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Date: | Thu, 20 Dec 2001 15:13:35 -0500 |
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Donna,
In excavations last summer at Old Fort Niagara in Youngstown, NY, we
found an intact barrel adjacent to and slightly tucked under the
foundation of a bake house that was built in 1869 (there are photos on
our web site,
http://fortniagara.buffalo.edu. Photo #9 from 6/18/01 shows some barrel
staves; Photo #1 from 6/14/01 shows the feature and its relationship to
the bake house foundation). The barrel was filled with ash and slag. I
thought that perhaps the barrel had been installed at the time of bake
house construction as a receptacle for ash, which could have been used
for lye. We removed the lowest barrel hoop intact. In a few places,
portions of the barrel staves were preserved, and exhibit what appear to
be copper alloy sheeting under the iron nails. The barrel measured 21 in
in diameter and 17 1/2 in in height. Perhaps this is too small for a
rain barrel? I really hadn't thought about this use, as there was a well
nearby and Fort Niagara (which is located right on Lake Ontario) has
easy access to fresh water.
Elizabeth Peņa
Dep't of Anthropology, University at Buffalo
"Stubbs, Donna L" wrote:
> Listers:
>
> During a recent Phase II excavation in Dubuque, we examined a feature that
> was described as a cistern, however, the artifacts recovered from the
> excavation included a large number of barrel hoop fragments as well as a lot
> of household trash. An Internet search turned up a reference to an
> excavation in Minnesota where two features with intact barrel hoops were
> uncovered. The interpretation there was that rain barrels had been
> partially buried to half their height and besides their original function
> had also been used as trash barrels.
>
> My questions: Has this type of feature been identified at other sites here
> in the US? or elsewhere? How common is this practice? Is there any ethnic
> correlation? References always welcome.
>
> Thanks in advance.
>
> Donna Stubbs HDR Engineering, Inc.
> Archaeologist 6190 Golden Hills Dr.
> (763)591-5442 Minneapolis, MN 55416
> mailto: [log in to unmask]
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