Kentucky Artifact Hunter Died in Cave-in

[Old Bookaroo]

This is a very sad story - and an important lesson to always keep in mind!

Dec 2, 2008 12:54 pm

Tennessee man dies in cave collapse in western Ky.

HOPKINSVILLE, Ky. -- A Tennessee man has died after a cave collapsed in western Kentucky while he was digging for Native American artifacts.

Christian County Coroner Dorris Lamb says 42-year-old Devin William Peters, of Clarksville, Tenn., was killed in the accident.

Christian County Rescue Team director Randy Graham told the Kentucky New Era that Peters and another man were at the cave, located between Pembroke and Oak Grove, when the walls of an excavation trench collapsed.

The second man was above ground and telephoned for help at 4 p.m. CST Monday.

Graham said Peters' remains were found eight feet below the floor of the cave, buried under about four feet of dirt. Graham said the remains were removed about four hours after the collapse.

The original source for this story is no longer available on the 'web: http://www.kentucky.com/471/story/612969.html

I'm not posting this to pass judgment or make any comments other than it's an obvious shame this person died and we all need to be careful out there.

Good luck to all,

~The Old Bookaroo

UpDate: It has very kindly been brought to my attention that this news item was posted a month ago under "General Discussion." I continue to believe this is an important lesson for all of us. I certainly do not wish to re-open old wounds or cause new grief to the families involved by posting it now, and I sincerely hope I have not done so.

 

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[Jonnyreb]

Its a good wake up call for a lot of folks who are thinking about digging.
I know of a couple of guys who died digging a Caddo shaft tomb in SE Oklahoma back in the 70's. They got carried away, and were tunneling. The pile of throw dirt was directly above the "tunnell", and you can figure out the rest.
As for myself, I've had some close calls digging deep in Red River Valley sand for points. So I had my "Wake Up" call several years ago.
Thanks for the post.

 

[lostlake88]

I know that people can get carried away with their passion and I am sorry for the person who died doing it. A 500 dollar rock ain't worth it though. He would have been very lucky to find something this valuable because most burial sights as well with habitation sites have a dearth of really valuable artifacts. All the most noteworthy artifacts that have ever been found in North America have been found by chance, in an undeserving location. My friend bought a 7" truncated Dovetail from a little known house auction that was found in a creek bed in northern Kentucky. It has been considered one of the best specimens of this type ever found. A collector from Columbus Ohio paid dearly for it too.

Here are some not so notable relics.

 

[Carolina Points]

As stated a good wake up call for everyone doing any type of digging for relics or just job related. There was a guy next door to me digging a footer he was only three to four foot down and all the dirt gave in because of a big rain a few days before. Luckly he survived but he had alot of damage done to his chest. I personally have never dug for any relics all are surface finds, but I would like to start if I could find some good spots. not trying to get off topic but Lostlake those are some very very nice artifacts you have there.
Clint

 

[archaeon]

i was on a friends property digging in sand...had a hole about 7 feet deep. these were the days that i used to undercut the sides of the hole alot. well, i was underneath the ledge, digging away, when the whole 3 feet above me came down on top of me...i was scrambling as it fell, got buried up to my armpits. the dirt settled as i tried to wiggle out and it became very hard to move. a couple of grunts and pulls and i got out. i had friends with me, so they could have got me out if i was stuck, but i learned my lesson well. never undercut.

 

[Jonnyreb]

Archaeon, thats pretty much exactly what happened to me!! Aint a good situation to be in is it. My shoulder was dis located.

 

[pickaway]

Ouch thats to bad.Be careful out there folks use your head...