Workers return trash to the street at Haymarket

Construction workers this week are putting back the bronze trash that commemorates Haymarket, removed a couple of years ago to make way for a nearby construction project. Adam Castiglioni caught some of the action at Blackstone and Haymarket streets today (and Adam Balsam watched yesterday).

Mags Harries's Asaroton was initially installed as part of Boston's American bicentennial celebrations in 1976 and includes such bronzed items as squashed tomatoes and cabbage and a copy of the Boston Globe. This is the second time the work has been removed and re-embedded - the first time was during the replacement of the Central Artery by the Big Dig.

The name comes from an ancient Roman practice, Harries writes:

The piece derives from Roman floor mosaics, asaroton, which create the illusion of debris from a banquet littering the floor. They are full of humor and details that give insights into the Roman world. The mosaics have survived, a piece of fossilized history. This Asaroton is an artifact of 1976, to be rediscovered after many footsteps have worn it down.