Daniel,
Point well taken, not all ritual objects were bent. Some were, some were
not. There is very little social history to explain the function of the
various concealment features in houses. Some were actually "builders pits,"
which served the purpose of appeasing the earth spirits before construction of
a building "on their land." As well, coins placed between bricks also
served other purposes.
I believe Merrifield's book is an excellent foundation and that we in North
America need to ferret out our own data to understand the evolution of
ritual and thought from the 17th to 20th centuries. Why were some objects
bent? Why were most of the shoes or boots really beat up and scuffed? Why were
many of the objects sharp (knives, swords, hoes)? Why were some of the
objects old worn clothing leather? What is the significance of iron? What was
the underlying spiritual thinking behind these folk practices and how did
Christianity and other religions weave into the practice, or not? How did
appeasement and negotiation with earth spirits and deities evolve into fear of
evil demons or "witches" invading sleep or causing sickness or death? And,
perhaps just as intriguing, is there evidence of a continuum of the
practices into the 21st century?
After presenting my paper, "Soldier in the Chimney" at the 2000 SHA
Conference in Long Beach, California, several local organizations invited me to
speak and show slides locally. Just before one of those talks, the leaders
and I had dinner in a Greek restaurant. One of the servers overheard the
conversation and came over to explain how her family in Roumania placed
concealments for protection and that she has done so in houses over here in the
United States.
Ron May
Legacy 106, Inc.
In a message dated 6/15/2009 5:40:46 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:
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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