A great reference for this is Ralph Merrifield's "Archaeology of Ritual
and Magic" New Amsterdam Books (January 1, 1990). Amazon has a few copies
from $20 if anyone is looking...
There are a few other references I have at home; I will have a peek. There
was also a website where someone was collecting references to concealed
shoes (maybe other things as well?)...again, the info is at home.
Megan Springate
> Sounds like a possible case of ritual concealment of objects, which was
> once
> commonplace. The following link has some additional information on
> concealed
> artifacts, and a check of any historic folk beliefs in a particular study
> area may provide additional information on both types of artifacts
> concealed
> and why the objects may have been hidden in the first place. In Kentucky,
> for instance, we have a volume of some 4,000 folk beliefs that were
> collected in the early 1900s. In this volume was listed the belief that a
> piece of "Indian flint" placed in the chimney or hearth was thought to
> keep
> hawks away from your chickens. Suddenly, I was able to make sense of
> several
> points and bifaces found in chimneys over the years. We've identified a
> possible witch bottle at one site and I'm currently looking for evidence
> of
> additional concealed items at previously excavated sites.
>
> http://www.oldhouses.com.au/docs/ritual.html
>
> Daniel B. Davis
> Archaeologist Coordinator
> Kentucky Transportation Cabinet
> Division of Environmental Analysis
> 200 Mero Street
> Frankfort, KY 40622
> (502) 564-7250
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: George Myers [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Friday, November 04, 2005 2:00 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: [WW Spam: medium] Fwd: marbles and jacks
>
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: George Myers <[log in to unmask]>
> Date: Nov 4, 2005 1:59 AM
> Subject: Re: marbles and jacks
> To: [log in to unmask]
>
>
> I have a picture of artifacts found at the excavations of the
> Augustine Heerman Dutch West Indies Warehouse in lower Manhattan, New
> York City in the winter that if I recall correctly were from a basket
> found in the excavations. In the bottom of the basket was a board that
> might have been part of the marbles game to go with the three (3)
> large shooters and fourteen (14) smaller clay marbles found along with
> bones, a piece of Dutch tile corner some Dutch "chinoiserie" plate
> fragment, fish bones, some hardware, etc., perhaps a purposeful "time
> capsule" someone left. The block bounded by Whitehall (across from the
> former induction center) Bridge, Pearl and sort of Broad St. has been
> referred to as the "Broad Street Site". Augustine Heerman was an
> ambassador from Maryland and an interesting house there near where his
> domicile was is today, maybe (in 1950's magazine) with bricks all lain
> on end, I once mentioned in this forum. He is credited sometimes with
> introducing tobacco in then New Amsterdam, however the Virginia colony
> runaways George Holmes and his indentured servant Thomas Hall are also
> said to have been allowed in New Amsterdam because they could grow
> tobacco.
>
> At the block bounded by 9th and 10th Streets and Avenues B and C I
> think, where "Batteries Not Included" was filmed by Steven Spielberg
> et al a circa American Civil War "water control feature" was excavated
> and a number of clay marbles were found in a stone lined feature (once
> apparently under two tailors and adjacent to a "ship furniture shop"
> (all not hull and decks apparently) and part of an early "tenement"
> house, along with twelve (12) liberated chamber pots (assumed the
> sewer line was then in) along with "abolitionist currency" coins that
> reminded the populace to end slavery introduced into circulation as
> one might perhaps "counterfeit" coins.
>
> For all the marbles Alex,
>
> George Myers
>
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