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Gothamist LOVES the story about the wall from the 1700s, possibly the 1600s, (probably from Dutch colonial times!) being found as the MTA was trying to excavate for a new subway tunnel. The MTA now has to wait for for archaelogists to examine the wall and the area around it, to determine how old it might be, which means the expanded station for South Ferry may have to wait even longer. The wall is 40 feet by 7 feet, made out of mortared stone. A statement from City Hall says the wall may be part of a gun battery, which makes sense given that Castle Clinton is there - one needs to protect the coastline and all. Also found near the wall: Delft pottery, a coin from 1744, and pipe stems.
Now we want to read Russell Shorto's wonderful book about early New York, The Island at the Center of the World, all over again. And the media on the wall: The NY Times' "Found: Old Wall in New York, and It's Blocking the Subway" (which has interesting insight into the politics behind it); Newsday's "A 17th century finding; and the Daily News' "Subway dig unearths 300 year old wall". And the Battery Conservancy hopes the wall can be rebuilt in the park.
Photograph from the MTA
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Hate to be a killjoy but I'd be really surprised if they didn't know it was there beforehand. It's probably the old "Grand Battery", which I *think* I've read had to be cut through when the subway line was originally put through there, about 100 years ago.
What they ought to be looking for while they're down there is any marble from the original city hall. There's one old bit that's supposed to say something like "Nieuw Amsterdam Staat House" that's been missing for about 250 years. It's not unreasonable to think that the British might have used it to reinforce the battery during the Revolution.
what's that sound? oh wait – i think it's jake on his way to put some "street art" on it!
It was not expected. We knew about the possibility of finding artifacts, but a large wall like this is really a wrench in the plans.
as for the "grand battery", there never was a subway tunnel in this location. the current #1 tunnel is 40 yards away. the best guess of the LPC archeologists is that this is either the "half moon battery wall" or part of the ft. george foundation.
So it's about 40 yards west of State St., in the north part of the park, and runs roughly parallel to State St.? It couldn't be the fort foundation, because State St. was itself on the west side of the fort.
If the thing is ten feet down, maybe it's a bulkhead for State St, which used to front on the water. Or maybe it's a bulkhead for the slip that was SW of the Bowling Green, below the windmill.
I also found a factoid in Booth's History of New York (1859) that indicates that St. Nicholas Church, built in 1642, would have been 72' x 52' with walls 16' in height - all cut stone. That would be roughly on the same scale as the wall that's there. Maps put the church inside the fort in the northwest corner, though, so that theory has the same problem as the fort foundation hypothesis.