200 year old church, nothing found but tin cans ect.

[~MetalDigger~]

I went to an old church with a frind of mine, that just resently burnt down, the church has never had any eletricity, and the woman we asked permisson to MD was about 80-90 years old. The church she said was about 200 years old. with two out houses, and the yard takes up about 3/4 acre. The soil is loosed sandy with some darker dirt, and a nice river in the back. We detected about a hour, and a half, and could only find pop,beer cans ,and bennie winnie cans, and other tine cans no even a penny was found. Most of the targets we located was 8" down. I think where the soil is so losse any goodies would be down further out of reach of my Ace 250, and my friends $20.00 metal detector, that he has had for 20 years.

 

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[watercolor]

Sandy loam soils like that can be a real problem. . . especially with small coins.
If you were finding modern trash buried at 8-inches, all the "good" old coins
that you're hunting for are probably going to be down quite a bit further in depth.

Take care & HH!

 

[windrun]

Hmm, I read that so several times.......someone found many oldest coins by the famous oldest church in the past, like five or ten or twenty years ago, then years later, many people find nothing at the same oldest church site.

Richard

 

[~MetalDigger~]

I'm shure it's the soil, it's so loose the coins sink lower and lower, while the big cans ect, are found around 6-8 inchs of deepth. Guess I need to look for more compact soil, so the goodies stay afloat.

 

[Shortstack]

I'm shure it's the soil, it's so loose the coins sink lower and lower, while the big cans ect, are found around 6-8 inchs of deepth. Guess I need to look for more compact soil, so the goodies stay afloat.

Finding deep large cans means a high probability that sand / soil has been trucked in . Those cans would not sift down deep without artificial help. Nither would the coins.

You say there's a river "in the back". That old of a church probably had many baptisms in that river. If the bank area isn't shallow enough, look for nearby sandbars. Or better yet, just ask the old lady where they were held. You ARE planning to ask for permission to dig those outhouses aren't you ?

Almost forgot---Old churches also had what was known as Dinner-On-The-Ground. They were homecoming celebrations for all members, past and present, with huge picnics somewhere close to the church. Shade trees nearby ? Again, ask the lady where they were held.

 

[renegade_7]

I would surely dedicate more time to that place. An old home I have worked several times has yielded very little, but loads of dirt was trucked in over the years, and the finds are deep. Patience. When I do find coins there, they are old and nice. There are most likely some still there. Find out more about the area, you'll find the hot spots. Good luck...

 

[~MetalDigger~]

Their is one large tree that is about 5 feet in diameter, and other nice sized trees which I checked around. The out house look to be no more then 20 or so years old. And I had not plannd on checking them.

And I was looking at the river in the back, and it appears to be a good place to get into the water and check, maybe next spring. The lady said this church was only used one day a month, for as long as she can remember.

I do want to go back some time, hopefully with a deeper MD, and recheck the grounds, and get into the watter.

This is all bottom land and I'm pretty shure the sand is natural, not trucked in. But the state has dumped truck loads of dirt next to the river, from where the cleaned up the road sides at some time. Thanks

 

[Shortstack]

The lady said this church was only used one day a month, for as long as she can remember.

I do want to go back some time, hopefully with a deeper MD, and recheck the grounds, and get into the watter.

This is all bottom land and I'm pretty shure the sand is natural, not trucked in. But the state has dumped truck loads of dirt next to the river, from where the cleaned up the road sides at some time. Thanks

Many, many country churches were on a circuit served by one preacher. (thus the term, Circuit Preacher) My Grandparents' church was this way for decades--right up into the early 1970s. Once a month sermons usually meant more members would attend. It was a way to "catchup" on news outside of the community. Dinners-on-the-ground did not require a preacher's attendance, just active Deacons.

If all that area is bottom land and has a good sized river flowing through; then, the most probable reason for the deep, deep cans and goodies would be floods. Occasional floods down through the years would deposit a lot of sandy silt. You say the outhouses look to be only about 20 or so years old would kinda fit. Maybe the previous outhouses were washed away by one of those floods.

If there is anyway that you can borrow, rent, or buy a deeper sensing detector, do so. Then, slow waaaay down on your sweep speed. Do not overlap your strokes by more than an inch or two. You want to make the tip of the detector's cone of energy paint the area solid--no missed areas. Like painting a wall with a narrow brush. To cover that area correctly will take a loooong time. Enjoy.

 

[~MetalDigger~]

I'm in the process of trying to sell my telescope, that I dont use very much, and buy a Minelab e-terra 70, or a Explorer 2. Maybe bye this comming spring time, I'l have a deeper detector. thanks

 

[Shortstack]

I can sure understand that budget thing. Good luck to you and tell Andy "Hey" if you see him.

 

[strike it rich]

without giving away the location is it possible to have a photo or diagram of your search area

 

[~MetalDigger~]

Heres the best I can do, and I dont mind, if some one else hunts it.

 

[strike it rich]

Not a bad effort I've grided it in order for easier reference. I would be tempted to search the out houses in B1 and B5 although you have ruled them out though age what was there before ?. Next I would check the river and that dirt that the dumpers brought in seems like an easy target on par with a tot lot and those trees in B3 any idea of age and lastly I would used a grid pattern to search each area to get the best out of your current detector.


I hope this has been helpful in a small way S.I.R

 

[imafishingnutt]

YO Bro,
Try going back to the church after it rains real good.
the wet ground will help ping the deeper targets.

if the soil was dry when you detected it you werrrent getting down very deep for coins.
Hope this pays off for you.

 

[imafishingnutt]

also check real good around them old trees.
Kids love to climb trtees and hang around dropping coins.
some of the best coins i have found have been under older trees that once were just right for climbing.

Also what kind of church meets once a month ...LOL......KKK.....LOL kidding
also you has said there was a river near by.
past floods would explian the depth of the cans and such
flooding rivers move a lot of junk and then leave behind inches of silt wich turns to dirt later making other dropped objects deeper.
I know this because i was flooded 3 times here.

 

[~MetalDigger~]

Cool beans, thanks I'll try it again sometime soon i hope. Shallow targets 4"-6" in soaking soil, is not good, but Deep coins in wet, wet soil is good ehh. I'm thinking they were Baptist folfs, and mainley used it for outing's dinners, ect plus some fire and brimstone preaching.

 

[Shortstack]

Marty, I forgot to ask you--
Have you used Google Earth or another satellite imaging site to look at you church location? If you look from above, a few thousand feet, you can see the variations in landscape and, many times, the indications of habitually flooded areas. Also, look for pathways and places that look line other buildings, trash dumps, etc.
Good luck and happy hunting.

 

[BobinSouthVA]

Marty, I forgot to ask you--
Have you used Google Earth or another satellite imaging site to look at you church location? If you look from above, a few thousand feet, you can see the variations in landscape and, many times, the indications of habitually flooded areas. Also, look for pathways and places that look line other buildings, trash dumps, etc.
Good luck and happy hunting.

Not sure how good the google maps are for your area (some rural areas with google lack detail) but if the site in question near Mt Airy or in Surry County, you can go to the following link for a great GIS map provided by the county. It will give great arial photos of the county as well as plots and owners.

http://arcims.webgis.net/nc/surry/

its the ARCIMS GMS map link. (you may need to download the plugin for it to work.) Our county has the same type of map, although ours seems a bit easier to use. The surry map is a bit cumbersome but you should be able to get some nice closeup arials with a little persistance.

 

[~MetalDigger~]

Thanks thats a big help, this and goggle is about a person could need. wow what a map. I'd seen it before zoomed out, but did not know it would zoom in so close in color.

 

[johnnycat]

I know how you feel . A while back my 'tecting buddy and I searched some late 1770's adobe-rock foundations here in New Mexico and found zilch after 3 hours of snooping. But we are going back and soon as we get a good rain.