πŸ₯‡ BANNER CIVIL WAR HUT SITE w/buttons, glass, 249 BULLET DAY and more!

parsonwalker

Bronze Member
Feb 16, 2013
1,491
2,856
Virginia
πŸ₯‡ Banner finds
2
πŸ† Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
Modified GI Mine Detector (In the 60s)
Metrotech (In the 70s)
Tesoro Tejon (Now!)
Primary Interest:
Relic Hunting
Best day hunting in over a year! I stumbled upon a central Virginia Hut site, which is something I've ALWAYS wanted to dig. I HAVE to tell you the story of mostly dumb luck that led me to it. I had hunted this known camp for years, and this trip had yielded 10 bullets, a shell frag, bucks and some other stuff.

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I got another bullet signal, but on the way to the bullet I unearthed an obviously 19th century bottle neck. The bullet was an inch or so beneath. I thought to myself, "This deserves at least a little exploration." I got below the plow line, and immediately saw a layer of black ash from a very old campfire.

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Having found some nice stuff around campfires before, I widened and deepened the hole.

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At about two feet, the neck of a handblown milk bottle (I think) first made its appearance.

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It was broken, but as I retrieved the pieces, another 3-ringer fell out of the dirt wall.

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After some buttons, a broken projectile point (Maybe the soldier was a digger, too!), a clay pipe bowl, some leather, hog bones, ration cans, and a total of four broken bottles, I noticed "bands" of rusted metal in the soil. It took me a minute to realize that I was looking at the metal remains of the bands of a wooden nail keg (barrel)! Sitting straight up and down in the pit. All the wood was long gone of course. but it was easy to see the bands, all in the right place. I wondered what might be in the bottom of that keg. As I dug, I noticed the color of the soil began to change. It was the familiar white patina of lead, mixed with the black of black powder . . .

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I carefully pushed my shovel in below the discoloration and when I withdrew the shovel, there were EIGHT 3-ringers in it. From that point on, the bullets came out by the handful.

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I stopped counting at one hundred.

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It was a moving experience to sit in that pit, which had become sizable, and view it much like it was, when its previous occupants abandoned it.

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Final results: 239 bullets, 3 Eagle coat buttons, 2 Eagle cuffs, partial fork, pieces of 4 bottles, hog bones, broken projectile point, a line of percussion caps STILL IN THE PAPER SLEEVE, 3 china shirt buttons, Nails, melted lead, suspender buckle, leather fragments, clay pipe bowl, a piece of wood and I saved some campfire ash and the metal bands from the nail keg. Had I known my day total would have been 249 bullets, I would have hunted into the night for just ONE more! I plan to dedicate a large display area for JUST the contents of this hut site. I welcome any insight or interpretation. It's my first hut.

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Upvote 121
OP
OP
parsonwalker

parsonwalker

Bronze Member
Feb 16, 2013
1,491
2,856
Virginia
πŸ₯‡ Banner finds
2
πŸ† Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
Modified GI Mine Detector (In the 60s)
Metrotech (In the 70s)
Tesoro Tejon (Now!)
Primary Interest:
Relic Hunting
Parsonwalker
Your a blessed Man to find a hut site but a Good One.

Already Banner Voted.:icon_thumleft:

Your post got me 'shaking' Think Ill go on a hunt today.

Man! I Can say so much more but??? Just an amazing dig.

Yr gonna need a Sturdy Big Display case.

Other than your original 10 , were all the Minnie's the same type?
Glass & buttons to boot.:thumbsup:

Glad for you Man.
Davers

Thank you everyone for the kind words. As always, what I MOST appreciate, is that you enjoyed the thrill of this discovery as much as I did. Yes, it was incredible. No, it can't be a lone hut. I hope someday to locate its neighbor. Thank you for the clear glass ID. I had never heard of a fruit or food jar. DAVERS- 238 of the bullets were identical. The last one was too, but it had been pulled. I'm just so thankful I got to do this! Cannonball Guy - thank you for the PM . . . Good luck everybody!
 

Davers

Gold Member
Jan 8, 2013
8,126
7,145
N.of , I-285...GA
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Whites Spc xlt & Tesoro Tejon- Now back ...Fisher 1266-X. TRX Pointer. New .Teknetics G2 + . New AT Pro .
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All Treasure Hunting
Parsonwalker.
Thanks for answering my inquiry.

That single pulled round tell's a story by itself.

Hope to see that 'group' shot up top soon.
 

metalev4

Bronze Member
Aug 12, 2006
1,165
565
Congrats on the hut and nice variety of relics. Always wanted a bullet cache, never found more than a handful in the huts and trash pits I’ve dug.
 

Calabash Digger

Gold Member
Apr 18, 2016
5,293
11,738
πŸ₯‡ Banner finds
2
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XP DEUS II ,XP DEUS, EQUINOX 800, EXCALIBUR II,
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I'm voting banner that tells you what I think...
 

alderan33

Full Member
Oct 15, 2010
249
39
Greenville, NC
Detector(s) used
Whites Spectra V3I
Garrett Pro Pointer
Minelab Etrac
Primary Interest:
Relic Hunting
Amazing what a little persistence and knowledge can get you. Way to go!!
 

OP
OP
parsonwalker

parsonwalker

Bronze Member
Feb 16, 2013
1,491
2,856
Virginia
πŸ₯‡ Banner finds
2
πŸ† Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
Modified GI Mine Detector (In the 60s)
Metrotech (In the 70s)
Tesoro Tejon (Now!)
Primary Interest:
Relic Hunting
Amazing what a little persistence and knowledge can get you. Way to go!!

But mostly a lot of luck. Thanks for all the great comments guys. I have been out of the country and unable to post. So it's been fun reading these. Happy Hunting!"i
 

diggervet

Hero Member
Dec 3, 2006
676
901
Mechanicsville, Va.
Detector(s) used
Deus XP/Nautilus 2B
Primary Interest:
Relic Hunting
wow, that's a great accounting of your day, never dug a pit but I hope to some day! Fantastic finds!
 

Rubka888

Hero Member
Jun 13, 2013
511
911
πŸ₯‡ Banner finds
1
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I can't believe this isn't up top yet..
 

Oct 5, 2014
31,886
35,424
Massachusetts
πŸ₯‡ Banner finds
1
πŸ† Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
Garrett: AT Pro, AT Gold & Infinium; Minelab: Explorer SE, II; Simplex; Tesoro: Tejon & Outlaw; White's: V3i
Primary Interest:
Relic Hunting
What a fantastic day, congratulations! :notworthy:
 

collector01

Bronze Member
Mar 7, 2008
1,377
1,141
snow hill, MD
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1
Detector(s) used
Fisher F70
Primary Interest:
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awesome! congrats on a find of a lifetime! i know a few people who have dug pits and never found nothing like that. my banner votes in. hope you find his neighbor and hope he left just as much. id take a sifter next time if you didnt have one this time. congrats again, i need to head to va soon. HH!
 

HutSiteDigger

Silver Member
Nov 26, 2012
2,849
1,283
Stafford,Virginia
Detector(s) used
Fisher 1266x and a shovel
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Sent you a PM there Parsons!! Awesome find my man.. Like they say some day's you're the pigeon and some day's your the statue. You was most certainly the pigeon that day!!!
 

lairmo

Silver Member
Jan 1, 2009
2,952
4,890
SW MO
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Garrett AT Pro/ Fisher M-Scope 1280-X
IDK how I missed this but Holy WOW!!!! Nice!!! Take me...Take me.. please take me:tongue3:...JK..Awesome finds.
 

DFW_THer

Bronze Member
Feb 20, 2008
1,184
1,493
Coinslaughtersville
πŸ₯‡ Banner finds
1
Detector(s) used
Garrett Carrot Glued To A Stick
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
It's already on the banner yet I still feel the urge to keep nominating banner somehow over and over again because this find is just that cool!!!
 

MrBlueSkyNM

Hero Member
Apr 18, 2016
721
1,287
New Mexico
πŸ† Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
Minelab Equinox 800, Teknetics T2 Classic
Primary Interest:
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Way to use your noggin! You cracked that puzzle perfectly! Congrats on such an amazing find! :headbang:
 

birdman

Gold Member
Jan 28, 2005
7,458
2,393
Choctaw Beach Florida
πŸ₯‡ Banner finds
1
πŸ† Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
Equinox 800 and ORX, tesoro Cibola with garret,whites and minelab pinpointers
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Incredible!! Took me two months at a camp site to recover that many bullets. Very cool!
 

JBnNC

Hero Member
May 25, 2013
583
1,842
North Carolina
πŸ₯‡ Banner finds
1
Detector(s) used
Fisher F-75 SE
Primary Interest:
Other
What a haul, a once in a lifetime type of day.....I love how you've placed your bullets in the circle pattern--JB
 

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