97 Orchard Street's Smallest Artifacts

We've recently shown you some of the more unusual finds we've excavated from the long-sealed fireplaces at 97 Orchard Street. Some of the larger objects we've uncovered--like a toy wagon wheel and a cigarette machine sign--were pretty hard to overlook. But smaller items were buried in piles of rubble, ash and debris that had accumulated in the fireplaces.

Fishing these small artifacts out involves a careful process of sorting and sifting. The debris from each site is bagged and tagged with its source, then carefully sifted to find any remaining evidence of the building's history.

Sifting through the debris

This dusty work pays off  when little treasures are revealed, including a tiny doll's arm and a toy ceramic dish. These small artifacts may seem insignificant, but they help us tell the larger story of the residents who once called our building home.

This arm seems unrelated to the doll's head we unearthed earlier.

Was this bowl left behind from a doll's tea party? 

-- Posted by Kira Garcia