What a Toilet Shows About Life During the American Revolution
The finds from an 18th-century Philadelphia privy have researchers flush with excitement.
It was a toilet that witnessed the birth of America: a humble pit latrine, or privy pit, dug deep into the ground behind a small Philadelphia house in the late 18th century.
Latrines don't generally stir excitement, but archaeologists were thrilled to find the brick-lined circular shaft while excavating a site at the corner of South Third and Chestnut Streets in the summer of 2014.
Privy pits are an unusual treasure trove for archaeologists. Along with their primary purpose, they often served as mini-garbage dumps in urban areas before community trash collection was developed.
And the garbage from this privy pit, dug in 1776 (the year that American colonists declared their independence from Britain) and filled in 1786 (the year before the Constitution
