Fort Orange (New Netherland) - Excavations

Excavations

Prior to the excavations that occurred in 1970, there had not been any 17th-century Dutch artifacts discovered in Albany. The excavations were undertaken by the New York State Historic Trust with the New York State Department of Transportation from October 20, 1970 until March 1971. The first test hole was made in what had been the cellar of the De Witt house, which had obliterated all remnants of the old fort, but digging at a site that was under Broadway in front of the house turned up many pieces from the Dutch colonial past of Albany. Among those pieces were a Jew's harp, tobacco pipes, beads, Rhenish stoneware, and delftware. The excavations also revealed the south moat and counterscarp, a pebbled path from the east entrance of the fort, a brewery owned by Jean Labatie built in 1647, and parts of several houses owned by Hendrick Andriessen van Doesburgh, Abraham Staats, and Hans Vos.

From the excavations it was noted that venison made up the majority of the meat eaten by the settlers of the fort, seconded by that of pork. The greatest number of fish bones and scales were found in a pit 20 feet (6.1 m) south of the pebbled entrance path dating from before 1648. Sturgeon were found infrequently in later 17th century deposits. Eating and drinking utensils consisted of lead-glazed red-bodied and white/buff bodied earthenware, tin earthenware, Rhenish stoneware, Chinese porcelain, glass roemers, spechter glasses, and facon de Venise glassware. The tin-glazed earthenware, at least prior to 1650, were of the majolica variety and not the delft. The porcelain was rare and consisted of only a few shards.