MonkeyBoy
Bronze Member
- #1
Thread Owner
Can't find any %^^$#$ privies!!!!!
Ok.. I'm getting pretty frustrated here.. I have 5 old house sites that I have metal detecting over the years. Last year, at a different site, I found a Civil War ear trash pit that produced 30+ great bottles... sooo I really want to dig some more! I have a 5 ft bottle probe.. and have read on the usual location of privies and all that but for the life of me I can't find one! I have probed every depression.. every spot that "looks" right around 2 of these house sites and nothing! Either I hit solid soil at a normal depth or hit rocks. All of these site are on a mountain. I have found trash dumps at all of them and have pulled out some nice bottles but still no privies. Most of the sites have produced relics and coins going back to the early 1800s so there should be a few privies at each. I have dug test holes at any spot that "looked good" and have hit undisturbed soil a foot down. What the heck am I doing wrong? The site I am working now is on a slight hill with a very deep well up the hill form the house.. a well used path leading down form the house to two small stone foundations. I would assume the privy was down hill from the well.. along the path. There are two openings in the stone wall so I have probed every possible area around these openings.. The really sad things is.. the dump site is off of the hill and tons of rock.. so most of the bottles are broken.. I was finding really old black glass and pontail bottle pieces yesterday.. I did find 6 bottles but broke the best one trying to get it out from under a root!!!
Any suggestions?? anything
Would they have dropped rocks in a privy hole after it was filled back in? I ask because the places that look the best.. I still hit a lot of rocks at a foot or 2 when probing??
Thanks!
MonkeyBoy
Ok.. I'm getting pretty frustrated here.. I have 5 old house sites that I have metal detecting over the years. Last year, at a different site, I found a Civil War ear trash pit that produced 30+ great bottles... sooo I really want to dig some more! I have a 5 ft bottle probe.. and have read on the usual location of privies and all that but for the life of me I can't find one! I have probed every depression.. every spot that "looks" right around 2 of these house sites and nothing! Either I hit solid soil at a normal depth or hit rocks. All of these site are on a mountain. I have found trash dumps at all of them and have pulled out some nice bottles but still no privies. Most of the sites have produced relics and coins going back to the early 1800s so there should be a few privies at each. I have dug test holes at any spot that "looked good" and have hit undisturbed soil a foot down. What the heck am I doing wrong? The site I am working now is on a slight hill with a very deep well up the hill form the house.. a well used path leading down form the house to two small stone foundations. I would assume the privy was down hill from the well.. along the path. There are two openings in the stone wall so I have probed every possible area around these openings.. The really sad things is.. the dump site is off of the hill and tons of rock.. so most of the bottles are broken.. I was finding really old black glass and pontail bottle pieces yesterday.. I did find 6 bottles but broke the best one trying to get it out from under a root!!!
Any suggestions?? anything
Would they have dropped rocks in a privy hole after it was filled back in? I ask because the places that look the best.. I still hit a lot of rocks at a foot or 2 when probing?? Thanks!
MonkeyBoy
