Colonial pit dig results in recovery of early dated wine bottle seal plus much more

[Bill D. (VA)]

My digging partner Dan and I were thrilled to get another invite from our good buddy Stan to make a return visit to the early trash pit site on Saturday. We had hit it right after Christmas and ended up in a very productive clay pipe spot, so we decided to pick up in the same area where we left off. We didn’t fare too badly, but finally started to run out of productive real estate. I decided to wander around and see if I could probe out another promising spot, and soon found one although it was unclear if the area had been previously dug. After opening up a small test hole I was convinced it was virgin due to the still intact layers, and it was also chock-full of brick, oyster shells, bone and glass with a few pipe stems throw in. Strangely, we had not encountered any glass at the other spot for some reason, but this new area was loaded with early onion bottle parts which always helps to ramp up the excitement level. All 3 of us dug small test holes right next to each other, but had to start sifting and filling in after less than an hour as it was getting late and we were frozen and exhausted from a long, hard day in the pits. I had already eyeballed and removed what I thought were all the larger glass frags as I was digging, but about halfway through I saw a fairly large piece show up in the sifter. It was slightly concave in shape and I knew this was from a bottle shoulder, and it had at least a small chance to be a seal. And when I flipped it over I instantly saw that amazing round disk affixed to the glass. It turned out to have the monogram “RWE” representing Ralph and Elizabeth Wormeley and was dated 1719. We've found other similar seals at this site along with many others, but it was still exciting since it had been quite some time since my last seal recovery. It was definitely a great way to end the day, and gives us renewed hope when we return to the site. I thoroughly enjoyed spending the day with my digging buddies, and can’t wait to give it another shot soon.

 

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[Bill D. (VA)]

Well done on the seals Bill and the other goods from your latest efforts. I wish my history was as old as yours, only a 100 yrs short but it might as well be a 1000.
Query about something in photo#2- directly above where the stem goes into the side of the hole/bank/dirt what was the flat disc, a button, coin or a seal?

There wasn't anything else in that pic other than the stem (I hope ). I was just trying to show a large pipe stem revealing itself in the sidewall of the pit, although the photo wasn't very focused.

 

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[Valley Ranger]

Epic. Great saves!

 

[Calabash Digger]

very cool digs!!! The book is top notch!

 

[Bill D. (VA)]

very cool digs!!! The book is top notch!

Thanks man - I appreciate the compliment!

 

[pepperj]

There wasn't anything else in that pic other than the stem (I hope ). I was just trying to show a large pipe stem revealing itself in the sidewall of the pit, although the photo wasn't very focused.

Either I'm seeing things or....., but I'll circle the spot.

 

[Bill D. (VA)]

Either I'm seeing things or....., but I'll circle the spot.

View attachment 1537648

I think that's probably just a small piece of oyster shell poking out.

 

[pepperj]

I think that's probably just a small piece of oyster shell poking out.

OK That makes sense, wouldn't want ya laying awake at night thinking if you missed something.

 

[Patriot Relics]

Another fantastic assortment of digs Bill- man I love those glass seals. Got into a really promising late 1700s pit with DownNDirty, but never recovered one despite dozens of late 17th century bottles. Glad to see you working on the next round of Bill's greatest hits.

 

[against the wind]

Love the Avatar change.
Your book is like an encyclopedia for this researcher.
Congrats on your voyage through time.

 

[Kurios1]

Not enough can be said of what your experiences in treasure hunting shared has done for our community. Your book and posts are a professional blueprint for how to get the most amazing finds possible from our efforts. You set the bar pretty high for the rest of us and I thank you for your selflessly sharing your knowledge so freely. Salute!

 

[Bill D. (VA)]

Not enough can be said of what your experiences in treasure hunting shared has done for our community. Your book and posts are a professional blueprint for how to get the most amazing finds possible from our efforts. You set the bar pretty high for the rest of us and I thank you for your selflessly sharing your knowledge so freely. Salute!

Thank you for those nice comments. My main intent with the book and my posts is to share my knowledge and experiences to help motivate and inspire others, and to demonstrate that anyone can achieve a high level of success by dedicating themselves to the task at hand. Good luck to you, and thanks again. And I love your signature ....

 

[joeyfresh]

Awesome post Bill. Now you just need to find a whole bottle with a Wormley seal....work on that please [emoji14]

 

[metalev4]

Killer seal Bill. I agree with Joey you are due for a complete bottle. Maybe this spring when we hit those privies we have been talking about for years.

 

[OutdoorAdv]

Excellent post Bill! That seal is absolutely fantastic. Hope you get in another visit to that spot soon.