Another Archeological Site Visit

[ANTIQUARIAN]

Did you ever have a new site you thought was going to be great and end up finding next to nothing. Well that describes perfectly the first site I hit yesterday! I found this c1840s homesite foundation by researching an 1860s map of my home town. The site is now heavily overgrown but was likely in plain view of the road for years, all I can assume is that somebody found it years ago and ‘Hoovered’ everything of interest. All I found here was a broken scythe stamped ‘Jackson’. There were absolutely no non-ferrous signals, except for pull-tabs and the occasional bottle cap.

I decided to drive back to a site that the arkies dug in 2015. On this site I remember they used a Kubota skid steer with a screening attachment on the front. The machine would drive into a dirt pile and sift absolutely everything through a fine screen in the attachment. At least they left me a few buttons, a musket ball, a couple of keyhole cover plates and a pewter spoon bowl.

Thanks very much for looking,
Dave

 

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[ToddsPoint]

Wow! A screening attachment for my Kubota. I don't even know what it costs. Too tempting. Gary

 

[xcopperstax]

Hey that sounds super frustrating! That sifter attachment looks amazing but sounds like pretty sloppy to use in an archeological sense! I want to thank you for the post I found an item at a cellar hole yesterday that is pretty close to your key hole cover marked vf. I was thinking that it was part of a clock hand. Now I know exactly what it is. 1 small mystery off the list!

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Great finds, congrats!

 

[Digger RJ]

Nice!!! Congrats!!!

 

[Al.relics]

I can't count how many times over the years that I've been detecting and you do all your research on a site and think you found some good virgin ground just to be skunked! It happens but hey, its still fun and exciting. Not a lost day, you still found some good items any way! Good hunting!

 

[A2coins]

Good jobon the finds sounds like they could ruin many relics that way as well

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

Wow! A screening attachment for my Kubota. I don't even know what it costs. Too tempting. Gary

Thanks for your post Gary.
This is pretty scary from a metal detecting standpoint.
If all the arkies used attachments like this, there will be little left for us to find.
Dave

Hey that sounds super frustrating! That sifter attachment looks amazing but sounds like pretty sloppy to use in an archeological sense! I want to thank you for the post I found an item at a cellar hole yesterday that is pretty close to your key hole cover marked vf. I was thinking that it was part of a clock hand. Now I know exactly what it is. 1 small mystery off the list!

Thank you for your post stax.
The touch mark on your key cover is most likely 'VR' as opposed to 'VF'... which stood for 'Victoria Regina' (Queen Victoria b1837 - d1901).

[SIZE=+1]The Sovereign's Royal Cypher or the Queen's Cypher in this case, accompanied by Victoria's initials, "V.R." for "Victoria Regina" (Latin for "Queen Victoria") is a British-made patent stamp. After Victoria's death in 1901, the throne was assumed by King Edward VII and King George V. after Victoria's death will bear a Sovereign's Cypher with a King's, or Tudor Crown, and the initials E.R. or G.R. (for "Edward Rex" or "George Rex"..."Rex" being Latin for "King").[/SIZE]

Best of luck to you sir,
Dave

Great finds, congrats!

Thank you Professor.
Dave

Nice!!! Congrats!!!

Thanks Randy!
Dave

I can't count how many times over the years that I've been detecting and you do all your research on a site and think you found some good virgin ground just to be skunked! It happens but hey, its still fun and exciting. Not a lost day, you still found some good items any way! Good hunting!

You're so right, I find the research portion almost as exciting as detecting the site itself.
It's so gratifying when you locate the foundation or what was left of it in this case.
A good friend continuously tells me that you need to look for new sites, but I prefer to detect these 'old standby sites' until I know there's little left to find.

Best of luck to you in AL,
Dave

Good job on the finds sounds like they could ruin many relics that way as well

Thanks Tommy,
I agree the likely hood of damaging relics recovered by mechanical means, as opposed to using manual sifting screens, is pretty obvious I think.
Dave

 

[RVRoamer74]

Wtg on the research. Like the "hoovered" description, thinking I also have been to places like that. Congrats on the finds they missed. Good work.

 

[Reanm8er]

Nice work Dave, Especially the VR!

Best wishes!

 

[Whyme]

Pretty cool finds! Congrats!

 

[CTXAgGetter]

It's fun knowing you were the guy who did the hoovering at some of the best sites around. I, also, enjoy pounding a place till I can't find more, then coming back and pounding it again. I have some sites that I've been to literally scores of times... and still can manage a buff or V almost every trip!

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

Wtg on the research. Like the "hoovered" description, thinking I also have been to places like that. Congrats on the finds they missed. Good work.

Thanks for your post Patriot.
I borrowed the term 'hoovered' from one of the others members here on Tnet from years past.

Hope you're having a good year in GA,
Dave

Nice work Dave, Especially the VR!

Best wishes!

Thanks Phil.
The finds weren't too exciting, but it was nice just to be out detecting again after such a long winter here in the east.
Dave

Pretty cool finds! Congrats!

Thank you Sir.

It's fun knowing you were the guy who did the hoovering at some of the best sites around. I, also, enjoy pounding a place till I can't find more, then coming back and pounding it again. I have some sites that I've been to literally scores of times... and still can manage a buff or V almost every trip!

I hear what you're saying about returning multiple times to sites where you've made good finds at over the years.
You remember finding one good relic and where there's one there's usually more.

I find a lot of pre-1900 US coins on early settlement sites here in Ontario.
In the early 19thc, before Canada became an actual country, we used British, American and even Spanish coins as currency.

Hope you're having a great year in TX,
Dave

 

[Inspector]

Not a totally lost day, you caught a few nice ones, congrats on the saves

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

Not a totally lost day, you caught a few nice ones, congrats on the saves

Thanks for your post Inspector.
I wish the find had been better, but as you know... sometimes it's nice just to get outside and play in the mud.
Dave

 

[Dennis1209]

The old adage is, "a place is never completely hunted out". Well, that was before the "Hoovered Out" areas of today that keep expanding. Its now even expanded to England and it's named "Hooveritus". I forget the five names of the symptoms. Foo Foo on that

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

The old adage is, "a place is never completely hunted out". Well, that was before the "Hoovered Out" areas of today that keep expanding. Its now even expanded to England and it's named "Hooveritus". I forget the five names of the symptoms. Foo Foo on that

Thanks for your post and for sharing your thoughts Dennis.
It's true, no site is now ever truly hunted out. With the advancement in technology and metal detectors these sites can be brought back to life every few years.
The reality here in Southern Ontario is that metal detecting is still in it's infancy, there are so many sites to hunt and just not enough time for me detect them all.

Best of luck to you in TN,
Dave