I suggest looking at period books on plumbing also (although, if  
army, you might stick with a military manual). A plumbing book that I  
have (R. M. Starbuck. 1919. _Standard Practical Plumbing_.  Norman W.  
Henley Publishing Co. New York) shows filter tanks for water supply  
and septic. The illustrations show that neither the placement of  
drain or inlet pipes within the tanks, nor the filtering medium/ 
method necessarily distinguish one system from the other. Lacking  
evidence from the arrangement of pipes (e.g. does the outlet go  
toward or away from a structure), the key in your instance might be  
the lack of a means for drainage in the final pair. This would mean,  
as you've assumed, that the system is for water purification. Septic  
systems always have a means for drainage (pipe or seepage), while if  
for water supply, the outlet could have been through the top via a  
pump, and thereby, not visible in the bottom or sides of the tank.

Tim Mancl, RPA
Heite Consulting
Frederica, Delaware


On Nov 3, 2007, at 3:00 AM, HISTARCH automatic digest system wrote:

>
> Date:    Fri, 2 Nov 2007 13:26:06 -0400
> From:    Janet Jordan <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: archaeological feature
>
> I'm forwarding this request for information from Chris Murphy, Augusta
> State University. Any thoughts would  e most appreciated.
>
> Can anyone suggest a probable function for the feature described below
> or references related to water purification in the late 19th or early
> 20th century?  We have a feature which consists of three pairs of
> (roughly) 4.5 foot square brick “wells” (each about 3-3.5’ deep)
> arranged side by side in such a manner that the first pair is on a
> slope slightly elevated above the second pair which is above the third
> pair.  The total length from end to end is approximately 16.5 feet and
> a width of roughly 11.5 feet.  (We take metric measurements, but it is
> most unlikely that this feature was constructed using metric
> dimensions.)  The upper two pairs of these “wells” have iron drain
> pipes that would carry a fluid (water?) to the next pair of down slope
> “wells”.  We have yet to see any drain in the bottommost pair.  The
> “wells” have cement floors and preliminary excavations in the “wells”
> show that they have pea gravel and larger rocks resting on these
> floors.
> 	This feature may have been part of a WW I training encampment (Camp
> Hancock) located here in the Augusta, GA area, but we are not certain
> that it was part of that installation because although the property
> line must have been close, we have not been able to determine if this
> structure was within or outside of the military cantonment area.   
> While
> the evidence so far points to this structure being related to water
> purification, it would seem to be far too small to serve any sizable
> military contingent.  Camp Hancock apparently had up to 36,000  
> soldiers
> during parts of the 1917-18 time frames.
>
> 	Any thoughts or suggestions based on this information will be  
> welcome.
>
> Janet Jordan
> Lab Supervisor
> Archaeology Laboratory
> Augusta State University
> Augusta, Georgia