Matt and Melissa Dunphy, a husband-and-wife team, are part of a small group of amateur archeologists digging up 300-year-old Philadelphia outhouses to uncover historic artifacts, writes Jeanne Erickson for the New York Post.

Their excavations have uncovered glass bottles, pottery shards, and a variety of household items discarded by residents into privies. Some of these finds get quickly snapped up by collectors, sometimes fetching hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

The Dunphys, an e-commerce engineer and a composer with a doctorate in music, respectively, became intrigued after buying a home with a small, old theater attached, once used for magic shows. As they began renovating the 1745 property, they began uncovering a range of historical artifacts.

“When we first saw bits of pottery and old bottles in the dirt coming out of the ground, it piqued our curiosity about who lived here before us,” said Matt.

When two historic outhouses were uncovered on their property, the couple started to excavate them immediately and have continued with additional sites in the vicinity, totaling six privies. They share their impressions and well-researched findings about the artifacts on their podcast, The Boghouse.

Philadelphia law allows them to keep whatever they are able to find.

Read more about the two Philadelphia archaeologists and their many discoveries in the New York Post.

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