It's a trip!: Antique snails

21 September 2005

Antique snails

We've had a depression in our living room floor (where the floorboards had broken) for ages now; one of the hazards of living in a 16th cent. house. A few months ago I read a National trust article about excavations done under floorboards in very old houses; they found everything from mummified mice, to shoes, children's toys, and small items that fell through the floor boards. Since our house is so old, we were really curious to see if there was anything under our floor.

Turns out there was nothing under ours. Nothing at all. Just the ground. Eeewww. Seriously, he pulled up the floorboards, and there was the ground. Dirt. With snail shells, and rocks and stuff. I couldn't believe it. I guess they didn't have concrete foundations in the 1500's, eh? It does make me wonder why the house doesn't just sink, as wet as it is here?

You have to check out the pics below...

This is the view from above when they pulled back the carpet. See the dirt?? See it?? Eeew! (the concrete at the bottom of the pic is where the old part of the house meets the new addition (built in the 1800s).

Close up view of the dirt....

Do you see my couch and the dirt in the same picture?? There is something really wrong with that!

There's one of the original floor beams (see the bark??), with the antique snail shell. I wonder if we can sell it on ebay?

It's all fixed now and carpeted back over, but now I want to go around the house and rip up random pieces of floor to see what's underneath. I don't suppose the landlord would like it, though. Damn.

posted by Julie at 2:25 PM 5 comments

5 Comments:

Jen said...: That's nasty! Why not try and sell it on ebay? Some scientist or "It's a Trip" groupie might buy it!

You're blog is loading super slow today. Weird.; Wed Sep 21, 05:22:00 PM GMT+1
Anonymous said...: I am so jealous that you live in a 16th century house! If you have pics of it, please post a link.

My last house was built in 1922. I now live in a brand new "paired home" and I'd much rather live in an older house.; Wed Sep 21, 06:22:00 PM GMT+1
Julie said...: Jen--yes it is REALLY slow, ever since I got the new template from Rachel. I need to email her.

D Bunny--yes, I have some I posted earlier. Somehow my archives have disapperaed though, so I'll post a link for you when I find them again.

Jellybean, I know the feeling (I'm American too, just living over here). I remember the first time we went to the Tower of London--there was a book on display from 1465, and I couldn't get over the fact that it was older than my country!; Wed Sep 21, 09:31:00 PM GMT+1
eyes_only4him said...: wow thats pretty wacky..kinda cool when you think about..like the last time someone touched that dirt..ws like in Roman times...LOL.

I love your house...can i come for a visit??..LOL; Thu Sep 22, 04:19:00 PM GMT+1
mommyguilt said...: that is fabulous! That would happen in the addition to my house, ironically. Only posts and floor, no concrete foundation. I mean, I can understand that in a 16th cent. house, but in a 1922 house? With the addition most likely added within the last 10-15?

Would love to see the pics too! Let us know if you find your archives!; Thu Sep 22, 10:27:00 PM GMT+1