Regarding clay-lined tanks rich in shellfish remains: please remember
that the final contents of a feature are a product of rubbish discard into
the feature following its going out of use, and do not relate to the use
of the feature. In complex archaeological sites with long occupancy the
feature or space around it (room, yard) may have been abandoned as an
occupied space, and therefore used for rubbish disposal by the occupants
of the rest of the structure. It is also possible that the whole of the
structure and its surrounding space has been abandoned, and is therefore
being used by the occupants of neighbouring structures for their rubbish
disposal (its contents therefore having nothing to do with the nutritional
condition or status of those originally occupying the space). British
Roman villas, SW American pueblos and Near Eastern tells are all examples.
It seems perfectly reasonable to regard all the water-tight features
within structures cited as water tanks. The tanks were probably for
potable fresh-water storage during the use of the structure. Since most
of the sites seem to be within complex habitations with extensive evidence
of coarse rubbish (including lenses and layers rich in shell), it seems
most likely that the shell-rich rubbish were discarded into the water-
tanks when the tanks were no longer required.
Remember the old adage:
A pit full of rubbish was not a rubbish pit.
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