Do you have any references of glass > being used to deter rats and
insects?  I think your "guess" is > right;  I have an 1873 entry from
a diary by William Wallace White, > Vance County, NC, saying
"...brought 3 Bbl's [barrels]  iron > shavings, to put between walls
of house to make it rat proof." > White's house burned and he was
rebuilding on the original > foundation. > The only layers of glass I
know of were from a bottle > dump at Buffalo Springs, VA.  The
company that bottled the water > claimed they did not reuse bottles
for sanitary reasons but I > suspect they didn't want people
rebottling water under their name. > > There are historic references
to the "crocking" of gardens, but > the galss under the floor was a
first for me. I just thought that > vermin control was the only
answer I could come up with that made > sense.
 
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In the Cape, in 18th century contexts, we find broken window glass
laid with shell lime plaster as a floor surface (on solid earthen
floors), in kitchen or store room areas.  It is assumed to be
vermin-proofing.  In a first-half 19th century context (under raised
wooden floorboards) we have found many broken bottles laid around the
edges of rooms on the ground surface, or one or two stuck
strategically in corners where vermin might burrow through the base
of walls/floors. Interestingly, in the latter contexts there were
many animal bones (especially sheep) lying around on the dusty ground
surface, some complete and surprisingly large, so the rats themselves
don't seem to have interpreted the broken glass as a deterrant.
 
I will keep an ear out for confirmation from the old folk, and an eye
out for documentary confirmation.
 
Antonia.
 
 
*************************************
Dr Antonia Malan
Historical Archaeology Research Group
Department of Archaeology
University of Cape Town
7701 RONDEBOSCH, South Africa
Tel: (021) 650 2358  Fax: (021) 650 2352
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World Archaeological Congress - 4, Cape Town, 1999
http://www.uct.ac.za/depts/age/wac