I've seen this in modern construction, where there is
water water everywhere and not a drop to drink" on a rocky island off the
coast of the US in Canada. The owner is associated with "ferrochrome" a
process of creating a chrome like surface on steel without using chromium,
which used to be mined in "Rhodesia" in Africa. He had the pits built on one
side of the house to catch the rainwater on top of a rock ledge (part of it
is incorporated into the bedroom) known as the "Seven Days Work" a large
geological stratigraphic cliff side with a couple of active fish weirs
whales and harbor porpoises sometimes visit. not far from Campobello Island,
an international historical site, associated with FDR and the NY Roosevelt
family.
Is this historical archaeology?
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
>
> _________________________________________________________________
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