Large Red Ceramic Roof Tile Fragment (Archaeological Find)

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Large Red Ceramic Roof Tile Fragment.jpg
A page of the third College Book, dated between 1636 and 1640, itemizing construction materials for the Old College. The roof tiles are likely included under “Bricks provided & layd in place” (Danforth 1636-1640).
A 1933 conjecture of the layout of the second floor of the Old College. Note the library—this space served as the library for Harvard’s book collection from 1640 to 1676 (Morison 1933).
A 1933 conjecture of the Old College building. Note the tiled roof and the wooden construction—it was this imbalance in weight that contributed to its progressive collapse (Morison 1933).
A 1924 Conjecture of the layout of the yard throughout Harvard’s early history. Note the proximity of the Old College (3) to the New College (5) in considering Gooker’s job of moving the books (Matthew 1924).

Title:

Large Red Ceramic Roof Tile Fragment

Subject:

Diary of Daniel Gookin, Harvard Colledge Fellow, Tutor, and Librarian
Cambridge, Massachusetts Bay Colony
July 6, 1676

It has been an especially boggy July this year. Indeed, as I made my way up and down the creaking steps of the Old Colledge today, to and from the second-floor library, I felt my eyes sting from streams of sweat falling from my brow. Howbeit, today was a momentous day: as the New Colledge building nears completion, the overseers of the colledge hath paid me 4s 6d to move the library’s book collection from the decrepit Old Colledge building into the nearly completed New Colledge. What a shame it is—the Old Colledge that is—an edifice no more than 8 years my senior, falling apart before my very eyes. What a glorious sight it must have been at its infancy: a shining beacon of light amidst the dark, untamed wilderness—a true testament of the human spirit. My work today was not without its peril. The Old Colledge, a miserable monstrosity of rotting timber, is a peril in itself, as it continues to sink into the miry ground upon the immense weight of the red-tiled roof. Today, upon exiting the front entrance of the wretched building, in my arms a stack of books once belonging to the colledge namesake, I made my way across the front lawn, towards the New Colledge, when a most peculiar noise rumbled above me. Looking up, I saw a loose red tile tumbling down from the edge of the roof, in my very direction. Acting quickly, I jumped back, missing the tile by less than half a foot! The tile struck the earth with a thud, the impact splitting the tile in two, with the larger piece landing somewhere among the tall blades of grass. Had I not kept my wits about me and had the Lord not spared me, one can only imagine the kind of lesion I may have sustained.

Source:

Bunting, Bainbridge and Henderson Floyd, Margaret. 1985. "Harvard: An Architectural History. "Accessed February 23, 2022. Cambridge: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

Danforth, Thomas. 1636-1779. “College Book 3.” Harvard University Archives. Accessed February 23, 2022. https://iiif.lib.harvard.edu/manifests/view/drs:46422939$1i.

Matthews, Albert. December 1924. “Volume 15: Harvard College Records Part 1.” Colonial Society of Massachusetts. Accessed February 23, 2022. https://www.colonialsociety.org/node/589#rbhaftintro01.

Morison, Samuel E. February 1933. “Photographic prints of the elevations and floor plans of Harvard College or "Old College" used for publication by Samuel E. Morison.” Harvard University Corporation. Accessed February 23, 2022. colonialnorthamerica.library.harvard.edu/hua50010c00017.

Tomase, Jennifer. November 2007. "Tale of John Harvard’s surviving book." Harvard Gazette. Accessed February 23, 2022. https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2007/11/tale-of-john-harvards-surviving-book/.

Date:

17th century

Object Name:

Large Red Ceramic Roof Tile Fragment

Inventory Description:

Ceramic roof tile fragment; terracotta, red clay body; 17th century

Peabody Number:

2021.6.54

Culture/Period:

17th century

Intrasite:

H970 Level 7

Depth:

57-67cm

Class 1:

Architectural

Class 2:

Ceramic

Class 3:

Roof tile

Quantity:

1

Height (cm):

9.6

Width (cm):

13.9

Depth/Thickness (cm):

1.5

Century:

17th

Tags:

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