How to search an old well?

[DiggerinVA]

I have been contimplating this for about a year now.... There is an old home site that i hunt dating well into the 1700's. I have found a huge amount of relics and coins here. There is an old, hand dug, rock lined well on the property. It is between 15-17 feet deep and about 3 feet across, maybe a little less. What is the chances of finding anything in this well? Is there a safe way to check it? Has anyone done this? I have looked down in it with a light...but just see rocks and dirt...

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Minelab PRO-FIND 35 Waterproof Pinpointer Metal Detector for Experts with Tone ID & Adjustable Sensitivity - Grab it through Amazon!

[Higgy]

I have looked down in it with a light...but just see rocks and dirt...

Rocks and dirt only? No water? If its dry, I'd be down there myself with a detector in hand, and dig every signal. If it had water, I would probably figure a way of getting down there anyway. Disclaimer: I'm not telling you to do this, I'm just telling you what I would do.

 

[Red James Cash]

A safe way is to get a piece of corrugated metal culvert pipe that will fit down the hole plus is big enough for you to fit into.

 

[Rawhide]

Confined spaces present many dangers you may not be aware of. From bad gas, crush and rock fall hazards. It is usually done in pairs, tethered, with fresh air being pumped in. I would drop a large magnet on a rope first, then go from there. You could also probably use your detector on a rope just to see if you get any signal. There is a lot of ladders that fold up and then can be extended to 18 foot. That should get you in and out. But I wonder why it no longer has water? Just be careful and use some safety.

 

[BVI Hunter]

https://www.millerfallprotection.co...cts/confined-space-systems-and-rescue-devices


I checked an old well once on an old plantation, and hired this type of rescue system for a few days ��

 

[DiggerinVA]

It is totally dried up...but what bother's me is the hole is not straight; it has a "snake" to it as it goes down...just worried about the rocks coming lose.

 

[DiggerinVA]

I will tryy too get out there and take some pics of it this weekend.

 

[Higgy]

https://www.millerfallprotection.co...cts/confined-space-systems-and-rescue-devices


I checked an old well once on an old plantation, and hired this type of rescue system for a few days ��

Thats a pretty cool little system there, BVI Hunter. I would probably use my ATV winch in the same manner. Of course it would necessitate having a buddy or two topside; foolhardy not to. I think I read somewhere that old families would sometimes have a cache in a crock at the bottom of a well sometimes.

 

[DiggerinVA]

Thats a pretty cool little system there, BVI Hunter. I would probably use my ATV winch in the same manner. Of course it would necessitate having a buddy or two topside; foolhardy not to. I think I read somewhere that old families would sometimes have a cache in a crock at the bottom of a well sometimes.

Man!!! Dont tell me that!!

 

[DiggerinVA]

I have one of those that i use for skinning deer....just dont think i have enough cable on it.

 

[BVI Hunter]

yeah need a buddy for sure!!!

Old wells are ALWAYS full of hidden caches......... Guaranteed!!

 

[redbeardrelics]

I think you should forget about taking your detector into the hole. It is probably dry now because it has been partially filled in, either intentionally, or most certainly by debris over the long life of the well. The items you would be looking for will be near the original bottom, and you will first need a good long "privy detecting" probe to gauge how far it is from the current bottom, to the original bottom. It is still probably pretty far down to the original bottom if you do not see water in the hole during wet season. If you were to get serious about finding out what is in this well, and there probably is "something" to be found, you would need to plan on digging out the debris via 5 gallon bucket, pulley, and tripod rig, as privy diggers do. Then you would screen and detect the buckets of stuff once removed from the hole.
If there is a bend or snake in the rock wall, you probably should not bother messing with this particular well. The whole thing is probably very unstable if parts of the wall have been pushed out of place, possibly by large tree roots near by? The last well I was in, is probably gonna be the last well I ever go in. We were down about 8 feet into the hole, and were shoveling out buckets of dirt rocks, and bottles from the 1920's. We came upon several rocks that were too large to lift out via hand or bucket so we proceeded to break them into bits with a breaker bar. This pounding lead to us hearing a deep and heavy muffled sound about 20-30 feet below us. It was only then that we realized how stupid we were apparently pounding on a stone cap over a 20-30 foot deep void. Just sayin, don't be as naive as me and my friends were, you might not be as lucky. Best thing to do might be to cover up that well?

 

[diverrick]

This reminds me of a property I wanted to buy that had a hand dug well on it. Had water in it too. Lined with bricks. I had plans to water the plants and garden with that water. I come by one day after making an offer on the place and here is this guy going at that well with a dozer.
Totally illegal way to decommission a well. He kept up until it was flat ground. That broke my heart and a good part of my wanting to buy the place. Every time I drive by that place I wonder what treasures are buried down there.

 

[flatbutton]

Dug one many years ago. It was brick lined and we had an A frame sort of like a saw horse with a pulley and a 5 gal. bucket and an extension ladder. there was 2 of us and we took turns digging.I'll never forget it, the whole time we were digging, both of us were worried that the sides would fall in on us.When we finally got to the bottom of the fill dirt, water started creeping in. After several days of hard work, the only decent finds were a brown glass Pepsi bottle from New Bern N.C. and a whiskey bottle.My buddy got the Pepsi and I got the whiskey. Anyways that was the first and last time I'll do that again! Here's a pic of the whiskey bottle.

 

[doc-d]

As mentioned above, it is concerning the "snake" or bend in the well………certainly this reflects earth pressure moving the side of the well since it would not likely have been dug like this………so the question is now about an unstable well exploration? Not much of a question.
Before I would consider this, I would research what type of treasures or finds have been found old in US wells…

 

[Moresound]

Been finding many wells this summer at old cellar holes dating from the 1700s in my area.
The last one had a big surprise in the bottom. A dead deer that had fallen in. Looked like an alien when we first looked in all bloated and such. With no water. Maybe 15+ feet deep.
Went back yesterday to cover the well and what a ghastly sight and smell. The whole carcass was a squirming ball of maggots and the smell of death was unbearable.
Got the well cover and wont be back there till next year to dig around that site.

I've sent many a magnate into wells but never retrieved a thing. As for climbing in ..... I don't think so.
Must be colder than a well diggers butt down there to begin with.

Been told that no hand dug well can be over 21.6 feet deep if they were hand pumping the water to the top ... You just can do it.
But as for lowering a bucket and raising it up ... no problems.

 

[DiggerinVA]

The last time i looked down in the well with a light there was a skunk in it. He was still alive at that time...and this is why i have waited a year to pursue this. Also, there is a large tree right at the opening of the well that has actually made the opening smaller than the rest of the well. I wouldnt consider this at all if it werent for the fact that i know the history of the site and the people who lived there. They were one of the wealthiest families in our area from the late 1700's through the late 1800's.....this farm also has civil war history and has produced a couple nice civil war relics.

 

[BC1969]

I don't scare easily..but this post scares me..see my thread called..this could save your life.
other than that, considering the well is bowing, I'd strongly suggest to say its not worth the risk, but if you are hell bent on doing it, I'd say rent a excavator and dig the thing out, ain't cheap, unless you got a buddy with one, but dying sucks, and even if you have 10 buddies up top, if 10 feet of well collapses on you, they won't be able to get you out before you expire! please be careful.

Mike

 

[Higgy]

I don't scare easily..but this post scares me..see my thread called..this could save your life.
other than that, considering the well is bowing, I'd strongly suggest to say its not worth the risk, but if you are hell bent on doing it, I'd say rent a excavator and dig the thing out, ain't cheap, unless you got a buddy with one, but dying sucks, and even if you have 10 buddies up top, if 10 feet of well collapses on you, they won't be able to get you out before you expire! please be careful.

Mike

I have to agree with Mike now.

I know I came into this thread all full of testosterone and beating on my chest, but the more I think about the plausible threats, the more it scares me also. No treasure is worth dying for.

 

[Red James Cash]

No treasure is worth dying for.

Nope,if you die uncovering it,finding it isnt going to do you a whole lot of good