Bill D. (VA)
Silver Member
As you probably know from Dan's recent posts, we went back for a half day Thurs and all day yesterday to our new site that's been producing mostly CW era finds (including CS buttons) plus a few random colonial artifacts. No need to repeat the all background info again, so let's get right to it. Nothing too exciting for me on Thurs outside of 15 buttons and several IHs. We had hoped to zone in on the potential colonial site, but never could figure out where those random finds were originating from. On Saturday we hunkered down and did our best to pull out something really nice, but again, nothing to knock your socks off although I did recover a nice cut piece of silver right before we left to head across the lane. Unfortunately, it was not the colonial silver I was seeking so my drought in that department continues. As Dan said previously, we decided to spend a few minutes on the other half of the property before leaving to head to another nearby site. This is the area where Dan ran across one lonely flat button during our quick in and out on the first day we were scouting the site. We weren't expecting much as the CW maps showed nothing at all on that side of the lane. But after about 5 min after we started zig-zagging I started hearing a little iron in one spot in the center of the field, then dug a really deep, large piece of brass. I also noticed some brick smears on the side of the hole which told me game-on. Once Dan joined me we started popping out buttons at an astonishing clip. I bet 90% of the signals I heard there ended up being buttons, and there was no trash whatsoever. We did some solid gridding in that area for about an hour, and as darkness quickly approached we wandered around the periphery of the hotspot to see how far the goodies extended. Their density was much less than before, but were still showing up so we know we have a goodly amount of additional territory to cover next time. I also made a nice recovery right at the end of the hunt - a late colonial era spur, or at least the greater part of one. Between that, a lot of melted lead, a couple of marked military buttons, and a ramrod guide Dan found, my belief is that this may be a small, early 1800s military camp although it did have some of the characteristics of a house site as well (so maybe it was both??). Overall I dug 46 buttons in the day and a half, and at least 20 were recovered in the last hour or so. It was fun to hunt a site where you were constantly digging targets, and my arms are thankful for that (although my legs are a bit sore from all the bending over 
). Had a great time even though I wasn't digging strictly colonial, and can't wait to get back out there again.
). Had a great time even though I wasn't digging strictly colonial, and can't wait to get back out there again.
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I really like those buckles and military buttons. That spur is awesome.. I've only found bits of them, but never a piece that big. Would love to find a complete one one day. It's a ton of fun when you get target after target with no trash. Really glad you guys found this place and hope you get to enjoy it a bunch more while the weather holds out. What do you suppose that tiny spigot was used for?
