Do you have any references of glass > being used to deter rats and insects? I think your "guess" is > right; I have an 1873 entry from a diary by William Wallace White, > Vance County, NC, saying "...brought 3 Bbl's [barrels] iron > shavings, to put between walls of house to make it rat proof." > White's house burned and he was rebuilding on the original > foundation. > The only layers of glass I know of were from a bottle > dump at Buffalo Springs, VA. The company that bottled the water > claimed they did not reuse bottles for sanitary reasons but I > suspect they didn't want people rebottling water under their name. > > There are historic references to the "crocking" of gardens, but > the galss under the floor was a first for me. I just thought that > vermin control was the only answer I could come up with that made > sense. ******************************************************* In the Cape, in 18th century contexts, we find broken window glass laid with shell lime plaster as a floor surface (on solid earthen floors), in kitchen or store room areas. It is assumed to be vermin-proofing. In a first-half 19th century context (under raised wooden floorboards) we have found many broken bottles laid around the edges of rooms on the ground surface, or one or two stuck strategically in corners where vermin might burrow through the base of walls/floors. Interestingly, in the latter contexts there were many animal bones (especially sheep) lying around on the dusty ground surface, some complete and surprisingly large, so the rats themselves don't seem to have interpreted the broken glass as a deterrant. I will keep an ear out for confirmation from the old folk, and an eye out for documentary confirmation. Antonia. ************************************* Dr Antonia Malan Historical Archaeology Research Group Department of Archaeology University of Cape Town 7701 RONDEBOSCH, South Africa Tel: (021) 650 2358 Fax: (021) 650 2352 *********************************************** World Archaeological Congress - 4, Cape Town, 1999 http://www.uct.ac.za/depts/age/wac