>The current thread on Histarch has generated some discussion among those of
>us who grew up in the 40s and 50s on the topic of burn barrels.

Just the same in australia,

Incinerators, (cut out 44 gal drums, made of bricks or concrete blocks, or
commercial products) were a feature of most backyards well into the 1970s.
There seemed to be a ready supply of material (pre recycling) and as kids
we actually sought out stuff to fill it with.

Council bans on burning came in the 1970s and were pretty much universal by
the 90s although lots of back yards still have incinerators.

The other part of the process was emptying the ash, usually to put in the
garden beds, so that incombustible artefacts were then transferred to the
archaeological context. I remember finding a burnt toy metal soldier 20
years later.

Gary Vines

Melbourne's Living Museum of the West
P.O. BOX 60 Highpoint City, 3032
Victoria, Australia
ph. +61 3 93183544
fax. +61 3 93181039
email- [log in to unmask]
www.livingmuseum.org.au