Ken
Many of the old mill dams (1800's) were infilled cribs and one can still find the sound timbers in the rivers.
I have read of using pressure treated plywood for foundations but do not know the life expentancy.
Burning the wood would remove whatever it is that bugs and microbes go after...sugars?
We USED to soak our fence posts in old motor oil and they seemed to last forever. It seems the more we try to defeat the natural order of things the worse it gets. A well layed stone foundation wall with well planned drainage is probably the lowest energy input system you will find but it is very high on the labor scale(another form of energy !)
What about rammed earth walls with well planned drainage?
Bob