CURRENT (PAVED) ROAD WITH LONG HISTORY

[Lynn Wilson]

I am new to metal detecting. I live on 7 acres along a county road in Middle Tennessee. I've been excited to learn about the road I live on. It was a part of The Trail of Tears in 1838. It was used as a stagecoach road and a turnpike in the early 1800s. During the Civil War, Nathan Bedford Forrest led a cavalry raid along our road. At that time it was paved with stone. In the 1920s, it was paved with "modern" paving and has been resurfaced several times over the years. I have been unable to learn the particulars, such as the width of the original road, the amount of grading that was done over the decades, and so on. With all the history our road has seen, I hate to think that all the "good stuff" (lost buttons, dropped coins, bullets, sleigh bells, and so on) are hopelessly covered over by the modern pavement. I would guess that the original road was narrower than the current road, As it runs along our property, there are places where the road bed is even with our front yard or pasture. Then, our property drops away and there is about a 5 foot embankment from the road down to our property. I decided to start detecting along the road, hoping to find something historic; although so far I have only been finding aluminum cans, bottle caps, and pull tabs. As a newbie, I am still learning about my metal detector and I have been digging up anything that beeps. Any suggestions for where I should concentrate my search and how to find something besides modern litter?

 

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[Davers]

Sounds like your site may have some relics left around it [from the 1800s - today].
It also sounds like your taking the right approach digging all signals and getting to know your machine.
So my opinion is to do as your doing and eventually you will find some nice things & maybe a hot spot or two . (Hot Spot)= Un-hunted ground or relic rich area .
Don't give up..
Good Luck
Davers

 

[duggap]

The old road bed itself may turn out to be a bit of a disappointment. But house places along the way that went back to the war would be a small honey hole. Look for places were the men might have pulled off for a one night camp, generally near a water source. That's why house places are so good, a lot of the time that is exactly were the men camped. Good luck.