I am seeking comparative information about "root cellars."  This is a
longish post, so if "root cellars" don't tickle your fancy, please
press "D" now. Some will receive duplicate postings because this is
going to multiple lists. Press "D" as often as necessary, and accept
my gratitude and apologies for any inconvenience.
 
As is often the case, I think the use of a common name to describe
too wide a variety of features is bedeviling the ability of American
historical archaeologists (myself included) to go much further with
these interesting features.  I am referring specifically to small,
rectangular sub-floor storage pits, often placed in corners and/or
along walls, and very frequently (though not exclusively) associated
with African-American houses between the early 17th and early 20th
centuries.  Some have suggested these are personal storage spaces,
hiding places, etc. There *may* be some reason to associate them with
women, in that I am aware of two sites with these which were occupied
by single African-American women.
 
There are numerous variants, including English-style butteries,
dry-wells, etc., but I am referring to features which are rarely more
than two feet deep--often less--and typically measuring between 3-5
feet long, and 1.5-2 feet wide. There are both smaller and larger
examples. There is usually no evidence of lining, but sometimes
impressions of board flooring or cribwork walls occur, and, in at
leas one case, the small "cellar" may have been excavated to
accomodate a small wooden chest or trunk. Similar features are also
found in the middle of rooms in front of hearths, and unless I am
mistaken, root cellars in this position are generally larger and
deeper than those in corners and along walls. My guess is that the
larger ones in front of hearths are actual dry-wells or root cellars,
while the others may be functionally distinct.
 
When archaeologists first began reporting these features in the
1970s, it was hypothesized that they were typical of slave dwellings,
and may have been a trait particularly associated either with slave
life or with African-American culture. The picture became confusing
when butteries, dry-wells and other similar features were excavated
in Euro-American homes and also called "root cellars."  This term is
also used for external cellars on farmhouses and suburban houses all
over the country in the late 19th and early 20th centuries (I grew up
with a root cellar full of bushels of potatoes and apples, and my
mothers canned goods lining the walls). But I'm not talking about
these.
 
I am interested in using the internet, and various interest lists, as
a way of trying to find out the distributions of such features in
space and time, their associations with one or more cultural groups,
and their probable functions. I am, therefore, posting this notice to
a number of lists (and individuals) so that a variety of
archaeologists working in historic sites of the new world,
post-Medieval sites in Europe, and with sites in West and Central
Africa can read this.  I will gladly share all the information I
receive with all contributors, and will, of course, fully cite your
communications as references in any publications, if you grant me
permission to use your comments.
 
I am specifically looking for descriptions of such features, contents
in primary fills, dates, locations, ethnic identities of occupants,
etc.  Of course, I'd also appreciate any informed and brilliant ideas
about the history, function, etc. of such features. If you're new to
the discussion of root cellars in the southern US, just about every
thing imaginable has been said, but with little conclusiveness.  I
think observations from elsewhere would be helpful.
 
Because of what I perceive to be repeated patterns of finds in these
cellars in African-American contexts, and becuase they are so very
common in the American South (or parts of the South, anyway) I think
these features are important, and I'd appreciate any comparative
info--especially if unpublished, or published in sources I am likely
to know about--on similar features in European, Euro-American,
African, and African-American contexts for the past 500 years.
Thanks.
 
Dan Mouer
Archaeological Research Center
Virginia Commonwealth University
[log in to unmask]