Pollen Analysis of the Feature 4 Privy at the Cross Street Back Lot Site, Boston, Massachusetts

The four nightsoil and three episodic fill deposits in the Cross Street site Feature 4 privy vault contained the highest percentages of Eurasian cereal grain-type pollen—wheat (Triticum), barley (Hordeum), oats (Avena), and/or rye (Secale)—reported in any historical archaeological site to date. Comparative pollen data from 8 historical nightsoil deposits, 17 historical house lot and feature profiles, 4 historical commercial/mercantile sites, and 8 profiles from agriculture-associated sites suggest that the Eurasian cereal-type pollen in the Feature 4 privy reflects spoiled flour disposed of in the vault rather than abnormally large quantities of grain products in the diet of the persons utilizing the privy.