Built structures · Pits and cavities
Root clamp
earth clamp · clamp · straw and earth clamp
Roots and tubers heaped on the ground or in a shallow cut, covered with straw and then earth, a temperate and highland way of holding living produce through the cold season.
A heap under straw and earth
A root clamp is a heap of roots or tubers covered with insulating layers. Straw comes first, then earth, and together they hold the heap at a steadier temperature than the open air.
The clamp keeps produce alive and whole rather than changing it. Roots stored this way were not dried or fermented first.
Sources for this section
Where it belongs
The catalogue groups root clamps with root cellars and pits as temperate and highland methods. The choice between them depended on the site, on how much produce was held and on the local climate.
A clamp is cheaper to build than a cellar, but the catalogue does not claim it protects as well.
Sources for this section
What the record does not settle
The sources give no dimensions, depths, or durations, and no yields. The build steps above are the arrangement the catalogue describes, not a tested construction specification.
Sources for this section
History
The clamp manages temperature, humidity and exposure so that living roots keep without first being dried or fermented.
Site
A build is made where it stands: moving it means building it again.
How it is built
Materials
- Harvested roots or tubers — Left living, not dried or fermented.
- Straw — Laid over the heap as insulation.
- Earth — Spread over the straw.
- Heap the roots or tubers on the ground, or in a shallow cut.
- Cover the heap with a layer of straw.
- Cover the straw with a layer of earth.
Places
Temperate and highland agriculture
Traditional use · Region evidenceA regional traditional practice; the catalogue names no single locality.
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Sources
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United NationsMethod
FAO storage of roots and tubers (x5415e04)Roots and tubers heaped beneath straw and earth in cellars, pits and clamps
Cited in: A heap under straw and earth
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United NationsMethod
FAO storage (x5672e08)Clamp and cellar storage of living produce
Cited in: Where it belongs; What the record does not settle