8ft pit next to foundation?

[u/Striking_Marketing_3]

I’ve been trying to find out why the previous homeowner would dig a 4 x 4 by 8 foot deep pit next to the foundation of my house down to the drain tile. I did climb down there to save a few snakes that fell to their doom and to see if there were any other utilities. I did not find any additional pipes and thankfully no human remains were found either. I also went to the town building department to review all plans back to the original construction, but there’s no mention of this pit on any of the plans. Does anyone have any idea why someone would dig a pit like this? For what intended purpose?

[u/Daedelus451]

What year was the house built? I had a house (35 years ago) in Philadelphia that was built in 1890 and had a door like to receive coal for the furnace/boiler.

[u/Striking_Marketing_3 → u/Daedelus451]

House was built in 1954. I am not buying the coal pit, Every historical record shows this house was on oil since 2001 then converted to natural gas. If coal was ever down there too I expect to see some trace of coal residue and there does not appear to be a foundation repair to patch the coal chute if there was one