How deep are relics/treasure after 80-90 years?

[Spizzerinctum]

My mother-in-law says there was a small community on her property (6-8 homes, store/gas station) in the early 1900s. In the 20s a big fire burned it all down. Her home was built in the 50s and she has almost an acre for her lawn. I've found some old stuff along with a lot of junk in her grass area where it has been tilled up over the years. I found an old flat clothes iron, several pieces of ornate, thick metal that may have been part of a pot-bellied stove and my favorite find - a belt buckle plate of an elk with a hound or wolf nipping its hindquarters. I have a cheap beginners detector that doesn't go very deep. I'd like to detect in the back part of her property where the ground has not been disturbed for all these years but how deep would treasure be after 80 to 90 years? This is western Oregon with much thick vegetation. Thanks for any advice!

 

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[JackalopeZL1]

Could be shallow to deep, Depends on the soil, Foliage and what not as well as what the item is that was left behind. Interested in what you find though.. So much fun to investigate something like this.

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

I eyeballed an indian head cent on the surface - on a slate rock beside a river. Unfortunately the face was worn smooth. Within 20 feet I found a 1986 Roosevelt dime that was 10" deep - one of my deepest coin finds. Frost, ice, tillage, silt, grading, worms - all these things move coins and artifacts up and down in the soil.

Probably the average depth I find silver at is 6"; yet I know in my test garden I can hit a 12" deep silver quarter reliably.

 

[bill from lachine]

It's a bit of a crap shoot I read somewhere or other about 1" every ten years....but then again I've found large cents at 2" so it depends on the site, type of soil, etc.....in other words no easy answer.

Regards + HH

Bill

 

[NcHillbilly]

Like all the others have said, it depends on a lot of factors. Soil composition, flooding, farm use etc...I dug up a 1982 penny at about 4" and 10' away I found a civil war button just under the sod.

 

[Ranger121]

I agree with Bill, i once read topsoil accumulates at about 1" per decade but obviously that depends on a lot of things. I'd check the property with the cheap detector you have several times, in various conditions. I've found things in wet soil following a rain or snow that never even beeped in dry. And vice-versa. Turn off discrimination and "dig it all" once in a while too. But, overall, you're doing fine so far!!

 

[cudamark]

You'll be the first to know once you start detecting that area!

 

[Carolina Tom]

The other guys are right on track. I dug several 8" Memorial cents the other week that were from the 1970s, while he guy next to me dug 2 silver Rosies from the 1950s at 3 inches. Go out there and have some fun, and see what you can come up with. GL&HH.

 

[Marylanddetctr]

It all depends on the soil, if it's near a river basin things are usually deep.

 

[Spizzerinctum]

Here is a picture of the buckle

 

[JackalopeZL1]

That's awesome

 

[jbc465]

That's a nice looking buckel

 

[Fletch88]

Nice find!

 

[RustyGold]

Very nice find!

 

[Ed-NH]

Typically an area that remains field will have deeper targets. If the fields remained plowed all those years then the finds won't be as deep due to them being turned up and not having the time to sink deep. The fields the grow back into woods are not as deep.

 

[Nugs Bunny]

Here is some information I posted in an older thread you may find helpful. http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/m...ysics-items-sinking-ground-7.html#post4314115

Coins "migrate" to different depths, at different rates according to the soil composition, soil density, amount of rainfall and overall mass of the coin.

Soil forms in layers, rain moves particles from the surface layers to the lower layers, rain also leeches salts and clays to the lower layers. This process causes things to move downward, a rock laying on the surface will move down through each layer of soil until it reaches the point where it's density matches that of the surrounding soil.

Soil formation starts on the surface, the rest happens underground.

The theory that soil builds on top of the coins is correct, the theory that they sink is also correct. As each successive layer of soil builds on top of the coin the layers below it are moving downward. Take a stack of paper place a coin on top, now remove the bottom sheet and place it on the top of the stack, continue this process and eventually the coin will be at the bottom, soil moves the same way.

There is more info on the process here Plant and Soil Sciences eLibrary

Four Soil Forming Processes

•Additions: Materials added to the soil, such as decomposing vegetation and organisms (organic matter--OM), or new mineral materials deposited by wind or water.
•Losses: Through the movement of wind or water, or uptake by plants, soil particles (sand, silt, clay, and OM) or chemical compounds can be eroded, leached, or harvested from the soil, altering the chemical and physical makeup of the soil.
•Transformations: The chemical weathering of sand and formation of clay minerals, transformation of coarse OM into decay resistant organic compounds (humus).
•Translocations: Movement of soil constituents (organic or mineral) within the profile and/or between horizons. Over time, this process is one of the more visibly noticeable as alterations in color, texture, and structure become apparent.

Soil Profiles and Horizons

Through the interactions of these four soil processes, the soil constituents are reorganized into visibly, chemically, and/or physically distinct layers, referred to as horizons. There are five soil horizons: O, A, E, B, and C. (R is used to denote bedrock.)

There is no set order for these horizons within a soil. Some soil profiles have an A-C combination, some have an O-E-B, an O-A-B, or just an O. Some profiles may have all the horizons, O-A-E-B-C-R. And some profiles may have multiple varieties of one horizon, such as an A-B-E-B.




Frost heave is what the phenomenon is called. This is why in colder climates they recommend fence posts and the like be a minimum of three feet deep, objects below the frostline are unaffected.

I found a great research video on the subject, the objects in the test move several inches and it's a good example of how soil moves in layers along with objects suspended in them.

The composition of the soil along with the horizon profile is probably slightly different in that area, dense compacted soil cannot transfer material from one horizon to the next as efficiently. Liquefaction can occur when frozen ground thaws, water cannot drain through the frozen ground below it. Scroll to 1:00 in the video they explain it much better.

Frost Action In Soils



Here is an older production of the same video in case anybody is feeling nostalgic or retro lol!