HISTARCH,

I am adding Rusty's email to my file of responders to this fascinating topic.
I delivered versions of a paper on the discovery of the U.S. Army soldier's
boot and campaign hat in a chimney of a 1904 barracks to the Society for
California Archaeology in April 2000 and Society for Historical Archaeology
in January 2001. I also delivered a 1-hour lecture on the broader topics of
theories of ritual magic concealments, denial by professional archaeologists
and contemporary religions, the old bugaboo of calling everything we cant
explain as "religious," and the organized efforts in Wales and Anglia to
document shoes, cats, chickens, charms, and notes in buildings just like
Americans document rock art sites.

The response I have received has been overwhelmingly incredible. I seem to
have stumbled onto a rich vein of anthropological research that no one on the
Pacific Coast has actively pursued. I am also interested in how this topic
fits into what Anthony F.C. Wallace would call a "revitalization movement"
and such.

Now, dont get me wrong. I have not said what I believe or dont believe. The
archaeology is in the very measurable cavities bricked-in the chimneys and
the objects retrieved. Whether those masons sealed them in because it was
custom, or knowingly tried to protect the future residents, or said Celtic or
Christian prayers, I do not profess to know. However, I will be meeting with
shoe and costume experts who do have oral histories on the subject that
should prove interesting to share with archaeologists in the future.

Stay tuned.

Ron May
Legacy 106, Inc.