Some finds from the past week or so from my first hole dug at my fort

WVScavenger · May 22, 2019

I recently acquired a historic home with an old frontier fort inside of it. It has been heavily detected the past couple of years, but I opened my first pit, and the finds have been pouring out.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byrnside-Beirne-Johnson_House

BTW, I've been posting progress on my FB page: https://www.facebook.com/Scavengeology/

I'm gonna need help with ID of some of the stuff I've pulled out, but I have so many pics, I'll have to make several uploads. I've never pulled out so many patterns of ceramics. I just don't see how the hell they went through so many plates. Or even owned so many patterns at one location. Not pictured, are some dandy buttons that were found here by metal detector prior to the pit being opened up, and a few other cool things.

WVScavenger · May 22, 2019

Steve in PA · May 22, 2019

Looks like that place will keep you busy for a while!

thrifty76now · May 22, 2019

Now thats an assortment to look over ,that place was rich in history.

WVScavenger · May 22, 2019

Also two Rev War era wrought iron stirrups came out as well, so far.

Hawks88 · May 22, 2019

Nice assortment of finds. Congrats

BLK HOLE · May 22, 2019

Wow a very nice variety of saves! Looks like you have a very productive site for the future and the best thing you own it!

grasshopper · May 22, 2019

Very cool place you have there!!!

WVScavenger · May 22, 2019

Plumbata · May 22, 2019

Wow awesome finds from a very historic property, did you ever get access to crawlspaces to detect/sift? And are you digging a garbage pit? Have you tried probing around for the outhouse pits? Despite being in the frontier where trash and empty bottles could be disposed of anywhere I'd still expect there to be excellent items tossed in the privy pits, and for a place like that sifting would be advised as coins/buttons/trinkets/arrowheads could be lurking inside too.

I'd be curious if any brass kettle or iron barrel hoop indian arrowheads are waiting to be detected on the property, if they had a dozen indian spies working from the location I'd expect items like that to be floating around too. Very interesting stuff thanks for sharing!

WVScavenger · May 22, 2019

Yes, the crawlspaces are accessible, and there is actually a full basement under the original fort, with a dirt floor, so that is accessible as well. I'm trying not to do any excavation where the stockade walls may have run, and I believe one runs straight through a portion of the present crawlspace. At least not yet. I haven't probed for outhouse pits as of yet. I have found a couple pieces of scrap brass. Over 400 stone arrowheads have been found on the vegetable garden of the site. This isn't surprising due to the location of a spring on the property, which flows into a rock overhang. That obviously predates the fort. I also can't definitively date this pit to the operation fort as of yet. But it could be. Solely rosehead nails so far. It was continuously occupied from 1770 through the present, so, there's lots of eras of finds on the property.

There was a 1725 spanish silver reale found on the site a while back. There probably wouldn't have been many indians hanging around these forts, since they were far isolated in the wilderness. The first cabin here was burned by Cornstalk in 1763, so I'll be looking for evidence of that cabin's location as well. And there's probably been several hundred rosehead nails out of this hole so far, so I'm not ruling that out either for this pit. In fact, I'm not sure why perfectly reusable wrought nails, and intact spoons and forks would be in this pit. So it has crossed my mind that it could be the site of the original cabin. But that may be wishful thinking.

HistoryHunter22 · May 22, 2019

Deffinatly looks like you might be digging up the original kitchen!!!!! As for grandpas teeth and lassies nail, doesnt look like they made it out... "moment of silence" 🤣

firemanphob · May 22, 2019

looks like a great place to dig. Great relics

Inspector · May 22, 2019

Some awesome relics your have recovered there, some very interesting items, sounds like you will be investigating for some time, BOL On your recoveries there

Whyme · May 22, 2019

Very cool! Can't wait to see what you pull out of the ground there!

Brendan75 · May 23, 2019

Hi, wow awesome finds. Congrats :icon_thumright:

catherine1 · May 23, 2019

Pretty cool place you have acquired. I would assume you are in the Ohio valley when you mentioned Cornstalk. There should be a block house on the property also. There is a book called 'The Frontiersmen' that you should read, that has quite a bit of information about these old forts. Thanks for sharing on TN.

WVScavenger · May 23, 2019

Yes, The Frontiersman is what started my interest in this period of history. The blockhouse is still standing inside the house on the property. So far I've uncovered most of the downstairs. I've found three shooting ports so far, and the points at which the stockade walls attached to the blockhouse, meaning that the house itself served as a bastion of the fort, essentially. There were no big battles or events here, but there are almost none of these left standing, so my number one priority is to preserve it.