Local Virginia pieces

[Indian Steve]

These are some local pieces, mostly from Patrick County Virginia, except the conch shell beads which were from Tennessee. The little pot came out of a trash pit. You can actually see the persons fingerprints in the back side.

 

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[Rege-PA]

Nice variety of artifacts, like that big spearhead.

 

[Indian Steve]

My wife found the big spear point at the same site that the tiny soapstone pipe was found. She also found a nice clear crystal spear point at the same site.

 

[Americus]

Nice finds. Thanks for sharing.

 

[traverdog]

Nice points!!

 

[NC field hunter]

Patric county is close to Henry county, right? I hunt some in Ridgway VA. That area is ideal for hunting artifacts. You have a couple nice rivers, tons of feeder creeks, and rock shelters. You have a nice collection! I have never found much in your area. Despite the water ways and shelters, I always come home pretty straight faced after hunting around there. I normally come home with a pottery sherd or a broken point.... Nothing special. its Different hunting up there. Do you find most of your stuff in shelters?

 

[Indian Steve]

All of these are field finds. Back in the late 1980s, I got permission to dig trash pits on a site. I walked the fresh plowed field in a thunderstorm {dummy} and spotted 46 exposed trash pits. Dark black circles with broken pottery, bones, periwinkle shells. I spent most of one fall digging pits that averaged 4 ft deep by 3 to 4 feet wide with a trowel, sifting everything. I dug 55 pits on that field. The field had been dug by archys in the early 70s and dated 1100AD. I got three pots together in one pit that were laying on their sides and crushed. One still had carbonized corn kernels in it. Unfortunately the plow had carried away most of the upward facing sides of the pots. I dug every obvious pit and then started probing for more. I started into one that I thought was a trash pit to find it was actually a storage pit full of acorns that had all carbonized. You could still peel the hull off and the insides would come apart in 2 pieces. I still have some acorns and corn kernels. One of the side benefits was that when tree planting season started on December first, I was in fantastic shape. Normally, the first 2 weeks of tree planting is a horribly painful experience. Everyone else on the crew suffered while I pounded in trees. Imagine carry a waist pack with 50 pounds of seedlings, swinging a hoedad into the ground , bending over to put the seedling in the hole, packing the hole with the hoedad blade, then heeling in the hole and doing it again every 8 to 10 feet for 3500 times in a day at an almost running pace. All while scanning 10 feet on either side for relics fossils and crystals. Some times I would come back in with more weight in rocks and relics in my bag than when I left with trees.

 

[theviking]

Nice frame, I always enjoy seeing some VA artifacts. Thanks for the view.

 

[NC field hunter]

All of these are field finds. Back in the late 1980s, I got permission to dig trash pits on a site. I walked the fresh plowed field in a thunderstorm {dummy} and spotted 46 exposed trash pits. Dark black circles with broken pottery, bones, periwinkle shells. I spent most of one fall digging pits that averaged 4 ft deep by 3 to 4 feet wide with a trowel, sifting everything. I dug 55 pits on that field. The field had been dug by archys in the early 70s and dated 1100AD. I got three pots together in one pit that were laying on their sides and crushed. One still had carbonized corn kernels in it. Unfortunately the plow had carried away most of the upward facing sides of the pots. I dug every obvious pit and then started probing for more. I started into one that I thought was a trash pit to find it was actually a storage pit full of acorns that had all carbonized. You could still peel the hull off and the insides would come apart in 2 pieces. I still have some acorns and corn kernels. One of the side benefits was that when tree planting season started on December first, I was in fantastic shape. Normally, the first 2 weeks of tree planting is a horribly painful experience. Everyone else on the crew suffered while I pounded in trees. Imagine carry a waist pack with 50 pounds of seedlings, swinging a hoedad into the ground , bending over to put the seedling in the hole, packing the hole with the hoedad blade, then heeling in the hole and doing it again every 8 to 10 feet for 3500 times in a day at an almost running pace. All while scanning 10 feet on either side for relics fossils and crystals. Some times I would come back in with more weight in rocks and relics in my bag than when I left with trees.

That's cool! I know where some middens or trash pits are. However, they are on forbidden land. You must be in the logging business?

 

[Indian Steve]

Back then, I tree planted all over the south for paper companies in the winter, raked blueberries in Maine in August and did flea markets and odd jobs during the off seasons. I planted over a half a million trees in four seasons. Now, I play with old motorcycles, metal detect, and relic hunt when I can find turned fields. Hardly anybody plows like they did 20 years ago.

 

[Indian Steve]

If you have any good campsites, there are trash pits to dig if you can get permission. If you can get permission and want to dig, let me know and i'll bring the probe and teach you how to find them. Trash pits are like the lottery. Some are just trash, some are jackpots! I had one pit that had 29 drill points in it. The one 3 feet away was just broke pottery, shell and bones.

 

[NC field hunter]

If you have any good campsites, there are trash pits to dig if you can get permission. If you can get permission and want to dig, let me know and i'll bring the probe and teach you how to find them. Trash pits are like the lottery. Some are just trash, some are jackpots! I had one pit that had 29 drill points in it. The one 3 feet away was just broke pottery, shell and bones.

That sounds like a winner. I live within walking distance of an old camp site. I find metates and manos. Tons of points, but have no clue where the trash pits may be. I don't know how to dig either. It's like throwing darts in the dark. I know I find lots of stuff by an old spring. I don't see the dark soil, however. May take you up on that offer!!

 

[Indian Steve]

Let me know when or if you want to try. Trash pits are only visible in deep plowed wet fields. I actually found the site that I dug by searching insurance company flood plain maps. They had photos taken from planes and this field looked brown with a big {couple of hundred feet} black circle in the middle. I was in the field 30 minutes later.

 

[rock]

I sure would like to know more on locating the trash pits. Are they usually a depression near the camp site and if so how far away are they usually from the camp site? I got a few sites I can hunt with permission but have never located a trash pit yet. They said anything goes when they aren't working the fields for me. I have permission is what Im saying.

 

[Indian Steve]

Unless you can see the color difference or circles of pottery shards, periwinkles, bones, you will need to use a probe. Mine is made from a piece of spring steel 1/2 inch rod about 4 feet long with a T handle welded on the top. Make sure your handle is very well secured. You will be putting pressure on it hundreds of times a day. If your probe breaks when you are leaning on it as you push it in, the shaft can impale you. On the bottom, there is a lug nut welded on that is ground down to a slight taper { sort of diamond shaped}. It is about 3/4 inches across. The reason for the bottom piece is to reduce drag when you push the probe down and pull it back out. Now comes the fun part. Take your new probe to your camp site. Fields that have been plowed have a hardpan just below plow depth. Push your probe into the ground. If it goes in 12 to 18 inches and then gets harder to push, pull it out, move about a foot and do it again, and again, and again........ until you push in and go past the normal resistance depth. Trashpits are softer and your probe will go down to the depth of the pit. Then , go a foot or so in each direction until you define the edge of the pit. Then dig and sift. Then you cry because it only had trash and start over. If your probe goes down like you are in a trash pit and the feels like it freefalls for 6 inches or so, you are in a burial. Move on. If you are old {like me} or a wimp { like me}, your chest muscles and everything else will hurt like hell the next day and days afterwards. Hint... Take your advil before you start. Enjoy.

 

[Indian Steve]

I forgot to that when you have removed the loose soil to plow depth, you will see the darker soil of the trash pit and see the clear outline of the pit.

 

[rock]

Where do you get a probe at?

 

[yakker]

Great thread Steve! Very cool artifacts and terrific information! Thanks for that Yakker

 

[Indian Steve]

My probe started out as a hood spring from a 70s dodge car. A friend welded the handle and lug nut on and I shaped it on a bench grinder. I think that you can buy them through plumbing supply places. They are very handy for finding sewer pipes , locating graves in old cemeteries and lot of other things.

 

[rock]

I have a friend that is a Plumber I will ask him next time I see him. Thanks for the info