White clay pipestem 6/64" bore hole diameter (Archaeological Find)

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Pipestem Bore Hole Size Chart from Hume's A Guide to Colonial Artifacts in America

The Lawes of the Colledge published publiquely before the Students of Harvard Colledge

Title:

White clay pipestem 6/64" bore hole diameter

Subject:

Imagine you are a student at Harvard in 1680, trying to study for your Latin or Greek quiz tomorrow when the smell of pungent tobacco fills the air, leading to you opening the windows to the punishing winter outside. Your bunkmate and his friends have decided to light their pipes and smoke tobacco once the preceptors have fallen asleep, indulging in a taboo habit for a puritanical institution such as Harvard in the 17th century. After they finished their smoke, they threw their pipes out of the window into a trash pile below. Harvard had strictly permitted excess tobacco use, stating that one could not bring “tobacco…[to] his Chamber…[so] that all excesse and abuse thereof may bee prevented. (Overseers President and Fellowes of Harvard College 1655)” This could have led to many situations such as stated above, and students might have thrown their evidence into various trash pits around campus. These students might not have been using tobacco for pleasure; there weren’t many doctors around, and many might have reached for a cure-all, like today’s equivalent of an ibuprofen. Many artifacts, such as this one, have been found around campus, and the material culture in the context has indicated the creation of this type of pipe stem from 1680-1720.

Object Name:

White clay pipestem 6/64" bore hole diameter

Inventory Description:

White clay pipestem 6/64" bore hole diameter

Peabody Number:

2025.8.18

Culture/Period:

1680-1710

Intrasite:

H981 Level 2

Depth:

35-50 cm bd

Class 1:

Ceramic

Class 2:

Pipe

Class 3:

Pipestem

Quantity:

Height (cm):

2.25 cm

Width (cm):

.7 cm

Depth/Thickness (cm):

.7 cm

Century:

late 17th to early 18th century