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These things are common in basements in my
Neighborhood. There’s a thick cable that goes to them and then the go through the basement wall into the neighbor’s basement wall. The cable is thick — thicker than coax. The black thing is about a foot long. Any ideas what these are? And if it’s safe to cut it?

I should add I’m in Ohio, and most of the houses in my neighborhood were built between 1890 and 1940.