An archaeological dig in Launceston has unearthed a treasure trove of artefacts - and it's believed the site may offer a glimpse into working class life in the city during the 19th century.
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A pair of aesthetically striking townhouses are set to be built on the block of land on the corner of Margaret and Balfour streets, adjacent to the heritage-listed Trinity Uniting Church (built in 1958).
But an archaeological assessment of the site is required before the developer will be given clearance to build.
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Archaeologist Darren Watton, of Southern Archaeology, oversaw the dig, which commenced on Monday and concluded on Thursday.
Mr Watton said the discoveries he and his team had made suggested that a dwelling used to be situated on the site, which he suspects was built about 1840 and demolished between 1919 and 1921.
"The real exciting thing for us here has been the artefacts," he said. "We've got so many artefacts out of this dig."
"It's an archaeologist's dream, really. We've got a lot of broken china with maker's marks on there, which we can date, we've got a lot of pipe stems which have got maker's marks on them.
"All of our artefacts are really indicating and really fitting nicely with our story that this was built in 1840 and was most likely a dwelling with possibly some commercial kind of use that might have happened here - because there's a lot of beer bottles.
"And I rarely see quite so many clay pipes on a site. They're associated with the lower classes."
Among some of the other items Mr Watton has uncovered are pennies dating back to as early as 1826 (during the reign of King George IV), clay pipes, wine bottles, buttons and marbles.
"This was probably a worker's cottage," Mr Watton said. "And in this area, in the early-to-mid 1880s, there was the slaughterhouse, tanneries and all those sorts of businesses - and this was most likely associated with that."
"We don't know a lot about these sorts of buildings. We often hear a lot about the buildings that are to do with the gentry or functional things.
"But we often miss the average person and the worker who was living and working within these areas, as well. That connection is the key here, I think - the connection to the working class.
"We've got a bit of a snapshot of working class life, I guess, in this dwelling."
Developer Peter Stokes, who runs the 3 Willows vineyard outside Deloraine with his wife, said the townhouses he planned to build were deliberately designed "in sympathy with the heritage environment around the site".
"I'm undertaking a build with a friend of mine who has very deep pockets on the mainland, because it is a fairly large budget that's necessary for the build," Mr Stokes said.
"It is very unique. There is nothing else like it in Launceston and that's primarily because of the aesthetic and primarily because of the way in which the design has been done."
"As part of the development application process, we were required to undertake the archaeological dig under Heritage Tasmania notification. Following that, we will build the townhouses on top of that site."
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