Hello Folks,

 

Please excuse the cross-posting.

 

I am trying to find information on historic period basements/cellars in
the southeastern US, particularly the Piedmont area of Georgia. I am
working on a site that has a large basement (approximately 18' x 28' and
4-5' deep) with stone and brick walls, plaster coating, and a
fireplace/hearth in a massive granite chimney. There is also a fireplace
above the basement where the first floor would have been. Granite is
locally available from active and historic quarries, which explains the
massive masonry. There are three chimneys total, and the basement off
the back of the house perpendicular to the main house (ell?).

 

This is something I have not seen before in the southeast, and other
folks I have talked with agree that these types of properties are rare
(at least that is the general perception). I should point out that this
house is not a Monticello or Mt. Vernon in terms of size or scale, and I
am aware of numerous examples of basements in well known structures like
those examples. This site is much more modest.

 

Are any of you familiar with these types of features? How common are
they? Are they associated with a particular style of house or time
period? Are they associated with a particular ethnic group or region?
Did they serve as kitchens exclusively, or is it possible that they
doubled as living quarters (perhaps for servants and/or slaves)? Does
anyone have specific examples of archaeological work that has been
conducted, or of standing structures with basements?

 

Over the last several weeks I have visited several structures in Georgia
with basements, although they are not the same as this site, and often
are referred to as "daylight basements" because entrance is gained at
ground level, and the structures are not really subterranean.
Unfortunately, our SHPO does not maintain a database of historic
structures, so I have no way to perform a search of the files and
quantifying the information, and doubt that features such as basements
would have been recorded anyway.

 

I hope I haven't abused any terminology, so I apologize in advance. Any
help with references and other examples would be sincerely appreciated.
Unless there is some general interest in this topic, off-list responses
are fine.

 

Shawn Patch

Archaeologist

Georgia Department of Transportation

3993 Aviation Circle

Atlanta, GA 30336

(404) 699-4436