Relics from the backyard

[viper771]

Hey everyone! It has been awhile since I posted here. Well, I got around to tearing down the garage that is behind my old victorian house. Before the garage was there, it was a stable. Well, then it became a 1 car garage, then in 43, the wood garage was torn down, then a cement block garage put up. It went from a 1 car to 2 car garage... and over the years more and more cement was poured over each floor. I think there was 4 floors to take out in total, so this is some 18 inches of cement.

Anyway, after taking everything out, I figured I would poke around to see if I could find relics. The first thing I found popped out of the ground just as the backhoe pulled some dirt away. It was an intact plate! It says Ironstone China on the back along with Powell Bishop. I did some research and found it was from England, but not sure exactly what time period. I suspect from the late 1800s. I found many shards of broken bottles, 1 small intact bottle, and then the best little find so far. I was trying to move dirt around with a metal rake, and a belt buckle popped out! It is in great shape, and has K P., with a knight figure in the middle of the 2 letters. I think it is a Knights of Pythian belt buckle. I am not sure on the date since I haven't come across any others on the internet like it so far. The old masonic temple is just down the street, and I am quite sure the original builder/owner of my house was a mason. Anyway enjoy the pictures. Let me know if you guys can date the plate and belt buckle. HH!

** I resized the images and added a picture of the backyard... The right side of the picture shows the garage before we tore it down, and where I found some relics.

[garthbfan169]

Very nice find viper!! WTG

[viper771]

Thanks! I hope to poke around there some more before the new garage gets put up.. since a vast majorty of the area will be once again covered with concrete. I hope to find more info about the stuff I did find.. it would be cool to have on display in the house

[FortBedfordbob]

Nice Find, I've never seen one of those

[creeper71]

can you shrink your pics...? Thanks

[drgest]

Very nice find viper! If I owned an old victorian house there's no telling how many holes I would dig. You are right on the buckle (except it is Pythias). Here's a link that indicates it is circa 1880.

http://www.liongate-armsandarmour.com/bq1860.htm

You are going to run your detector over that newly exposed area, aren't you? It also wouldn't hurt to poke a privy rod around some as well.

Good luck!

[detectoraddict]

Das ist gute! Nice find! One never knows what is hiding in ones backyard

[romeo-1]

Welcome back! Are you stateside again? Nice sword belt plate!!

[Iron Patch]

Great find and I can't date the plate, but it's plenty old enough to be intersting. I'd certainly be happy coming home with that.

[viper771]

How do you shrink picts on here?? I didn't realize that they came out so big!!!!! Sorry about that!


Yeah I have been back stateside since April. I hope to use my metal detector when it arrives in 3 weeks. We still haven't had ANY of our stuff delivered so we have been living with basically what we brought over on the plane, and what the inlaws provide hehe. I am sure that there is a ton of stuff in the back yard.


I will have to check that link out for the belt buckle. I think the plate dates around the same time actually. I don't know about the one little bottle I found. I think it just has a patent # on it. I left all the stuff at the house but I will return down there again and see what else I can find. I doubt that I will have my metal detector when the new slab is poured But then again, I can put the new garage whever I want LOL

[allen]

that is one nice find !!!

[rtru]

How do you shrink picts on here?? I didn't realize that they came out so big!!!!! Sorry about that!

...LOL

One easy way is to go to picnik.com (no membership required, and it's free) and upload your photos there, then poke around a bit and you'll find the "Resize" option. If you make your longest side about 700 or 800 pixels, it will be web-friendly then. Give me a shout if you run into any difficulties. -Ray

[RWJR13]

Great find....Awesome...

[viper771]

OK I will give that a shot, I have a hard time trying to see my own pictures as well

*** Pictured resized!! Thanks for the info! That picnik site is pretty cool

[rjw4law]

Never saw a beltplate like that one....interesting.

[Hardy]

Nice buckle , the only KP I know is kitchen patrol

[viper771]

I was thinking the same thing when I took the dirt off of it... so far I haven't found anything else cool yet out there.. just remains of bottles that were broken long ago. Should have the MD in a few weeks, so then I can dig for coins or something else out there. I did find a lot of bones out under the garage... old trash remains from 100 yrs ago.

[daytondigger]

Based on where you are on the lot and the age of the home, I would say you are into the privy(s). Angle probe for walls, and dig the goodies.

[tymcmurray]

RELIC HUNTER EXTREME!!!

[viper771]

I shall keep looking around in the backyard. I am not far from Dayton, I am in Middletown There are all kinds of stuff to dig up around here. I hope that I can find a few old coins or something. The only thing I have found inside the house were :about 1.00 worth of newer coins (pennies, dimes, etc), mouse droppings, 3 LONG dead mice, 3 dead birds, 3 dead squirrels, and remains of a newspaper in the attic dating from Feb 1964.

One cool thing I did find behind a false wall was names of people who kind of "fixed" a problem area in the old bathrom. The date below the names was 1950, and later on when the kids lived there, a date from the 90s. Historical treasure