Colonial Trash Dump

Melanie A. Lasoff

Archeologists at Jamestown Island, Va., near Williamsburg, recently discovered a gold mine: a 389-year-old trash dump. The 6-foot-deep, 12-foot-by-24-foot cavity, named Pit 4 when it was discovered in 1996, was re-opened last spring for more research.

Inside the pit, 17th-century pottery, metal, bone, armor and other artifacts have been discovered, including an elaborately decorated blade - dating to 1610 - which may have belonged to a governor's ceremonial guard. Broken glass and ceramic fragments thought to be part of two laboratory vessels also were discovered.

The purpose of the underground chamber still is under investigation, but archeologists think it might have been the "dungeon" described by Capt. John Smith (of Pocahantas fame), in which he jailed a Native American gun-stealing suspect.

Source: The Washington Times

Gotta Lotta Garbage? Baltimore has a new tourist attraction: the world's largest trash can. This year, London-based Guinness Publication of World Records - which publishes the "Guinness Book of World Records" - issued its declaration on the 15,300-gallon galvanized steel can, owned by the Baltimore Refuse-to-Energy Systems Company (BRESCO).

Measuring 18 feet high with a diameter of 12 feet, the can is 170 times larger than the 90-gallon can. It was on display last fall at BRESCO's Garbagemen Appreciation Day in downtown Baltimore.

Source: Northeast Maryland Waste Disposal Authority