Belated thanks to Larry Buhr for pointing out a couple of good articles
that demonstrate the potential value of *archaeological* remains from 19th
century foundry sites. For those who missed them: 

> (IA. Volume 18 (1992) "Blast furnace technology in the mid-19th century:
a
>case study of the Adirondack Iron and Steel Company"  (7:27-54, 1981) by
>B. E. Seely.  
>"Archaeological
>evidence of metallurgical innovation at the Eli Whitney Armory" by
>Cooper, Gordon, and Merrick (IA 8:1-12, 1982) 

I'm more than happy to be found to be wrong when it comes to the research
potential of this type of site. As a CRM sort of a person whose career has
basically been built on spending globs of other peoples' money, I try to
make sure that the dough is being spent on sites that have real value,
rather than collections of junk that ultimately will tell us either (a)
nothing at all, or (b) nothing that we couldn't have found out from a book.
It's an old story, but one worth repeating.

Regards from the foggy San Francisco Bay Area,

Adrian Praetzellis
Sonoma State University