Excavation of the exercise yard at the Port Arthur penitentiary building, World Heritage site in Tasmania, has yielded artifacts related to the convict's leisure time. The key thing about this space was keeping the convict population healthy as if they are healthy then they can work. According to the study, the yards at first had shelters with fireplaces for the men, Then in the 1860s, toilets and washing areas were added.
The 1600 artifacts recovered from the site include recovered from the site include square and circular gambling tokens made of lead, slate and ceramic, buttons and clay pipes. Gambling was not allowed in the prison, so the tokens were probably smuggled into the yard. Many of the clay pipe stems bear the teeth marks of their onwers, One pipe bowl features images of Napolean and Wellington and may have been made to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo.
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