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Thousands of Artifacts, Including 200-Year-Old Douche, Get New Home

 Thousands of artifacts will soon be placed in a new Midtown archaeological repository.
Thousands of City Artifacts Get New Home
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MIDTOWN —  Thousands of centuries-old artifacts unearthed during excavations across the city — including a 200-year-old douche, a trove of 18th century liquor bottles and a copper half-penny — will soon be found under one roof.

A new, 1,400-square-foot space called the New York City Archaeological Repository has been created to house the many antiquities discovered underneath city streets, the Landmarks Preservation Commission announced.

The climate-controlled location at 114 W. 47th St. provides a single home for the artifacts stored at about 13 places throughout the city, including Brooklyn College and Columbia University, according to the LPC.

“The artifacts to be preserved in this central repository reflect the development over time of our great city and are part of the heritage of every New Yorker,” commission chairman Robert Tierney said in a statement. “The Landmarks Preservation Commission is thrilled to preserve and store these significant fragments of history for future generations.”

The 3-inch feminine hygiene product made of animal bone was unearthed near City Hall. The liquor bottles and other items associated with food waste suggested one big party, an archaeologist told DNAinfo New York.

Digs throughout the city, including at City Hall Park, the South Street Seaport and Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx have uncovered thousands of artifacts throughout the years, with items dating from more than a 1,000 years ago to the late 19th-century.

The location is being donated to the city by real estate giant the Durst Organization in honor of Nan Rothschild, a member of the Durst family who’s a Barnard College professor and urban archaeologist.

All of the pieces are expected to be moved by the end of spring. The artifacts will be available to scholars and museums upon request, the LPC said.