-----Original Message-----
From: George Myers [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Tuesday, September 07, 1999 1:51 PM
To: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY
Cc: Cranmer, Leon
Subject: Re: Pits in Winter Previous Post


Subj:   Re: Pits in winter
Date:   09/04/99
To: <A HREF="mailto:[log in to unmask]">[log in to unmask]</A>

I remember another example about the little ice age and the switch to
semi-subterranean houses in the archaeological record in the US state of
Maine. These buildings or huts were dug partially into the ground and
supported the prediction of a past "little ice age" in the northeastern part
of North America. I cannot at the moment recall the reference but the
University of Maine at Orono was the source of the article if memory serves
me.

[log in to unmask]

Silage, it's a gas! gas! gas! gas!

        Just to clarify the record, the only semi-subterranean house known
in Maine is the "Spirit Pond Sod House" in Phippsburg, Maine.  The site was
excavated in 1973-74 in search of a Norse settlement. It consisted of two
structures dug into the bank of the pond.  Apparently one structure was
occupied briefly and the other, smaller structure, possibly used for
storage.  The few artifacts recovered are from the mid-17th and mid-18th
centuries.  The conclusion then as now is that this site represents an
initial first-season occupation to get through the first winter, not "a
switch to semi-subterranean houses" during "a past little ice age". The
published reference is: Lenik, Edward J.  "The Search for Norse occupation
at Spirit Pond, Maine."  In "Bulletin of the Maine Archaeological Society"
Vol.15 no.1 (April 1975).

Lee Cranmer
Maine Historic Preservation Commission