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]