The Indian Mutiny of 1857, also called Sepoy Mutiny, was one of the defining moments of the Indian freedom struggle. While Indians see it as the first war for independence, the British had an opposite attitude towards this historical incident. Recently an excavation in Christchurch unearthed artefacts that had a surprising link to the 1857 event.
While excavating the area for the construction of The Court Theatre in the Performing Arts Precinct of Christchurch, Archaeology firm Underground Overground found thousands of historical artefacts.
About 55 boxes containing the excavated treasures were taken from the site. These included Intact gin and soda bottles, marbles, glass beads, a bone toothbrush, a pit of old leather shoes, brick lined wells and more.
Clara Watson, Underground Overground Archaeology artefact specialist said, "The items are now being washed and analysed, we still have a lot of work to do before we can fill in how these items got there."
The site, which probably used to be a boutique shopping area, is unique due to the number of items found and how well they had been preserved.
Among other items, were some shoes featuring decorative leather patterns and laces still intact giving an insight into the manufacturing methods prevalent 150 years ago.
The one item that puzzled everyone had a surprising Indian connection. It was a clay smoking pipe, depicting a man attacking a woman while her child lays dead at her feet. Manufactured by the French pipe manufacturing firm L. Fiolet the item clearly depicts the European view of the 1857 Indian Mutiny. The discovery left archaeologists wondering how this French-made pipe, ended up in Christchurch.
Clara Watson, Underground Overground Archaeology artefact specialist said, "There is no evidence that the pipe has been smoked, and one possibility is that, due to the very graphic and confronting design of the pipe, nobody wanted to purchase it and the store owner actually dumped it as part of unsold stock."
These questions will be part of the ongoing analysis of the material from the site.
"The majority of archaeological features identified, and artefacts recovered appear to date to the 1850s and 1860s, which is relatively early for Christchurch European archaeological sites," Watson said.
"Most other in the city tend to date a little later than this.
Construction of The Court Theatre is expected to start in July. Once finished, the three-storey building will have a 375-seat auditorium, a 120-seat family theatre, and an education studio, front of house bars, restaurant and box office.