Hi Erin

I undertook my honours research on the site formation processes of the sub-floor deposits at the Commissariat Store in Brisbane, Queensland. The original excavation was undertaken in the 1970s and there was some description of the deposits both ground floor and in ceiling deposits that sound similar to the ones you are looking at. I looked at the historical, artefact and stratigraphic data to identify the site formation processes for the site. I didn't look at the ceiling deposits, but you might find some useful information. You can download the thesis at http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:9510

Cheers
Karen

Dr Karen Murphy
Historical Archaeologist
BBus (Tourism), BA (Hons - Archaeology), PhD (Historical Archaeology) 
Sinclair Knight Merz
452 Flinders Street, Melbourne  VIC  3000
PO Box 312, Flinders Lane Melbourne  VIC  8009
T  +61 3 8668 3088   F  +61 3 8668 3001   M  +61 429 166 475   E  [log in to unmask]
www.globalskm.com


________________________________________
From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY [[log in to unmask]] on behalf of Erin Mein [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Friday, 11 May 2012 1:34 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Sub floor deposits - dust & taphonomy

Dear all

I am currently undertaking some research into deposits found underneath the floorboards of cells in Fremantle Prison, Western Australia.  From reading previous threads it seems that many people have retrieved artefacts from underfloor spaces and inside walls etc.  I am wondering if anyone has had a chance to look more closely at the actual depositional material or 'dust' itself?

At Fremantle Prison, I am particularly interested in the material found in the upper storey cells because of the high degree of preservation in this context.  We have retrieved a lot of really fragile material such as paper from newspapers, books, handrolled cigarettes etc that was not preserved in the subsurface deposits we excavated from a ground floor cell (for obvious reasons).   The deposit itself appears to be a mixture of material made up of human detritus such as hair and 'bumfluff' (for want of a more technical term!) as well as other organic material including fibres, insect larvae, rodent skeletons etc

Considering the history of the site it seems likely that the material was deposited there through a combination of concealment or rubbish disposal by prisoners and rodent activity.  Although distinguishing between the two processes seems problematic judging from previous discussions.

Beyond the work done at the Hyde Park Barracks, Sydney (Australia), I am having trouble finding any work on sub-floor deposits, in particular from the upper storeys of buildings.  If anyone could point me in the direction of any studies along these lines or has any comments on taphonomic processes in sub-floor contexts it would be much appreciated!

Regards,

Erin Mein
Honours Student
Department of Archaeology - University of Western Australia
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