anyone ever detect an old dirt basement??

[funkman]

Has anyone on this forum ever tried to detect a dirt basement? The reason I ask is that I am planning on metting up with a newer member to our forum family and let him take my Ace 250 for a spin around his colonial era home before he gets a detector himself. He described his house a little and says that there is a dirt floor basement and I figured, what the heck why not detect that also. Couldn't hurt.

Let me know if anyone has done this in an old house or what their opinion is on this plan.

Thanks and Happy Holidays!!!

Funkman

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

A History of Mining on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska - Grab it through Amazon!

[dahut]

Why not indeed!?

I did this once just a little. I only found iron junk, but it was interesting. Make sure you clear a goodly sized space before you detect. In fact, block it off in grids, clear away any "stuff" and do it that way. One of the problems I had was the stuff that was in the way.

Prepare to use a small pick too, as the dirt gets pretty hard packed in basements over the years.
You might even consider a sifter. Lots of old goodies are non metallic and can be found that way. Things like marbles or old bottles are a distinct possibility, so be cautious and use a probe if need be.

I remember an article in an old issue of W&ET where a guy found stuff in the walls around the basement, too. Over the years, the landscape had been added to outside, but the original level was accessible below ground - through the basement walls. Keep that in mind.

Peace,
David

 

[Sandman]

I can't add much to what Dahut has said. Our home had a dirt floor basement and when I took up detecting I checked it out. I remember I found a dime. I don't know how it got covered with the dirt as the ground was like concrete. Make sure you check above where the house sits on the foundation too. Under the mantle of the fireplace.

Good Luck

 

[beekeeper65]

Hi Everyone,

I'm the guy with the old house Funkman is mentioned. It was built in 1784. The foundation is made of field stone. Dahut is correct; the floor is packed very tight. However, my basement is essentially empty..the only things down there now are the furnace,the water heater and the well. But there are a lot of old nails, screws, etc.

Sandman mentioned checking below the mantle of the fireplace - now that is an interesting suggestion. Here's why: from topside (in my living room) to left of the fireplace is the old brick oven. Now above the oven is the old locker for storing salted meats...below it is just a carved molding - approximately 24" x 24" - now I always found that kind of odd. It makes me wonder if theres something more to it. Sandman thanks for the suggestion - we'll check that area out..

Regards to all,

Beekeeper

 

[dahut]

Might be something to it. Might just a piece of moulding.
Only one way to know...

 

[mountainman 2]

I don't know if anyone mentioned it yet but a dirt floor is a great place to hide a cache.

 

[TORRERO]

Sandman mentioned checking below the mantle of the fireplace - now that is an interesting suggestion. Here's why: from topside (in my living room) to left of the fireplace is the old brick oven. Now above the oven is the old locker for storing salted meats...below it is just a carved molding - approximately 24" x 24" - now I always found that kind of odd. It makes me wonder if theres something more to it. Sandman thanks for the suggestion - we'll check that area out..

Regards to all,

Beekeeper

I lived in Charleston SC many years ago, and they moved a row house from its foundation, to
redo the foundation of the home.
Me and a friend hunted the dirt piles where the house had been, and found 2-3 large cents
2 seated dimes, 2-3 indian head cents, and what looked like a very worn shielded nickel.
(this was a very small area, like the size of a large car)
Houses in those years had wood slat floors, and any coins that rolled, may very easily roll
through the floor cracks to the dirt under a house.
I have though of hunting under some of those old houses you see abandoned, but its hard to
crawl under them and swing at the same time.

There was also another house we checked, and right where the chimney was we dug maybe
4-5 coins from the 20's and 30's. It took me a while to understand why but the truth is
that early chimneys had an opening in front that went under the house, usually covered by
a metal cover of some sort, this was so that ashes and soot from the fires could be
swept into this opening without having to carry buckets of ash from the fireplace.
If you can find such a place where the chimney is, then you might find a few nice coins..
good luck.

 

[diggummup]

I haven't had the pleasure to detect a house with a dirt floor basement yet.Not too many basements in S.Fl..There is a house in Ky. that i've always wanted to detect though.I still will one day.It was built in the early 1800's and not only does it have a dirt floor basement.It also has a crawlspace under the house.You see,you get to the basement through a set of stairs right outside the backdoor on the porch.Not to mention the "slave quarters",or the area that used to be where they were located is about a hundred yards downhill from the main house.Good luck and keep us posted as to what you find or don't find for that matter.

 

[bazinga]

There is a post on Best of Treasurenet about someone finding a cache of gold and silver coins in their basement in a dirt floor. Their will definitely motivate you to search yours!