I always thought chard was a type of vegetable...

Oh, alright - it's easy enough to be flippant when the seller, with or
without Noel Hume's 'Guide' (with PICTURES!), clearly doesn't really know
what he/she's dealing with.  Pieces which 'appear to be CHINESE'?  From
c.1779 (maybe)?  In South Carolina?  Well, knock me down with a rubber
spoon!  Clearly the original owners must have been rebels rather that
Loyalists - the latter definitely would have been using good BRITISH pottery
rather than disloyal evil foreign muck.  Or even stuff that merely 'appears'
foreign. Only treacherous REBEL DOGS would do that (hey - this occasional
use of capitals gets QUITE CATCHY after a while).

More seriously, I would find the later comment "I fully guarantee everything
I sell and receive from excavator's across this GREAT USA!" of considerably
greater concern  (and no, not for the misplaced apostrophe or possibly
equally misplaced patriotism).

I suppose in this particular case someone could contact the seller in
non-archaeologist guise and find out who this 'noted AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGIST'
who works in the area on a 'DAILY' basis is.  There might conceivably be a
reasonable explanation of how the pottery left the site in the first place,
and the noted ARCHAEOLOGIST might have no idea that this stuff's found its
way onto the market.  Whoever it is, if they're taking a cut, they're not
hoping for much of a profit off a reserve price of US$1.

And remember, the best way for Americans to commemorate your fallen soldiers
on US Memorial Day is to pay shipping and handling fees that are more than
three times the reserve price of the small, worthless fragments of broken
pottery that you're bidding for....  Ain't internet capitalism groovy -
there's no day or event so solemn that it can't be prostituted for financial
gain.

Alasdair Brooks

>> Item Description:
>> Dear Bidders: What is being offered for your consideration are 16
>> choice pieces of Blue and white Pottery chards excavated in South
>> Carolina near the site of The Battle of Stono-Ferry 1779. Each pottery
>> chard displays various shades and hues of Blues with some white and some
>> darker. There are floral scenes, scroll workings, concentric circular
>> designs and even some pieces which appear to be "CHINESE" (go figure?)
>> There are 16 pieces in this lot the largest being 4 INCHES long and Two
>> inches wide at its widest point/quite thick with an edged rim lots of
>> designs. The Other pieces range from a 3 INCH piece to smaller inch
>> squares. All are great examples of COLONIAL POTTERY FRAGS with an
>> association to a famous SC REV WAR BATTLE. For further information AND
>> PICTURES! please see the text by Ivor Noel Hume: "A GUIDE TO ARTIFACTS OF
>> COLONIAL AMERICA. There are some very similar examples of this type of
>> pottery-ALL ARE 100% GUARANTEED TO BE excavated from the stated area with
>> owner!
>> s permission by a noted AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGIST in the South who works the
>> area on a DAILY basis. The Battle of Stono Ferry took place on June 20,
>> 1779 and was a British Victory. The Fort which was built there stretched
>> some 800 yards!Both Hessians and Highland troops took part in the Battle
>> with the Americans being led by the famous Maj. Gen. Benjamin Lincoln.
>> Please ask any questions! I try to answer all e-mails promptly. I do not
>> have picture capability or scanning so please check out my feed back
>> forum.  SHIPPING is $3.50 on these artifacts. Thanks for
>> looking! HAVE A SAFE MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND!!***** REMEMBER OUR FALLEN
>> SOLDIERS!***********
>>
>> Visit eBay, The World's Online Marketplace TM at http://www.ebay.com
>



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dr. Alasdair Brooks
Department of Archaeology
La Trobe University
Plenty Road
Bundoora VIC 3083
Australia
Phone - 03 9479 3269
E-mail - [log in to unmask]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The buffalo tastes the same
on both sides of the border"
Sitting Bull