Abstract
A lack of published data on window leads from sites in New England prompted a project analyzing the sample from the Three Cranes Tavern site in Charlestown, MA. This structure was built c. 1629 in anticipation of John Winthrop's arrival to settle Massachusetts Bay. For most of its existence, it was used as an ordinary. Like the rest of Charlestown, it was destroyed on June 17, 1775 during the battle of Bunker Hill. Excavated as part of the "Big Dig" in 1985, the sample included 148 items identified as window leads. Within this sample were window leads, window ties, and a small sample of scrap lead. The marked leads are described and an analysis of the physical characteristics of the leads is presented. A study of the window ties describes three types and relates them to historically known manufacturing processes.
Recommended Citation
Riordan, Timothy B.
(2019)
""Set fier to the Town of Charlestown wich Consumed almost Every house in that town": An analysis of window leads from the Three Cranes Tavern site,"
Northeast Historical Archaeology:
Vol.
48
48, Article 9.
Available at:
https://orb.binghamton.edu/neha/vol48/iss1/9
