About cistern depths:  I have excavated 4 here in San Diego County.  All of
them were 10 to 15 feet in depth, as was another in National City that I got
inside of years ago.  One was in San Diego urban context, the other 4 were
farm related.  All of these were round inside, and had plastered interiors.

S. Walter
----- Original Message -----
From: "William B. Liebeknecht" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, September 02, 2004 12:12 PM
Subject: Re: Mysterious Pit Pt2


> 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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