} Pewter trifid-handle spoons (fig. 86f and g, ill. 58)

59.1672 Pewter ”wavy-end” spoon (fig. 86e, ill. 59)

59.1675 Fragments of reeded-edge pewter plate (fig. 86a)

59.1676 Pewter teapot lid (fig. 86c, ill. 60)

59.1678 Bra.s.s rings (fig. 83i)

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