Merrifield refers to iron knives placed in the foundation of the Cade House, West Malling, Kent as a protective charm against witch craft (pg. 162); the knives illustrated in his example date from the late sixteenth to early seventeenth century. He also refers to a letter from a priest in Orkney talking about the same practice from the late 1700s. None of these knives were bent.
In Kentucky, we recently excavated a house dating from the early- to mid-nineteenth century that contained knives placed in the foundation wall, presumed to have a similar intended effect. Again, these knives were straight. I think if you review some historic mitigation reports in your neck of the woods, you'll discover numerous artifacts that were most likely concealed - the only thing missing would be the correct interpretation of context. Merrifield's main complaint - that archaeologists often misinterpret ritually concealed artifacts - still stands.
Merrifield's book does have a UK orientation, but that's just fine. Most of the folks building historic structures here in Kentucky weren't, in many cases, too far removed from England (or Scotland, Ireland, etc.).
Interestingly, most of Kentucky superstitions regarding hoes would indicate that they should not be brought into a house. From "Kentucky Superstitions" (Thomas and Thomas 1920) I found the following:
If you take a hoe or a spade into the house, someone will dig your grave.
If a hoe is carried through one door and out another, the youngest member of the family will die.
If you carry a hoe through the house, your calf will die.
There are several other examples, but in general, you don't want one in your house, or thrown over a fence, or drawn across your porch, etc. etc.
Daniel B. Davis
Archaeologist Coordinator
Kentucky Transportation Cabinet
Division of Environmental Analysis
200 Mero Street
Frankfort, KY 40622
(502) 564-7250
-----Original Message-----
From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Megan Springate
Sent: Monday, June 15, 2009 5:06 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Concealed Hoe Blade and Outbuilding Converted to a Dwelling?
Merrifield's book is "The Archaeology of Ritual and Magic" published 1987
by New Amsterdam Books, New York. I second Ron's recommendation. Although
his specific examples are heavily UK-oriented, because that's where he was
working, it's a good overview of the whats, whys, and wheres of the
material remains of ritual and magic (not just concealments).
Thanks everyone for your responses so far!
--Megan Springate
> Just to keep this in perspective, I recommend everyone track down a copy
> of
> Ralph Merrifield's book on magic in archaeology sites. I cannot recall
> the
> title right now, but you can Google it. This is the single most best
> source to begin your understanding of concealment features because the
> author is
> an archaeologist.
>
> Ron May
> Legacy 106, Inc.
>
>
> In a message dated 6/14/2009 9:13:05 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time,
> [log in to unmask] writes:
>
> I see concealed artifacts quite regularly in Central Virginia in
> structures that date to Antebellum times (...and were frequently utilized
> until the
> turn of the 20th century as servants quarters, sheds, etc.). Iron
> artifacts
> are common but other materials are seen as well (e.g. embossed serving
> trays, marble sized blue glass beads, etc.). Many times the iron
> artifacts
> are bent (e.g. small butter knife with bent/curled tang end). A
> frequently
> seen artifact type is woodworking tools or other small-medium sized
> carpentry
> tools.
>
> talk to someone who is in the antique building materials business. these
> folks routinely disassemble historic structures and many keep photos of
> the
> items they find stuck in between the logs or under the floors of historic
> buildings.
>
> Raymond Ezell, RPA
> Senior Archaeologist
>
>
> ECS Mid-Atlantic, LLC
> 915 Maple Grove Drive, Suite 206, Fredericksburg, VA 22407
> T: 540-785-6100 F: 540-785-3577 C: 540-379-5518
> [log in to unmask] • www.ecslimited.com
>
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: Ron May <[log in to unmask]>
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Sent: Sunday, June 14, 2009 3:23:13 AM
> Subject: Re: Concealed Hoe Blade and Outbuilding Converted to a Dwelling?
>
> Megan,
>
> Although I have not heard of a hoe in a concealment, I suppose it is
> possible. When they concealed coins, scissors, knives, pins, and needles,
> they
> bent the items as part of the concealment ritual. If your hoe was not
> bent
> in some way, there might be reason to question the interpretation (like
> maybe they were hiding a weapon or instrument of a crime). That said, the
> ritual
> and meaning of the practice most likely evolved over time between Europe
> and America. I would think that people continued a poorly explained
> ritual, rationalized it in a Christian context, and made do with what
> they
> could
> find. Then there is the belief in "iron" and its magical properties. Some
> people from the Old World ascribed iron as a material that could repel or
> injure otherworld spirits (depending on who you read).
>
> And I should point out that not all items concealed are for ritual magic
> (which, by the way, some authors spell "magick" to distinguish from the
> garden variety of illustionists). I once worked with a crew on a 1830s
> vintage
> Mexican era house in Old Town San Diego that yielded a cluster of a
> dozen
> or
> so old clay marbles. Just about everyone on the crew interpreted this to
> mean a child hid a sack of marbles under the dirt beneath the
> floorboards
> and the sack rotted.
>
> Since we are on the topic of concealments, I thought to ask if you found
> buried horse bones under the floorboards? In Wales, horse skulls were
> buried
> to protect the future residents. In pre-Christian times, entire horses
> were
> buried, but the practice evolved to burying skulls. Horses played an
> important role in Celtic ideology.
>
> Ron May
> Legacy 106, Inc.
>
>
> In a message dated 6/13/2009 2:14:52 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time,
> [log in to unmask] writes:
>
> Greetings,
>
> Has anyone encountered hoe blades or other iron tools in concealed
> contexts? I have one that was recovered concealed in the framing for the
> first floor ceiling, immediately south of a chimney. I have done a fair
> bit of reading on concealed ritual objects, and though I've found
> references to the uses of iron, and their placement near chimneys, I
> haven't found any reference to hoes or other relatively large iron
> objects.
>
> Also, has anyone encountered dwellings that were built by converting
> existing outbuildings? The framing of the two-story dwelling indicates
> that it was built by converting a single story, slope-roofed,
> crudely-built outbuilding. The outbuilding was constructed using
> repurposed wood from some other building, as well as tree trunks,
> several
> of which retain their bark.
>
> The questions are both regarding the same context; the building appears
> to
> have been converted to a dwelling in the mid-1850s or so.
>
> Regards,
> Megan Springate, RPA
>
>
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