Brought To Light

Discovery Made During Fenton Archaeological Dig

It's not the Lost Ark of the Covenant, but a discovery has been made during the archaeological dig at the Fenton History Center.

Dr. Tom Greer, Fenton trustee and head of the archaeological dig, said they found a cistern or water storage structure around the area where the carriage house used to be located. He said the cistern is 12 feet in diameter.

"So far we've gone down seven feet below the ground and we haven't hit bottom yet," he said. "The goal is to figure out how deep it is."

Greer said the discovery was made while digging around where the carriage house, which used to be located east of the Fenton Mansion. He said the structure was torn down around 1920 and believes the cistern was filled in at that time as well. He added the water source for the cistern probably came from runoff of the carriage house. The cistern at one point had a sediment trap to purify the water, Greer said.

Amanda Brainard, Fenton archaeological dig volunteer, said they found areas for pipes, which could have led to the mansion.

Greer said during the archaeological dig this summer they also found a New York license plate from 1912. He said the reason they know the plate was from 1912 was because it was made out of porcelain, which is the only year the state used the material in the manufacturing of license plates.

The archaeological project started during the summer of 2012 when Fenton History Center officials, in conjunction with the State University at Buffalo, conducted an archaeological survey searching for the lost landscape of Fenton's estate. Evidence of several outerbuildings was discovered and more than 700 artifacts, some Fenton related, were collected.

Greer will discuss this summer's archaeological dig at noon Wednesday, Oct. 10, during the Fenton History Center, located at 67 Washington St., Brown Bag Lecture series.