Old foundation question

[TooManyHobbies]

We've all seen the old foundation hole in the woods. How long does it take for all of the wood to decompose at an old site? Unless the building burned down at some point, wouldn't there still be bits of boards still laying in the dirt and rocks? At what age does a building just disappear?

The reason I ask is I found a foundation hole way out in the woods two years ago. My son and I have detected it, and I found bits of iron pot, two round musket balls, a button, a two pronged fork (badly rusted), and a skeleton key. No nails or other building material.

My guess would be late 1700 to mid 1800. And I'm sure any wood would be consumed back into the earth over that length of time, but curious at what point it disappeared.

 

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[watercolor]

Most likely the place burned and the associated hardware (nails, hinges, etc)
were collected for future use. As to exposed wood, it would have rotted away
unless somehow sheltered from the elements. Near Chicago where I live, I've
run across several home sites in the woods that were standing in the 1930's
and all that remain now are depressions with scattered field stone.

If you're finding relics at your site, there still could be some interesting finds
to be made unless that site was hunted extensively by others.

Good luck!

 

[twomtns2002]

I have been looking for an MD in Yuma...no luck. I am mostly just a locator...no tool.

Sometimes the old foundations have materials built into them or behind them.
Old adobe or bricks were sometimes built with stuff in them and then left to harden and placed in the wall.

If you keep getting a beep on a "rock or stone think twice before tossing it. There might be something built into it. The soldiers carried rocklike opium into battle sometimes in the form of a stone.
The ancient miners/slaves would sometimes build rocks' with stuff inside and try to smuggle them out...under penalty of death.

 

[TooManyHobbies]

Most likely the place burned and the associated hardware (nails, hinges, etc)
were collected for future use. As to exposed wood, it would have rotted away
unless somehow sheltered from the elements. Near Chicago where I live, I've
run across several home sites in the woods that were standing in the 1930's
and all that remain now are depressions with scattered field stone.

If you're finding relics at your site, there still could be some interesting finds
to be made unless that site was hunted extensively by others.

Good luck!

I don't think it was a homesite really. Maybe a shack/shed. The stone foundation is mostly buried (built into the ground), with a good size pile of stone on one side (collapsed chimney??). It doesn't look big enough to have lived in. Plenty of stone walls in the vicinity too. Maybe it was for livestock, like a lean to or just big enough for a farm hand to watch the livestock. I'll hit it again this spring and try to remember my camera. Hopefully I can find something with a date, coin or button.

twomtns2002, these are all New England field stone. So much rock up here that the colonists used them for fencing, foundations, chimneys and buildings.

 

[deepskyal]

Really, it depends on the kind of wood. Old homes and such may have been built with pine as it was readily available and soft for easy cutting and shaping with crude tools. Even pine logs would rot pretty quickly in a damp, shady location. Maybe 15-20 years and they crumble pretty quick without maintenance.

The next choice probably would have been oak on a more durable house. Harder and would last a few years longer.

I still see some old locust fence posts. They will dull a modern chainsaw pretty quick. Pretty much insect and disease free, locust posts I see are well over 100 years old. Really nice to see them out in the middle of nowhere...I know I'm onto a good site!

Don't underestimate the size and dismiss it as too small for a house. You'd be suprised if you look at some of the really old pics what people lived in...and big families too. And don't forget...people had to be pretty self-sufficient back in them days...probably somewhere nearby was a garden for veggies and herbs.

Widen your search out in all metal.

Good luck,
Al

 

[Swartzie]

I don't think it was a homesite really. Maybe a shack/shed. The stone foundation is mostly buried (built into the ground), with a good size pile of stone on one side (collapsed chimney??). It doesn't look big enough to have lived in.

I think the homes were usually bigger than the cellar holes. The cellar would be used to store food stuff to keep it at a constant temperature. Like a root cellar. So, it could be an old homesite. Sounds like my kind of place to hunt (and pull my hair out). Cellar holes sometimes drive me crazy, but I can't seem to stay away from them.

Good luck!
-Swartzie

 

[NHBandit]

What kind of foundation is my first question. Stone, brick, concrete, etc ? This will help you date the site. My own home is a 200 year old farmhouse. It's built on a stone foundation and has a dirt floor half basement. Are you finding nails onsite ? If so how are they made ? Square cut nails, modern round nails, square nails that look to be blacksmith made ? Here in the north east we have tons of cellar holes out in the woods. Alot of them have been used as trash dumps, leaf dumping spots, etc and are nearly full because of this. The only option is to search around the perimeter and surrounding land or to dig out all the trash to get down to the original floor level where something good may be hiding. Always carefully cheack all 4 corners and if you can figure out where the front door was check that area too. It was a common custom in colonial times to hide a coin from the year of construction in one of those spots as a good luck token.

 

[TooManyHobbies]

NHBandit, it's stone. Only one inside corner that I can see. The top of the wall is even with the surrounding soil. Opposite side is a good size pile of stone (perhaps a chimney?). No sign of fire on rocks. No nails that I've found, but bits and pieces of broken cooking pot, a flat brass button, a two pronged fork, two musket balls and a slug, and a skeleton key. Also a spout to a iron teapot, which may be what the rest of the broken iron pieces are from. Looks more like someone had a camp there, but the key must've gone to something. No hinges, door locks or anything like that. No garbage either.

 

[NHBandit]

Musketballs, 2 pronged fork, etc. you may be dealing with the foundation from a very old log home which would explain the lack of nails. I'd hit that spot hard.

 

[Red James Cash]

I dont believe it would of been a log cabin. log cabins in new england were basically a myth,the first colonist here in new england built regular houses. Celler hole size in no way would relate to house size. Theres a foundation near me from a good size house that was built in the 1640s and the cellar hole is maybe 5' x 5'. It use to be a farm house, then a tavern and stagecoach stop and inn.

 

[Frankn]

No nails, defiantly pre 1800's. Even if a cabin is burned to reclaim nails, they didn't have metal detectors so you would find some nails. The condition of a cabin hinges on two factors. The type of wood used and the quality of the roof construction. If the roof is good enough the cabin will practly last forever. Once it starts to leak, the cabin is doomed. Besides construction climate also plays a roll. Wind , rain, snow and heat all play a roll. There are ghost townes that show no remains and ghost townes like Bodie that are left in what is called arrested decay. Your big clues are the two prong fork and the musket balls. Check the size of the balls The old muskets were large, up to .60 cal. The early colt revolvers were .36 cal. The later pattersons were .44 cal. Frank

 

[TooManyHobbies]

The musket balls were definitely the larger. The size of marbles. One of them was apparently chewed on. It looked like human molars were chomping on it. They were both found 8-9" down. The foundation is approx. 3/4 of a mile or more from the nearest road. I have no doubt it is pre-1800.

I was actually very close to it today while shed hunting, but the snow here is still too deep for any good pictures anyway.

 

[Daedalus]

One the wood it depends on how damp and wet the area is , the more wet it is the faster the wood will decompose and it does not take but a few years to do so.

And you have to remember when nails were hand made they did not leave them My Great grandfather used to tell us that they would burn down the old house to get the nails and iron out , and that was done most of the time on homes not in Town and that could be sold. So that may be were your lack of nails has come from .

You should be able to dig down a little bit and be able to tell if it was burnt down as you will be able to see that for thousands of years . They find that from the burn pits from the Romans even now.

 

[Frankn]

Someone had a medical problem. The chewed on musket ball was used between the teeth during painfull medical practices like setting a broken arm. Frank

 

[HCW]

I don't know if anyone considered the posibility that it was moved but that could be.

 

[Rick (Nova Scotia)]

Musketballs, 2 pronged fork, etc. you may be dealing with the foundation from a very old log home which would explain the lack of nails. I'd hit that spot hard.

I agree, could be quite old indeed. Plus you mention, "No Garbage" To me that is a key piece of info, the newer the more there is of it.

 

[NHBandit]

In the old days they buried their garbage well away from the house. On my 200 year old property the trash dump is probably 300yds or more from the house. There is also an old private "family" cemetary in the woods where most of the early occupants of my house are buried.

 

[Frankn]

In the real old days there was no garbage. Broken items were saved for parts, there was no food packageing per say, only the canvas sacks that were reused. The bones and table scraps disposed of were promptly eaten by the wild animals or the hound. We didn't have dumps until we became "civilized".