ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS OF SITE 36LU323, Lower Street Double, Pardeesville, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania

Abstract

The University of Maryland Anthracite Heritage Program's summer archaeological field methods course (ANTH496) was taught at Pardeesville, Hazle Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania (previously Lattimer Village No.2) from May through July 2014. The field school identified and excavated two previously undocumented archaeology sites dating between the late 19th to mid-20th centuries, removing material culture related to the lives of immigrant coal miners and their families. Sites 36LU323 (Lower Street Double) and 36LU321 (Yanac House) were investigated. The following report outlines the Phase I and II archaeological investigations of site 36LU323. All archaeological investigations, review, curation, and reporting were completed in accordance with The Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission Guidelines for Archaeological Investigations in Pennsylvania, as amended. The goal of this investigation was to (1) mitigate the loss of material culture due to the hazardous slumping of a privy feature, (2) assess the integrity of archaeological deposits at the site, and (3) gather material cultural evidence to aid in the research themes related to the lives of immigrant labors in Northeastern Pennsylvania. The Lower Street Double House site consisted of the original coal company-constructed doubletenancy house. The Pardee Brothers and Company constructed the house in Lattimer Village No.2. The household was rented until the coal company's bankruptcy in the 1930s when the occupants, the Yannuzzi family purchased the tenant house. The field school investigated site 36LU323 using Phase II archaeological methodology. Three Test Units of varying sizes (5 ft. x 10 ft. and 3 ft. x 3 ft.) labeled as Test Units 7, 11, and 12 were excavated. Test unit 7 was the most prominent of those excavated and contained Feature 11, an early 20th-century privy. Approximately 1,483 artifacts were recovered from the Lower Street Double site. Most of the material culture recovered from this investigation was from a 5 ft. x 10 ft. early 20th-century privy. All diagnostic artifacts found within the site come from this feature. Despite the small sample size of the Lower Street Double site, the significance of the material culture record lends a further view into the lives of exploited labor and the structural violence found within the anthracite coal industry. Moreover, the Lower Street Double site provides a contemporaneous privy to the Yanac House site (36LU321), providing research potential for analyzing ethnic diversity within Lattimer No. 2. Analysis of the Lower Street Double artifact assemblage is guided by research themes to provide a coherent framework for understanding the occupation and lifestyle of household residents. The research themes include (1) An analysis of consumer access to commodities in Lattimer No. 2, (2) how household identity is present in choices of material culture, and (3) how structural violence committed against the labor force may have led to serious health defects.