I think brick floors in basements are fairly common--particularly where 
brick is cheap.  We certainly see them here in the South.  You might check 
with Vernacular Architectural Forum.

I've seen the swirled clay bricks you describe before--I always assume it 
was just incomplete mixing in handmade bricks--it's a lot of work to mush up 
that clay!  But again the people at VAF might be able to tell you more.

Lucy Wayne
SouthArc, Inc.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Greenlee, Rachael" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, April 28, 2009 3:00 PM
Subject: Brick Floored Basement?


Greetings all!

On a 19th century house site in northwest Indiana (near Michigan City,
not too far from Chicago) one of my colleagues has uncovered a brick
floor in what would have been the basement or cellar of a late
19th/early 20th century house. The foundation was mostly fieldstone,
which was later patched with concrete in the 1920s. Along one wall, the
bricks appear to go underneath the base of the stone wall. Along another
wall, the fieldstones appear to be mortared to the side of the bricks.



The bricks themselves are also very interesting. They are hand struck
and in profile, the clay is a swirl of brick red clay and a lighter,
cream colored clay, almost like the clay wasn't mixed thoroughly. When
the bricks were cut, the result was red and cream colored streaks
running parallel to the long axis of the bricks. It appears this was
intentional and maybe some sort of decoration.



            Any ideas on why someone would use decorative bricks to pave
the floor of their cellar/basement? Would the brick floor have been laid
before the walls? Has anyone else seen this in the field and/or know of
any reports/sources that discuss this?



Thanks in advance!

Rachael Greenlee

Archaeologist, Cultural Resources Section

Office of Environmental Services

Indiana Department of Transportation

100 N. Senate Ave. Room N642

Indianapolis, IN 46204

317-234-1900

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