Found a new cellar hole today and it just might be an untouched late colonial!

paleomaxx

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Aug 14, 2016
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Without exaggeration, the last two dozen cellar holes I've found were all previously detected; included some that I'm amazed anyone else stumbled upon. They were still fun, but I was hoping to find some of my own sites for a change. As a result I've been chasing some very obscure marks on the old maps and this one was hiding in the middle of a 360 degree thicket composed of extremely old apple trees covered in brambles. It took a half hour to carve a way to the center and confirm that, yes indeed, there was a foundation in the middle. I'm going to have to do some clearing to really detect it, but these finds were from a 3 hour survey hunt and they're very promising. The first is a large clock plate and gear, but the gear is unlike any I've found before and I'm wondering if it's because the teeth were hand-formed.

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No sign of a maker's mark or serial number on the plate, but the holes are very rough so it doesn't look stamped like the late 1800's plates that I've found before. There were a number of pewter spoon fragments as well.

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No maker's marks on those either, but one is flattened which I've seen happen to copper spoons, but this is a first for a pewter one. I also found two tube-like objects that are new to me and I'd be glad for suggestions on either. The first is very thin brass with bands on either end and about the diameter of a pencil. The second is pewter, but what's interesting is that it looks like it was made with a pewter string that was wrapped around a central core. Has anyone dug a piece like that before?

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Several pretty standard horse tack buckles, but two older style buttons which is a good sign. The large tombac is plain, but the dandy is huge and has a sunburst pattern with concentric circles.

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It's the nicest dandy I've dug in awhile and I'm hoping there are more like it to be found at this site. The only later looking piece is this parasol top, but it was a surface find oddly enough so I'm not sure what to make of it.

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Plenty of large bits of iron as well as lead lumps, but the only modern trash was two shotgun head stamps which is to be expected. I'm hoping to go back and clear small sections of thicket to detect one at a time and with a little luck some coins will turn up!

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Upvote 27
The odd shaped wheel is an escape wheel for a clock. The plate looks old, but looks like an 1800s mass produced movement. That location looks real promising. Nice finds.
 

The odd shaped wheel is an escape wheel for a clock. The plate looks old, but looks like an 1800s mass produced movement.

Thank you so much for the info! The wheel and the plate were a dozen or so paces apart so they could certainly be from separate clocks. In that case I'll be finding another clock plate somewhere in the thicket!
 

Looks very promising...can't wait to see what else pops out of that old ground! I'm actually very excited for you, virgin cellar hole, in your neck of the woods should pay off huge. Great research, good luck! Ddf
 

From the photos, i would say your pewter spoon and button are the oldest, im guessing after 1820. The clock frame plate probably later. Your other item looks like a wick stem from a lantern. Your in a good spot, Now go dig something with a date on it :laughing9:
 

I hate digging spoons (I probably average 1 per hunt in some areas), but they are a good sign that this foundation was more than a barn. Buttons and pottery are also good signs! Good luck!
 

Way to go! I agree on the clock plate and wheel late 1800's But that does mean there could be a nice largie around! Go get it!
 

THE ONE ITEM LOOKS LIKE A WICK HOLDER < NICE FINDSS
 

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