[Spellyans] jangye-ryn

[Craig Weatherhill]

Some are called "hulls".

Craig


Eddie Climo wrote:
> On 5 Aug 2008, at 17:14, Penny Squire wrote:
>
>   
>> . . . Both Jynnji-ryn and Yeynji-ryn are unlikely as both engine  
>> houses and ice-houses hadn't been around very long before Cornish  
>> died out as a community language.
>>     
>
> That appears not to be the case.
>
> Indeede, 'yeynji' means a 'cold house' rather than necessarily an  
> 'ice house'. 'Yeyn' means cool, cold or chill, and underground cold  
> houses have been in widespread use for thousands of years (as have  
> ice houses proper).
>
> According to Wikipedia, an ice house has been excavated in northwest  
> Iraq, which dates back to 1700BC, and similar sites have been found  
> in many ancient cultures, including the Chinese, Greeks, Romans and  
> Persians, and going back into prehistory.
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icehouse_%28building%29
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refrigeration#Historical_applications
>
> While some surviving sites of this kind in Britain are associated  
> with the aristocracy, the technology involved can be quite  
> rudimentary, well within the reach of ordinary country dwellers,  
> requiring nothing more than a covered hole in the ground, lined with  
> insulating material. Snow or ice may be harvested locally and stored  
> in the hole in winter, and this keeps the cold house chilled  
> throughout the year. Alternatively, they have been kept cool with a  
> flow of cool stream or lake water, sometimes aided by an evaporative  
> system to draw out extra heat.
>
> No need for expensive imports of Scandinavian ice.
>
> Eddie
>
>
> p.s. I saw a TV documentary some years ago, about the excavation of  
> one of these in Cornwall. What's annoying me is that I can't remember  
> either where it was, or even what this structure was called in Cornwall.
>
> Any ideas anyone?
>
>
>
>
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