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Date: | Fri, 15 Oct 2004 11:30:57 +1000 |
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I have read all the comments with a great deal of interest. The underfloor
deposits I have found in numerous 19th-century urban houses in Sydney are
mostly ones that have collected in the underfloor spaces during the life of
the occupants. There is clear evidence for distinct patterns of deposition,
falling through butt-boarded floors and other gaps, adjacent to doors and
windows. Many of the artefacts post-date the construction of the house and
illustrate ranges of activities undertaken within specific rooms. Notably in
the kitchens many of the artefacts relate to the activities of women and
children. Types of deposits found in kitchens, sometimes 20cm deep: lots of
sewing items, beads and buttons, marbles, pipe stems, rat and vat bones,
food remains. While some of the deposits in the houses suggest deliberate
placement under the floor many are small items lost during daily activities.
Mary Casey
Casey & Lowe
-----Original Message-----
From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Ron May
Sent: Friday, 15 October 2004 10:49 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: sub-floor deposits
Jim,
The problem I have with the concealment issue is the broken condition of the
artifacts. I am aware of live cats and chickens and whole shoes being
walled-up in walls and chimneys. Welsh peasants buried horse heads or at
least the
skulls under barn and house floors for protection. Bent coins, broken
knives,
separated scissor parts, bottles of pins and broken pins are also documented
as
wards installed in floors, window and door thresholds, and walls to protect
people inside buildings. I have even seen a bowl of food bones that might
have
been fed to a spirit, as easily as someone's dog. But broken artifacts and
food
debris sounds like a trash pit. Could the pit predate the age of the house?
Ron May
Legacy 106, Inc.
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