Cellar hole quesions please help!

[bourassa5]

i found a cellar hole and the maps show it being their in 1850 and 1890 and gone in 1950. it was intersting becuase it was fairley large, almost seamed like it would have been a big barn and the walls were 6-7 feet high but their was nothing on one side it was build up (or maby it was dug into the side of a hill) the cellar hole is on what used to be an old dirt road and i was able to find a caved in well. found nothign but shotgun shells and nails. anyone have any kind of suggestions to how to hunt the hold cellar holes and if its possible their is just nothign there? it just gets really agreavating digging up nail after nail on iffy signals. any thoughts would be great.

 

[VERMONTPACKRAT]

My opinion is to work the woods arround the cellar hole. Back in the day the land was most likely open, with pastures, out buildings, etc. Try to imagine how the farm may have looked by looking for land marks.
I hunt alot of old cellar holes too but usually make my better finds on the outskirts of my places. Great luck hunting old fields as well.

Hope this helps, VPR

 

[bourassa5]

ok thanks, how far would you suggest going out from the ataual foundation? and are their foundations were you find nothign? i am mostly looking for coins... i just dont no how much time to put in on a site before i should give up.

 

[VERMONTPACKRAT]

You are going to find ALOT of other stuff including junk for every coin you find. Dont get discouraged. Fan out from the known foundations and search for other hot spots with alot of hits and then slow down when (if) you find these spots and search more slowly.
I was finding Large Cents this fall 150 yards from the farm house. The coins you seek could be that far away from your cellar hole. There is no real way to know. MDing is a gamble.

VPR

 

[mrs.oroblanco]

I'd also make a pretty wide circle - I have found my best bottles around old homesteads and their foundations.

I prefer about 100 yards for a dump - close enough to get to, far enough away so the homesteaders didn't get barraged with flies.

B


PS - One of my best coins was found in the stones of an old cellar hole, about chest level. Check the walls.