Tanya,

You don't have a second shaft yet.  Depending on the crop I would place a
small auger hole (between the rows of the working crops) to see if you have
a second shaft.  If in fact you have a second shaft it does not mean it is
not a cistern.  From the dimensions you gave it does not sound like a root
cellar.  most cistern do not go all that deep, about five to six feet.
Where wells and privies generally are much deeper.  Wheat storage in the
eastern part of the country is normally above ground to keep the grain dry
but maybe in your climate it could work differently.  I would think that it
would get wet during periods of rain and cause mold to ruin the crop.  Just
a thought.

Bill Liebeknecht
Principal Investigator
Hunter Research, Inc.




-----Original Message-----
From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Tanya
*Zee*
Sent: Thursday, September 02, 2004 12:48 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Mysterious Pit Pt2


Wow!

This really was the place to go!

I took in the emails and we chatted a bit about the project in class today.
We're going to go ahead on the assumption that the pit is either a cistern
or a storage cellar of some sort. We have two lists each with what we are
looking for in each instance. You guys were a tremendous help in helping us
put together those lists. We won't see the site again until September 11 and
then we need to convince the crew chief to let us continue with the
excavation (if indeed anymore needs to be done) of the pit. So, we might not
even be able to auger for a few more weeks.

A fellow student, the other one who is REALLY into this, wanted me to pass
on these 2 bits of information to see if it changes anything. (BTW- she is
voting for root cellar, while I am voting for cistern.) One - in a
photograph taken late 19th century the house appears to have 2 dark areas,
one on each side of the porch (thinking it was more porch test holes were
dug - this is how the pit was found). We cannot test the other side because
there is a working crop there. But, would the occurance of 2 pits means
anything special? Two - the old farmstead grew wheat. But, we are not
familiar with wheat bundling and storage proceedures for this century or any
other. Could these be storage for wheat?

Sorry to ask so many questions, but it is difficult for me to get to a
library and spend any reasonable amount of time there since I work, go to
school and raise a toddler! Last book I read was Goodnight Moon!!

Thanks so much guys (and gals). This has really helped!

Tanya

"All our science, our technology, our mathematics - nothing is unique about
them. These things will be repeated by any sufficiently advanced
civilization...But, there is only one golden death mask of Tutankhamen, only
one Room of Lilies. It is through our art that we really live and breathe.
If I could pick only one thing that could survive on this earth and speak
for our species, it would be our art." -- an archaeologist

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