To dig or not to dig....

[canes2016]

There is a cellar hole, dating back to the late 1700’s that I’ve been digging in. To date, just lots of square nails and numerous brick pieces, a piece of broken pottery here and there.

My dilemma is, as I continue to work within and outside the structure, you can’t move more than an inch or two without hitting questionable signals that turn out to be iron.

For those who’ve encountered the same, do you reach a point where you feel like time is being wasted and move on to better sites? I realize there may be items of interest buried beneath all this trash but when do you say when?

I am also using a VX3, mainly coins and jewelry programs and have not messed with the settings. Any suggestions on modifying the settings to better filter?

 

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[pa-dirt_nc-sand]

I would thoroughly search a 20' dia. area around the cellar hole plus any adjacent flat areas of interest or access areas to streams and old roads adjacent to the cellar hole. Digging the actual cellar hole can require an archeological type dig... Hitting the surroundings is in my opinion much more productive. Good luck!

 

[against the wind]

There are a lot of relic hunters on Tnet.
I know that some will tell you to set up a sifter and start checking for non metallic targets.
If you're the only one working that site, take your time. I don't know how many times I was told that the "Good targets are under the layer of iron."
Good luck.

 

[trapperart]

Some of those iffy signals could be goodies. Our hobby is not for the impatient

 

[niffler]

My Whites DFX has a setting called mixed mode, which allows you to hear all metal targets while giving a high tone on all targets that are not discriminated out. If you can stand a barrage of signals and pick out the high tones, it helps get the good targets in a mass of iron targets. I don't know if the VX3 has anything similar, but in mixed mode with VCO on, paired with a 6 inch coil, my DFX kicks a$$ in high concentrations of trash. Just my 2 cents though.

 

[WannaDig3687]

Ha ha, Canes2016! I'm in the same boat, um,cellar. Here's my "big" find yesterday.

 

[pepperj]

More times than not a cellar hole is a hole in ground to be filled with debris. This can be from the raising of the structure, or a place to dump. Either way a structure (log construction excluded) had a lot of nails to hold it all together, and that could be in the thousands. I've done a bit of sifting in holes and I have a water pail full of sq. nails. I've tried even a 4" sniper coil in and right around some cellar holes and sometimes luck will be on my side with a keeper.

 

[Professor of Engineering]

I would dig everything at the site even iron. Some iron are very nice relics and you need to get rid of it anyway to clear up for the better hidden signals. Take your time an grid off a 20' x 20' area and search (N-S, E-W then an X-pattern) it well, then move on. Have Fun!