All,
        Over the past five years we have excavated several cabins
associated with late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century slave
quarters at Poplar Forest.  Historical documents (including several
references by Jefferson)  refer to the common practice of  heating these
and other dwellings with chimneys constructed of wood.  There are a number
of nineteenth-century photographs showing different types of these chimneys
(some log, some apparently supported by earthfast posts).  I am trying to 
correlate archaeological features to specifics of chimney construction.  
Has anyone out there excavated a cabin with a wooden chimney?  What did you
find?  Anyone familiar with detailed drawings/photos of such chimneys that
survived to be documented?  I'm familiar with Bill Kelso's stuff on nail
patterns associated with collapsed chimneys, but I'm looking for more
detailed, in-situ evidence.  Thanks!
 
Barbara Heath
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