Chris,

I was wondering what was your take on the aspect of concealment of the 
horseshoes? It seems that Lawrence (see the quotation below) may have 
provided a clue for some of it; disapproval by the Church would likely 
have suppressed quite a bit of public display among Catholic populations 
... but what about Protestants? Would ostracism for superstitious 
beliefs in the age-of-reason have been a strong and compelling 
deterrent/suppressant to public displays of belief in folk magic ... 
strong enough to drive the horseshoes from public display, but not from 
continued widespread private/concealed use?

"About the year 1850 the Rev. Andrew A. Bonar, who was then assistant 
minister in Collace Parish, Perthshire, Scotland, found the custom of 
displaying horseshoes on the doors of farm buildings so prevalent that 
he thought it his duty to remonstrate against a practice savoring of 
paganism. But his efforts in this direction, though hardly crowned with 
success, were yet not wholly without avail, for his superstitious 
parishioners removed the guardian horse-shoes from the outsides of the 
doors, and nailed them up on the insides."  Robert Means Lawrence, The 
Magic of the Horse Shoe, 1898.

Bob Skiles


On 4/7/2015 10:20 PM, M. Chris Manning wrote:
> This is most likely evidence of a widespread folk practice in which a
> horseshoe or other iron object, such as an edge tool, is secured to a
> building or integrated into the structure itself to bring good luck and/or
> protection to the house. Check out my recent article in the fall issue of
> Historical Archaeology. I specifically discuss horseshoes on pages 72-73.
>
> Manning, M. Chris. 2014. The Material Culture of Ritual Concealments in the
> United States. Historical Archaeology 48(3):52-83.
>
> I would be very interested in learning more about the details of this find
> and seeing some photos. Please message me off list.
>
> Chris
>
> M. Chris Manning, M.A., M.S.H.P.
> [log in to unmask]
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>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Ben
> Resnick
> Sent: Tuesday, April 7, 2015 1:56 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Horseshoes - Foundations
>
> We encountered several horseshoes buried partially beneath the corner of a
> dressed stone foundation at a 19th century domestic site located along the
> southern Virginia coastal plain.  Additional horseshoes were also recovered
> along the foundation wall of an early 20th century addition.  I would be
> interested to hear of any similar observations for these site types
> including information regarding the possible background of site occupants
> (ethnicity, etc.).
>
> Thanks,
>
> Ben
> [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
>
> Ben Resnick, MA, RPA, MBA
> GAI Consultants, Inc.
> 385 East Waterfront Drive, Homestead, PA 15120-5005
> 412.476.2000 ext. 1200 | C 412.759.3156
>