Mike:
I was not really suggesting ritual behavior. However, the holes in
the blocks are always empty - only filled with air - so there is no
reason to put anything in them and indeed most seem to only have a little
dirt that worked its way in after the fact.
The placing of the bottles was clearly purposeful but was
either a whim or perhaps, at most, some sort of informal tradition.
Can anyone out there help with the bottle identification?
Bob Schuyler
At 10:50 AM 11/12/2001 -0500, you wrote:
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>In a message dated 11/11/2001 2:29:45 PM Mountain Standard Time,
>[log in to unmask] writes:
>
>
>> For those of you who followed the garage-concrete rock faced construction
>> block discussion interesting you might also be interested in our most
>> recent find.
>>
>> We are still excavating the garage foundation walls make of concrete
>> blocks. Each block has two internal holes or cavaties. On Friday we
>> found two whole bottle had been placed in one of these holes upside
>> down. The bottles(6" high) which are identical, are clear glass, medicine
>> form, empty but with remnants of corks still in place. The only embossed
>> lettering is on the base:
>>
>> C - Cedar
>> 10
>> MADE IN USA
>> The "e" in Cedar is set inside the larger "C".
>>
>> Two Questions:
>>
>> (1) can anyone help with the bottle identification?
>>
>> (2) does anyone know of other examples of early (probably
>> late teens or early 1920s) 20th century traditions of builders or workers
>> putting such items in open spaces, especially in foundations? It may not be
>> magic, perhaps just a whim, but it was certainly done
>> on purpose.
>> Bob Schuyler
>>
>
>I don't know about any kind of "ritual" aspect to this, Bob. Perhaps, but I
>think you need to have better information. When I was still living at home,
>I spent several summers pouring concrete around our house. I learned how
>from my father and one of the most memorable things about it was the desire
>to stretch the cement as far as it would go. Because concrete can hold so
>much weight, depending upon its purpose, it does not always need to fill all
>voids in a wooden form being filled. Thus, we would throw in rocks, beer
>cans, and other objects just to take up space (and, thus, to use less cement
>in a particular block we were pouring). Whether this helps answer your
>question (and whether it is too disappointing to hear - certainly not as
>exciting as "ritual" behavior), I don't know. Just some thoughts.
>
>Mike Polk
>Sagebrush Consultants, L.L.C.
>Ogden, Utah
>
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><HTML><FONT FACE=arial,helvetica><FONT SIZE=2>In a message dated
11/11/2001 2:29:45 PM Mountain Standard Time, [log in to unmask] writes:
><BR>
><BR>
><BR><BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid;
MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px">For those of you
who followed the garage-concrete rock faced construction
><BR>block discussion interesting you might also be interested in our most
><BR>recent find.
><BR>
><BR>We are still excavating the garage foundation walls make of concrete
><BR>blocks. Each block has two internal holes or cavaties. On Friday we
><BR>found two whole bottle had been placed in one of these holes upside
><BR>down. The bottles(6" high) which are identical, are clear glass, medicine
><BR>form, empty but with remnants of corks still in place. The only embossed
><BR>lettering is on the base:
><BR>
><BR> C - Cedar
><BR> 10
><BR> MADE IN USA
><BR>The "e" in Cedar is set inside the larger "C".
><BR>
><BR>Two Questions:
><BR>
><BR> (1) can anyone help with
the bottle identification?
><BR>
><BR> (2) does anyone know of
other examples of early (probably
><BR>late teens or early 1920s) 20th century traditions of builders or workers
><BR>putting such items in open spaces, especially in foundations? It may
not be
><BR>magic, perhaps just a whim, but it was certainly done
><BR>on purpose.
><BR>
&nbs
p; &n
bsp; Bob Schuyler
><BR></FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=3 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" FACE="Arial"
LANG="0"></BLOCKQUOTE>
><BR></FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" FACE="Arial"
LANG="0">
><BR>I don't know about any kind of "ritual" aspect to this, Bob.
Perhaps, but I think you need to have better information. When
I was still living at home, I spent several summers pouring concrete around
our house. I learned how from my father and one of the most memorable
things about it was the desire to stretch the cement as far as it would go.
Because concrete can hold so much weight, depending upon its purpose,
it does not always need to fill all voids in a wooden form being filled.
Thus, we would throw in rocks, beer cans, and other objects just to
take up space (and, thus, to use less cement in a particular block we were
pouring). Whether this helps answer your question (and whether it is
too disappointing to hear - certainly not as exciting as "ritual"
behavior), I don't know. Just some thoughts.
><BR>
><BR>Mike Polk
><BR>Sagebrush Consultants, L.L.C.
><BR>Ogden, Utah </FONT></HTML>
>
>--Boundary_(ID_8xjdNoB4RGyvskhVRRCcfw)--
>
>
Robert L. Schuyler
University of Pennsylvania Museum
33rd & Spruce Streets
Philadelphia, PA l9l04-6324
Tel: (215) 898-6965
Fax: (215) 898-0657
[log in to unmask]
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