Nineteenth-Century Urban Trash Uncovered in Iowa

DAVENPORT, IOWA—According to a report in The Globe Gazette, John Hedden of the University of Iowa and his team uncovered a small section of what may be a city trash pit dating to the early nineteenth century. They recovered more than 30,000 artifacts, all from working-class homes, including a chamber pot, animal bones, broken china, shoe soles, pipes, medicine and liquor bottles, and an ink well. “You never see this dense (amount of material in) an early deposit,” Hedden said. “We were just astounded as we dug into it.” Hedden explained that in the early nineteenth century, the site, located along Western Avenue, was a swampy area that was unsuitable for development, and so was probably used as a local dumping ground. He added that sanitary conditions in the neighborhood were so poor that in 1839 a ditch was constructed in the middle of Harrison Street to carry waste to the river. Davenport officials eventually passed an ordinance that made it illegal to throw manure, spoiled meat, animals and their entrails, and decayed vegetables into public spaces, streets, or alleys. To read about another discovery in the Midwest, go to “Baby Bobcat.”