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The source of ballast at a Florida site

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Abstract

Seemingly anomalous materials reported cover a span of time from late Medieval times until the later part of the nineteenth century. They include ceramic sherds, white clay pipe stems, glass, bricks, and gravels as well as clay deposits. The evidence points to their origin in the vicinity of the present Bankside Power Station on the south bank of the Thames between London and Blackfriars Bridges. The area was a quarantine station after 1880 where ships were required to discharge ballast during the yellow fever months of the summers. The site illustrates the value of identifying whether or not artifacts in coastal or estuarine areas are of primary deposition. Ballast sites are common and their origins may present very diverse cultural contexts.

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Mr. Jones is a non-professional archæologist who has a long history of close collaboration with the professional community in Florida.

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Jones, W.M. The source of ballast at a Florida site. Hist Arch 10, 42–45 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03373997

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