One of the issues of SHA had gas lighting as its theme. It was said that the
Waverly Plantation House, outside Columbus, MS had its own gas generator for
lighting quite early, though the focus of the testing was on the impacts
closer to the ferry landing village or town nearer the river. As I recall it
was said it was somewhere in the back of the house and may have been similar
in construction to other brick features there, i.e., a "bathing pool"
stepped up brick walls from thick to thin toward the top and other brick
production sites, perhaps, and the nearby Brooklyn, Alabama brick factory
may have aided in the construction of the various features. I'm not sure
about how they were actually constructed, perhaps covered over to seal them
and later emptied and reused. Perhaps there's some old gas pipe in the walls
in the house?

George Myers


> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Tanya *Zee*" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Tuesday, August 31, 2004 7:48 PM
> Subject: Mysterious Pit
>
>
> > Hello,
> >
> > I was told that this list was the perfect place to inquire about this.
So,
> I
> > hope everyone is willing to help solve a mystery!
> >
> > My name is Tanya Laird and I am an archaeology student in Texas. My
class
> is
> > working on a site just outside of Austin, on the Boggy Creek Farm. On
this
> > site is a house built in the 1840s. The house is on the original build
> site.
> > Outside of the house, off the front porch, under a bedroom window,
> beginning
> > approximately 1ft from the base of the house we have a mysterious pit.
> >
> > The pit is brick lined with a cap of cement around the perimeter. The
> brick
> > is the same brick used in the foundation of the house. The dimensions
are
> > roughly 3.5'x8'x6'. The six foot depth is the current depth, no further
> > excavation has been done because of concern of the structual safety.
But,
> > our crew chief thinks we've found the bottom. The pit was filled with
sand
> > in the 1930's to create a winter vegetable garden. Before that it
appears
> to
> > have been used as a trash pit. However, the original use of this pit
> remains
> > a mystery to us. It's closeness to the house is baffling. No ladders,
> > planks, hinges or locks or evidence of stairs have currently been found.
> > Just glass bottles from the early 20th century.
> >
> > Some students think it was a privvy, but it is so close to the house and
> > other than being brick lined and having bottles in it does not seem to
> have
> > any other signs of having been used as such (ie, no clay bowls, no lime,
> > etc). It has also been suggested that it was a root cellar or storage
pit,
> > but it is on the opposite side of the house from the kitchen (though
that
> > may not ultimately matter) and there are no signs of stairs (though a
> ladder
> > may have been used). A student hypothesized a cistern, but I thought
these
> > were round and above ground. This site is a class project, but most of
us
> > have experience with other site types (mesoamerican, agean, etc) so
> > mid-nineteenth century American farmstead isn't really in our
repretoire.
> > We've had some outside archaeologists have a look at it, but they've got
> no
> > clue either.
> >
> > Does this type of feature sound familiar to anyone? Or, could someone
give
> > me a list of what we should be looking for to prove or reject any of the
> > hypotheses?
> >
> > I would be greatful for any information you have that might help us
solve
> > our mystery.
> >
> > Thank you for your time and consideration,
> > Tanya Laird
> >
> >
> > "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
> >
> > _________________________________________________________________
> > Get ready for school! Find articles, homework help and more in the Back
to
> > School Guide! http://special.msn.com/network/04backtoschool.armx
> >
>