Oddities discovered in disused Wellington well

Unusual old-fashioned objects in a disused Wellington well. Photo / Supplied

Workers have uncovered many unusual old-fashioned objects in a disused Wellington well - including a porcelain doll's head with one blue eye still perfectly painted despite years of being buried underground.

More dolls' heads, a glass inkwell, a china elephant with a little girl riding on top and an early ginger beer bottle were among other oddities discovered during the Victoria St transformation work happening in Wellington, the city council said.

The largest doll's head, which along with its one staring eye, still had remarkably rosy cheeks. It was thought to be the top of a tea cosy, said archaeologist Sarah Phear.

Ms Phear has begun assessing the finds and says the well that revealed the most interesting artefacts was in an area of Te Aro where several schoolrooms were located from the 1850s.

"These school buildings could explain the collection of little china dolls' heads that were found," she said.

"Though we think the larger head might once have been attached to the top of a tea cosy and others are likely to have been from ornaments or figurines, so they could also have been discarded items from people's homes."

Another find is the intact, head-shaped bowl of an old clay smoking pipe depicting a bearded man in a cavalry helmet.

Ms Phear said this was an unusual find due to its decorations.

"We believe the person wearing the helmet is likely to have been a particular person and are doing more research to find out more about it."

Victoria St is being revamped as part of a Wellington City Council project to make the area "a more attractive place to live, spend time and pass through" the council said on its website.

Though most of the upgrade work was close to the surface, four wells were discovered as construction workers installed 9km of new ducting pipes for existing and future underground services.

The parts of Victoria St that have been upgraded were busy residential areas in the 19th century and first few decades of the 20th century and early on most people had their own wells. As these fell into disuse, they were often gradually filled with rubbish.

An archaeological assessment was carried out last year before the Victoria St transformation project began so workers were aware of the areas where finds were most likely to be unearthed and what to watch for.

An archaeologist also kept an eye on the excavation work as it progressed.

Only the parts of the well affected by the work were excavated. The lower layers have been left intact.

The Victoria Street project started late last year and is due to finish this month.