Bottle Dump

[SAMS]

It's like this I found a old bottle dump. Most of the glass I see is broken. How deep should I dig>what do I use for digging so I don't brake more. Sorry if there dumb ?s but this is the first really old dump I've found and want to do it right. Also its on BLM land can I dig there sams from A.Z. thank you for the help

[SAMS]

Can any help. Looking for bottle diggers

[ericwt]

Check the Bottles and Glass forum in the miscellaneous section. It is further down on the main page.

They should give you some answers there.

[Boobydoo]

One technic I used was either to begin at the bottom of a mound of debris and dig a hole or dig a hole if the whole area is flat, 3 to 4 feet deep. I just used a nomal construction shovel for this part.

Then using a pointed piece of wood, a stake works well, I would start near the base and pull the debris from above down to the bottom of the hole and work my way up to the top of the hole. Gravity works for you with this technic. With each section, it dig the debris I pulled down out of the bottom of the hole and toss it behind me. Then repeat the whole thing again and again.

Watch very carefully and grab fast for items like jewelry, marbles, coins, and little trinkets as they fall down into the bottom of the hole. Snag anything disc shape as coins will almost always have tin can debris stuck to them, even silver coins. The bottles are easy to watch for. When you come to one, stop pulling debris down and carefully un earth the bottle.

Be careful!! Wear good thick clothing, boots, leather gloves, tie your pantlegs tight around your boots so no loose stuff gets in your boot. Don't dig too deep where a cave in would be dangerous.

Good luck and have fun. I hope you find a lot of goodies!

Smiles!
BDoo

[Gypsy Heart]

No clue if you can dig on BLMl and but I do know a thing or two about bottle dumps.Get a short handled pitch fork and slowly remove the top layers. Wear heavy gloves and knee pads. Get a long screw driver and also a small trowel. Use the screw driver or a steel rod to "gently" probe the earth to hear that distinctive "ping" of metal hitting glass. Alot of this is going to be on your knees digging. Start at the bottle of the hill (if there is one) and pull the dirt and debris toward you. You can do several test holes and go at least three feet to see how old of a dump it is. . If there are trees or shrubs dig around these and the roots as often they stopped the bottles and protected them when thrown. Be careful and dig slow. Alot of great finds can be found in bottle dumps so good luck!

[Kiros32]

No clue if you can dig on BLMl and but I do know a thing or two about bottle dumps.Get a short handled pitch fork and slowly remove the top layers. Wear heavy gloves and knee pads. Get a long screw driver and also a small trowel. Use the screw driver or a steel rod to "gently" probe the earth to hear that distinctive "ping" of metal hitting glass. Alot of this is going to be on your knees digging. Start at the bottle of the hill (if there is one) and pull the dirt and debris toward you. You can do several test holes and go at least three feet to see how old of a dump it is. . If there are trees or shrubs dig around these and the roots as often they stopped the bottles and protected them when thrown. Be careful and dig slow. Alot of great finds can be found in bottle dumps so good luck!

Boobie's technique sounds good. One thing to add, if you have time and a screen, you can screen the dirt that falls into the holes for any smaller items you may have missed. Good luck, let us know what you find.

[schlooppy]

Another thing you can do is buy a ground probe at a construction equipment store. You then can probe the ground and you will feel it hit anything solid and you will know where to dig.

John

[SAMS]

Thank You I'm going back to the dump on Tuesday. I'll try some of that techniques out and maybe with some love from the dump gods I'll have some thing good to post