Who knew that progress could lead to potty humor? The I-81 reconstruction project in Syracuse has unearthed a historic jackpot—a mid-1800s “outhouse cemetery” filled with remnants of daily life.
Outhouse Cemetery Unearthed Beneath Syracuse Highway Project
Beneath Water Street near Irving Avenue, archaeologists struck gold: 11 outhouse pits, or privies, preserved through the ages. Before indoor plumbing, these structures weren’t just for, well, you know; They also doubled as trash bins for anything from broken pottery to discarded food. Often, when one family moved out and another moved it, the new family would toss all of the previous tenants in the privy as well. All forming a time capsule of daily life from over a century ago.
The discovery included jug handles, plate fragments, and cow bones. And it’s not just about old plates and bones, though. These artifacts paint a picture of how people lived, worked, and ate more than a century ago. Who were they? What did they value? And, most importantly, why was that pocket watch tossed into the pit?
This wasn’t just any spot for an outhouse either. Just a few steps from the Erie Canal, this neighborhood was buzzing in the 1800s. Maps from 1892 show about 35 homes nestled among breweries, banks, and the Zion Church…