Latest Dig

An archaeological dig was undertaken in the yard of the Matron's Cottage in November 2005.  The shed/garage was pulled down and the concrete paving was pulled up.  The foundations of another cottage, a mirror to the Matron's Cottage, were found, plus the foundations of a kitchen, nursery hallway and two infant sleeping rooms of the nursery.

This work was funded from a grant by the Tasmanian Community Fund and was undertaken by archaeologist Parry Kostaglou.  The dig is currently filled in.

Here are some photos of the dig taken on Friday 11 November 2005.

Archaeologists at work in the area where the shed/garage was located.	Items found so far from the hallway area.	Uncovered foundations and walls.
Uncovered bricks, plans and a pick.	Archaeologists at work in the area where the shed/garage was located.	Uncovering one of the infant sleeping rooms.
The foundations are carefully uncovered.	Fireplace at one end of the kitchen.	Archaeologists at work in the area where the shed/garage was located.

Previous Digs

Various archaeological digs have been carried out in Yards 1 and 3 of the site.  The first was undertaken by a previous owner of the site, Michael Carnes.

In 2001 and 2002, the Female Factory Historic Site Ltd, working with archaeologist Parry Kostaglou, undertook five exploratory digs, two in Yard 1 and three in Yard 3 of the site.

One of the digs in Yard 1 was expanded and now provides an entrance from Yard 1 to Yard 3 and shows the original level of the Yards before landfill was placed on the site.  The industrial style access stairs and door were designed by architect Peter Cripps and this Doorways to the Past project was funded by the Tasmanian Community Fund.

The three digs in Yard 3 showed the foundations of the two storey cells on the site (112 in all), the drainage system and a store area fronting Degraves Street.  Following advice from the archaeologist, it was decided to expand the dig next to the Memorial Garden which features the foundations of three single cells, giving a good perspective of size, and the drainage system. 

Wooden retaining walls have been installed around the dig with an appropriate tensioning system installed together with a special fabric cover.  All other digs have been preserved and refilled.

Some of the artefacts recovered from the digs are on display in the Matron's Cottage.