Historic Smoking Pipe

3D Model

This clay pipe was discovered by the Michigan Sate University Campus Archaeology field crew while conducting excavations along the banks of the Red Cedar River during the summer of 2018.

The pipe is made of a high-fired clay with the letters/initials ‘M’ and ‘T’ embossed on the bowl on either side of the pipe stem. This indicates that the letters were pressed into the clay while it was still wet before it was fired in an oven. Clay pipes were the most popular during the 17th century, but then faced a decline. Popularity rose again during the 19th century and fell again during the 1930s due to the increasing use of cigarettes. This pipe likely dates to the mid-19th to early 20th century. Other clay pipes with more intricate decoration have been uncovered in previous CAP excavations.

This model was created by CAP Fellow Jack A. Biggs using photogrammetry and Agisoft PhotoScan.