I have also recently discovered that slip-decorated red earthenware sherds were just recovered in southern Maine, which appear like slip-decorated products that were recovered in Charlestown in the 1980s as part of the archaeology that was conducted with Boston's Big Dig Project.
According to archaeologist and adjunct professor at Southern Maine Community College, Dr. Neill De Paoli, "The site of the South Berwick, Maine dig is located in Old Fields, an area that by the 1660s was the heart of the English settlement of Berwick situated on the upper reaches on the Salmon Falls River. This neighborhood consisted of several homes, a tavern, a meetinghouse, a burial ground, a public landing, and expansive hay fields.
The Old Fields dig site is reputed to be the former home and tavern of the families Humphrey and May Spencer (c. 1696-1742), Captain Ichabod Goodwin (1740-1777), and his son General Ichabod Goodwin (1777-1829).
Historical documents also locate one of Berwick's fortified garrisons here during the conflict ridden 1690's and early 1700's.
In 1690 and 1691, Wabanaki war parties in separate incidents attacked the Spencer garrison and two men working in a nearby field.
Today, the property is dominated by the two and a half story second home of General Goodwin. The General had this home built in circa 1795 to replace his earlier residence that had burnt down the previous year. Here, he remained with his family until his death in 1829.
Archaeologists have recovered a treasure trove of seventeenth and eighteenth century artifacts left behind by the Spencers, the Goodwins, tavern goers, and the black and indian slaves owned by Captain Goodwin."
The following artifact (chamber pot sherd) is an example of the type of slip-decorated red earthenware, which was recovered at the Old Fields site. This type of slip-decoration has also been recovered in various mid-eighteenth century archaeological contexts in Charlestown.
The mid-eighteenth century context in Charlestown also suggests that the chamber pot sherd found in Berwick may have been used when Captain Ichabod Goodwin owned the property in the 1740s and 1750s.
Coincidentally, it is also documented today that red earthenware was exported from Charlestown to Portsmouth, New Hampshire in the late-1740s and 1750s. This chamber pot sherd may represent that export/import business since Berwick is located less-than twenty-miles north of Portsmouth.
Further proof, which supports the idea that this chamber pot sherd may have traveled from Porsmouth is documented in John Parker's (born 1725) potter's daybook at the Baker Library at Harvard University. Parker was a potter in Charlestown, who was the son of Isaac (1692-1742) and Grace Parker (1697-1754) - and, together, they ran the Parker Pottery from circa 1714-1754. Some of the red earthenware that was exported to Portsmouth is cited in Parker's daybook, and a matching style of slip-decoration is also found with sherds recovered at the site of the Parker Pottery (see below) in Charlestown.
Chamber Pot Sherd Recovered in Berwick, ME
18th Century Slip-Decorated Chamber Pot Sherd Recovered in Berwick, ME
Similar Slip-Decorated Sherds Recovered in a Mid-18th Century Context in Charlestown, Mass.
This Chamber Pot Sherd was Likely Made at the Parker Pottery in Charlestown, Mass.
It May Have Been a Product Imported Into Portsmouth, NH in the Late-1740's or 1750's
Photo Courtesy: Dr. Neill De Paoli - Southern Maine Community College
Chamber Pot and Sherd Recovered in Charlestown, Mass.
(L) Slip Decorated Red Earthenware Sherd Recovered in Charlestown, MA
Uncovered in a Mid-18th Century Context at the Parker Pottery
(R) Mid-18th Century Slip Decorated Red Earthenware Chamber Pot Uncovered in Charlestown, MA
Likely Made in Charlestown, Mass. at the Parker Pottery
Uncovered in a Mid-18th Century Privy at the Three Cranes Tavern in Charlestown, Mass.
Photo Courtesy: Boston Archaeology Department - West Roxbury, Mass.
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