And other such things: Tom Wheaton is right! Having had the opportunity to work closely with restoration carpenters on many a genuine "this old House" belonging to SPNEA, I have learned to keep my eyes open about all sorts of things that builders and carpenters get up to. It has been very instructive about how to interpret the archaeological evidence. On the other hand, watching This Old House, even in its current incarnation without the dreaded egomaniac who used to host it (I worked with him once, too, but he thought the archaeology would steal his thunder so he refused to let it be featured!), is just too depressing for the average archaeologist--after the yard has been back-hoed to death looking for places to put the septic field, and all sorts of other things dug up, there isn't much left in the way of undisturbed archaeological deposits. Aargh! Cheers & greetings of the season to all! Mary Beaudry Winterthur Museum <[log in to unmask]> /