Clay tobacco pipe
Evidence of a popular passtime

Fragments of a clay tobacco pipe. Smoking tobacco became increasingly popular during the 18th and 19th centuries. Pipes were mass-produced in moulds using fine white clay. The slender stems were easily broken and segments with a hole running down the middle turn up frequently turn up in the soil. The pipe bowl for the tobacco was often decorated with popular designs. During the Whitworth Park excavation archaeologists found pieces of clay tobacco pipe decorated with the Irish harp and another with a skull commemorating the Charge of the Light Brigade.
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