Thanks Al! This may be a roasting pit of some kind (it's definitely a pit with burned material), it's just very different from any we've seen in the area.
If you find those references, I'd love to see them.
Thanks, and have a great holiday!
Scott S. Williams
Cultural Resources Program Manager, WSDOT
Ph: 360.570.6651
WSDOT Cultural Resources Program on the Web
-----Original Message-----
From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Allen Dart
Sent: Monday, December 23, 2013 6:42 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Slag question
In some of the prehistoric Hohokam culture hornos (large roasting pits) of southern Arizona it is not uncommon to see rocks and pit linings that became vitrified from the extreme heat that built up in some of the pits. I'll try to find some references on this.
al
Allen Dart, RPA, Executive Director (Volunteer)
Old Pueblo Archaeology Center
PO Box 40577
Tucson AZ 85717-0577 USA
520-798-1201 office, 520-798-1966 fax
Email: [log in to unmask]
URL: www.oldpueblo.org
Disclosure: Old Pueblo Archaeology Center's Executive Director Allen Dart is a USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service cultural resources specialist who volunteers his time to Old Pueblo. Views expressed in Old Pueblo Archaeology Center communications do not necessarily represent views of the U.S. Department of Agriculture or of the United States.
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-----Original Message-----
From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Williams, Scott
Sent: Monday, December 23, 2013 5:51 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Slag question
A pit feature was recently found here in WA state that looks like a typical earth oven of the area (i.e., big unlined pit with charcoal and oxidized soil), but instead of fire-cracked rocks it has some kind of "frothy"
looking slag- the material is black, hard and looks silica-rich/glassy, but soft enough to crumble or break with some pressure. It doesn't look like slag from iron working to me, but my experience with iron slag is pretty limited. I'm looking for suggestions of other processes that might have created the material, or any thoughts on what could produce black, finely-vesicular slag. There's no glass or other historic debris in the pit feature, and it looks like whatever created the slag was done in the pit-in other words, it doesn't appear to be a refuse pit filled with clean-out from another source.
If this sounds like anything you've encountered before, I 'd love to hear from you!
Scott S. Williams
Cultural Resources Program Manager, WSDOT
Environmental Services Office, Mottman
PO Box 47332, Olympia, WA 98504-7332
Ph: 360.570.6651
Mobile: 360.485.5350
Fax: 360.570.6633
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WSDOT Cultural Resources
Program<http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Environment/CulRes/default.htm> on the Web
"Development is not stifled by history, but enriched by it."
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