The E-Sylum:  Volume 8, Number 52, December 11, 2005, Article 8

OLD WALL UNEARTHED IN MANHATTAN YIELDS COIN FIND

Dr. Ute Wartenberg Kagan, Executive Director of The
American Numismatic Society forwarded a link to this
New York Times article about a recent coin discovery
in Manhattan:

"Three weeks after the Metropolitan Transportation
Authority started digging a subway tunnel under Battery
Park, the project hit a wall. A really old wall. Possibly
the oldest wall still standing in Manhattan.

It was a 45-foot-long section of a stone wall that
archaeologists believe is a remnant of the original
battery that protected the Colonial settlement at
the southern tip of the island. Depending on which
archaeologist you ask, it was built in the 1760's or
as long ago as the late 17th century.

Either way, it would be the oldest piece of a
fortification known to exist in Manhattan and the
only one to survive the Revolutionary War period,
said Joan H. Geismar, president of the Professional
Archaeologists of New York City."

"Among the items found around the wall are a well-
preserved halfpenny coin dated 1744 and shards of
smoking pipes and Delft pottery, said Amanda Sutphin,
director of archaeology for the city's Landmarks
Preservation Commission."

To read the complete article, see: Full Story

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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