DownNDirty
Bronze Member
After finding all that black glass and pottery last week at the newly-discovered colonial trash pit I had to give it another go last Saturday. It had rained hard in the area a couple of days prior and the pit, which is in a low boggy spot (hence the name) was a mud bowl, but this little piggy just dove right into the slop as Dirtstalker would say. Here is a picture I took during a break; those were blue jeans believe it or not.
As soon as I got into the mire the black glass shards came out in droves, mixed in with an occasional ceramic pottery shard. This time I broke out the AT Pro periodically to check the excavated material for signals; good thing the ATP is waterproof!
The first good target was a brass wax seal, less the stone insert that would have contained the reverse image; this was a first for me.
Another very cool find was a perfectly preserved wooden table knife handle from the first half of the 18th century-a "pistol" style handle. The detector picked it up because of the iron shaft that attached the knife to the handle. The wood was preserved because it was buried in the muck for 250 to 300 years. After soaking the handle first in rubbing alcohol followed by acetone to remove all moisture I applied a coat of polyurethane to seal the wood.
I found enough matching stoneware shards to start reconstructions of two bowls and a large salt glazed jar. I know there are more pieces there and plan to add to the vessels.
Another detecting find from the pit was actually in the mud inside the neck of a black glass bottle. It is an early small strap-end buckle frame; not sure what it was used for and if anyone has an idea please chime in.
The last detecting find in the pit was a large padlock that was just under the surface. I also found part of a large ceramic tile with a hand-painted tree scene on it. Interestingly the tile is glazed on both sides.
One other partial reconstruction from Saturday was a black glass bottle from the mid-1700s. I was only able to match the base and neck so there is a big gap on one side; I call it "cross section of a wine bottle."
After five + hours of mud wrestling glass and pottery I decided to hit the adjacent creek, wash off the mud and metal detect for a little while. Turned out to be a good idea because I found three flat buttons.
Another very productive and interesting day in the pit. There is plenty of area left to cover-and Allen needs to help me sort through it.
(Ignore the next picture-it is from a previous post)
As soon as I got into the mire the black glass shards came out in droves, mixed in with an occasional ceramic pottery shard. This time I broke out the AT Pro periodically to check the excavated material for signals; good thing the ATP is waterproof!
The first good target was a brass wax seal, less the stone insert that would have contained the reverse image; this was a first for me.
Another very cool find was a perfectly preserved wooden table knife handle from the first half of the 18th century-a "pistol" style handle. The detector picked it up because of the iron shaft that attached the knife to the handle. The wood was preserved because it was buried in the muck for 250 to 300 years. After soaking the handle first in rubbing alcohol followed by acetone to remove all moisture I applied a coat of polyurethane to seal the wood.
I found enough matching stoneware shards to start reconstructions of two bowls and a large salt glazed jar. I know there are more pieces there and plan to add to the vessels.
Another detecting find from the pit was actually in the mud inside the neck of a black glass bottle. It is an early small strap-end buckle frame; not sure what it was used for and if anyone has an idea please chime in.
The last detecting find in the pit was a large padlock that was just under the surface. I also found part of a large ceramic tile with a hand-painted tree scene on it. Interestingly the tile is glazed on both sides.
One other partial reconstruction from Saturday was a black glass bottle from the mid-1700s. I was only able to match the base and neck so there is a big gap on one side; I call it "cross section of a wine bottle."
After five + hours of mud wrestling glass and pottery I decided to hit the adjacent creek, wash off the mud and metal detect for a little while. Turned out to be a good idea because I found three flat buttons.
Another very productive and interesting day in the pit. There is plenty of area left to cover-and Allen needs to help me sort through it.
(Ignore the next picture-it is from a previous post)
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