Foundation deposits for the protection and/or good fortune for a structure are widespread internationally. Ceri Houlbrook has been doing some great work in Britain and elsewhere dealing with this; see this site and see this book, which she co-authored with Owen Davies.

In Britain, objects deposited are often coins or shoes/boots, and these are often found in archaeological deposits. Occasionally, these items were deposited in the wall of a structure near the chimney.

Far afield - but related - archaeologists discovered similar objects associated with the remains of structures in the Virginia City National Historic Landmark District in Nevada. I am writing a book about the folklore of the region, and at this point, I can share a very rough draft, so please excuse shortcomings in the writing:

Altered coins, the skeleton of a small animal, and a boot and other items represent an opportunity to understand tradition that were implemented secretly, or so it seems. Items left beneath buildings are hidden expressions of folklore, attempts to increase good fortune. Most people who entered the structures may not have known what was beneath them or how those objects were placed there to confer a better life for those within. Excavations in Virginia City have identified three examples of this practice. At the outset, it would be easy to assume that these were expressions of a singular, shared tradition, but this was likely not the case.

Although the archaeology of each of these three buildings reveals similar offerings, the structures were inhabited by very different groups. It appears that while they fell upon comparable strategies, their acts were in response to distinct traditions. Likely the oldest of these were two altered coins founded beneath the floorboards of the Boston Saloon. This property was operated by William A. G. Brown, a freeborn African American native of Massachusetts. He came to Virginia City in about 1863 and soon opened his business. By 1866, he had moved it to D Street, across from the community's most important theater. The coins were likely placed there shortly after Brown moved there, but this cannot be certain. There, he managed his saloon until about 1875, after which it burned. During an excavation in 2000, archaeologists found charred floorboards, and beneath these remnants of a horrific day when much of the community burned, they found a dime and a half dollar, both of which had been cut and punctured.

Archaeologist Kelly Dixon expertly described the coins as evidence of a magical practice with roots in Southern, African American culture, ultimately reaching back to West Africa. The dime, minted between 1853 and 1860 had a hole drilled into it, causing a fracture; the half dollar, bearing the date, 1865, had two punched holes as well as a wide cut from one of the holes to the edge of the coin. There is evidence that they had been heated, perhaps to facilitate these modifications. Although Brown was from New England, most of his patrons were Southern, and he was documented as living with a woman who may also have been from the region. As is so often the case with archaeology when lacking written records, conjecture must play a factor. Following whatever path, the tradition of altered coins and their placement beneath a structure found its way into practice, hidden by the floorboards of Nevada's Boston Saloon.

Another archaeologist, Jessica Axsom, uncovered the skeleton of a small mammal beneath the foundation stone of a mercantile store in Virginia City's Chinatown. It is likely that the caustic content of mortar had dissolved many of the animal's delicate bones, leaving remains too decomposed to identify, but it appears to have belonged to a cat or dog. The foundation was likely placed there after the 1875 fire. As with the altered coins beneath the Boston Saloon, no records exist to tell us what was intended, but the placement of an animal – or its remains – beneath a foundation of a building is a widespread practice typically intended to confer a level of protection on those within the structure.

Beneath the house of a doctor, who also used the structure as a private hospital, Julie Schablitsky, yet another archaeologist, found several items that were either beneath the building or placed within one of its walls. These included a worn, Civil-War-era boot, a padlock, a bottle, some worked leather, and a hat. Here, it is not clear who might have left these objects because it is not clear who built the house nor who the original owners were. The structure is on the north edge of Chinatown, but there is no reason to assume that Chinese Americans lived there. Again, it is likely that the building was constructed after the 1875 fire. Intent is even more difficult to assess in this case, but the placement of these items is, again, consistent with a pervasive practice to attempting to manipulate the supernatural by placing objects in or beneath a building.

People of diverse backgrounds left these objects, responding to traditions that are common in many cultures but not necessarily related historically. Rather, it seems that people in many different places believed that objects left within walls or beneath a structure could serve to convey good luck for those living or working there. The folklore was similar but not shared. In addition, the effort to hide these objects was not a communal activity. Often the act of concealing the things was purposefully enacted secretly.