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Date: | Mon, 8 Oct 2007 13:08:09 -0400 |
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Hello everyone,
Sam Sweitz and I are researching cisterns constructed in Cold Spring,
New York, during the nineteenth century. We excavated a cistern with
a internal structure for which we've not yet been able to find
comparative information. Marty Pickands already shared some
comparative material with us that Chuck Fisher and Nancy Davis found
when studying a cistern at the South Street Parking garage in Albany,
New York. He sent us articles from the Annual Register of Rural
Affairs (1861) and from the Mason's, Bricklayer's and Plasterer's
Guide (1892) which provide good comparative information on cisterns.
We are curious if anyone has ever excavated a similarly built
cistern. I have put a sketch of the feature here:
http://www.ss.mtu.edu/faculty/Scarlett/Xfer/Cistern.jpg
This feature was about 2 meters x 3 meters x 2 meters deep. The
rectangular pit was lined with a thick layer of packed clay about
four to six inches thick. builders then constructed a wooden box in
about 2/3 of the clay lined pit. A barrel sat atop the dividing
wall, presumably where the water runoff from the roof could be
funneled into the cistern. The feature was filled with artifacts,
animal bone, and debris, so we think that the internal structure was
removed or destroyed when the cistern was abandoned. We found some
fabric and charcoal, but none of the internal structures suggested
the functional structures for filtering water.
Similarly built cisterns were excavated by Grossman Associates at the
site in the early 1990s in other worker housing units. Their report
suggested that this style of construction may be an Irish or British
style from the early nineteenth century. We are interested in the use
of clay liners, wooden boxes or baffles, and wooden barrels. Has
anyone seen this type of construction elsewhere?
Cheers,
Tim Scarlett
Timothy Scarlett
Assistant Professor of Archaeology
Department of Social Sciences/AOB 209
Michigan Technological University
1400 Townsend Ave.
Houghton, MI 49931
[log in to unmask]
(906)487-2359 (office)
(906)487-2468 (fax)
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