Hello Janice,

There was a fully articulated and beautifully preserved excavation of a
mid-late 19th century dog burial at Poplar Forest in Virginia. I happened
to have excavated that very feature when I was a field school student there
in 2003 under Barbara Heath. I'm not sure if there was every in-depth
analysis of the burial itself, but there are some details and photos in the
report (p. 16) available here:

http://www.poplarforest.org/sites/default/files/Site%20A%20(Heath%202004).pdf

I do remember that the outlines of the burial container (probably a wooden
box) were clearly visible and there was at least one small metal ring near
the head area, likely part of a collar.

Best of luck with your search; this is a really interesting topic.

Jolene Smith
Archaeology Inventory Manager
Virginia Department of Historic Resources




On Sun, Jan 13, 2013 at 11:59 PM, Janice Adamson
<[log in to unmask]>wrote:

> Hi there, I was wondering if anyone can provide me with some references to
> published material (rather than grey literature I can't get access to)
> regarding pet burials, particularly on 19th century farmstead sites?  There
> doesn't seem to have been much written on this.
>