Anyone ever dig for artifacts?

1badtacoma · Nov 14, 2007

The artifacts that I find are always surface finds in tilled up fields after rain. The problem with that is there has been very little rain this year. My question is Does anyone ever dig for artifacts, Like where you find a few surface finds and then dig in that spot and sift through the dirt? Or is it not worth the effort?

Adena_man · Nov 14, 2007

I'm sure you could find artifacts by digging where you surface hunt, but it would be hit and miss finding them, just like when you walk a plowed field. You can walk 10 rows and not find a single thing and then find a handful in the very next row. I would say digging in that field would probably be the same way. I have a couple of friends who dig, but it is usually around rock shelters and overhangs where artifacts would be concentrated to a degree. I've been in the same boat regarding the drought this year. The tobacco fields I hunt looked like sand dunes.

Good luck!

Brian

1badtacoma · Nov 15, 2007

Its finally raining today but not very hard, I'll see what I can find after it quits.

pickaway · Nov 16, 2007

Yeah i dig almost all the time,I dig where i find alot of flint flakes on the surface, i dug up about 18 whole ones this year.Alot of work but worth it IMO good excersise also.

romeo-1 · Nov 16, 2007

Not me...not legal in my area. Surface finds only.

trevmma · Nov 17, 2007

well then those arrowheads are just getting built on top of and will never see light again.
that is the stupidist law ever. thanks to that law we will be missing out on TONS of artifacts

romeo-1 · Nov 17, 2007

trevmma said:
well then those arrowheads are just getting built on top of and will never see light again.
that is the stupidist law ever. thanks to that law we will be missing out on TONS of artifacts

Yep...if the archies can't have them than nobody can...luckily the areas I hunt are fields and are ploughed a couple times a year bringing up new artifacts each time.

Rege-PA · Nov 17, 2007

I have dug for artifacts many times but always on known village sites and in concentrated areas such as where huts were. Most of the time the artifacts will be in close proximity to fire pits. There is a nice layer just below plow depth and on top of the hard pan that yields some nice stuff such as bone awls, pipes, points and fish hooks. Storage pits and refuse middens are also great. Usually the center of the camp is not as rich as the outside areas where the huts were. I once dug on an archaic site and got a few points and a broken drill, this was an especially rich area and it paid off, although usually the artifacts are too scattered on these sites to make digging worthwhile. You never know what your walking over until you get down there.

Ohio_Doug · Dec 10, 2007

Bringing this post back from the dead.......I have dug only once, a rock shelter behind my house where I used to live. It was the most exciting experience I have ever had (as far as artifact hunting goes

I found 2 fort ancient points buried about 8 or 10 inches beneath the surface, dug as deep as 2 1/2 feet and found a hopewell point, a few knives and a nice awl, you could see where they had fire pits in the front of the shelter. I wish so bad I still owned that property because I know there is alot more to be found there.