Not Just Another Brick In The Wall

Pretty cool discovery. this

Three weeks after the Metropolitan Transportation Authority started digging a subway tunnel under Battery Park, the project hit a wall. A really old wall. Possibly the oldest wall still standing in Manhattan.

It was a 45-foot-long section of a stone wall that archaeologists believe is a remnant of the original battery that protected the Colonial settlement at the southern tip of the island. Depending on which archaeologist you ask, it was built in the 1760's or as long ago as the late 17th century.

Either way, it would be the oldest piece of a fortification known to exist in Manhattan and the only one to survive the Revolutionary War period, said Joan H. Geismar, president of the Professional Archaeologists of New York City.

"To my knowledge, it's the only remain of its kind in Manhattan," Ms. Geismar said. "It's a surviving Colonial military structure. That's what makes it unique."

Among the items found around the wall are a well-preserved halfpenny coin dated 1744 and shards of smoking pipes and Delft pottery, said Amanda Sutphin, director of archaeology for the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission.

"It's one of the most important archaeological discoveries in several decades in New York City," said Adrian Benepe, commissioner of the city's Department of Parks and Recreation. "Everybody knows that the Bronx is up and the Battery's down. But I don't think anybody anticipated that the Battery was 10 feet down."

Comments

[PerryPeabody]

Dan-
I read the article this morning before coming online and thought "How cool a find is this?"

[Northerner]

Delft pottery and pipes? New Amsterdam resurfaces!

[tester]

I suppose we'll just blow a hole in it and shove that subway through

[Rick]

How strange. When they move down south they can't wait to bulldoze our old strutures for new condos. Progress I think they call it.

[joated]

Wonder how long the subway project will be suspended while the archeologists droole all over this find?

[cindi in pa]

It's said, they construction will work around the wall. Here in Bucks County, we almost lost a few old places, most used for the underground railroad along the river. Thank god they were preserved by the historical society. The architect in these now restored mansions is incredible. As well as the history. I hope NY does preserve or restore the newest find.

[TuxedoJunction]

This is a great discovery!! Makes me want to visit NY instead of Britain, I am a historical tour nut!
Aloha.