Dinner plate with blue transfer-printed Willow pattern design,
after 1805. Excavated from John Maloney's cesspit in Casselden
Place, 1988. Source: Museum Victoria and La Trobe University Get
a glimpse into working-class life in late 19th century Melbourne
during Archaeology Week. On display are the thousands of
artefact fragments excavated from a cesspit in Irish labourer
John Maloney’s backyard. John lived with his brother and two
sisters in a three-room, weatherboard house on Casselden Place
in inner-city Melbourne. John Maloney’s cesspit, filled during
the 1870s, remained undisturbed for over 120 years. Its
excavation in 1988 provided archaeologists a glimpse into
working-class life in late 19th century Melbourne. The display
is arranged by use and features bottles, glasses, dinner and tea
ware, chamber pots, ornaments, clothing remnants and faunal
remains. As an ensemble, the contents of the cesspit provide a
glimpse into the Maloney family’s daily life.