Holy Cow we dug to Paris!

jgas · Jun 29, 2011

Hello all from the great midwest. The hot and sticky midwest :icon_sunny:

I figure since we were digging pretty deep I told Don "Lets go all the way to Paris." :icon_scratch:

Well maybe not literally go there but at least we could find a bottle from there :tongue3:

Started out the two day adventure with a small trash pit which really ended up pretty good. Got a nice local crown top quart beer/soda and an Orange Julip bottle. Finished this pit and went on to the next one. Or we thought it was one but actually turned out to be two side by side. :headbang:

Now it was on to the task of digging next to a huge tree and we know what we all find around trees......ROOTS >:(

So after hacking, chopping, cutting and cursing we finally broke through to the layers of thin ash. These pits were pretty old by the lack of coal ash. This was more wood ash than anything else. Got down around the 5 foot level and we could clearly see that there were two side by side pits. One side had mostly pottery and shattered bottles. the other side they seemed to have thrown in a few intact items. :thumbsup:

So we took our time and pulled out a few keepers. Don snagged a nice LH Thomas Ink and I got the blank cone ink. Then I pulled out a Honey Amber Brown's Iron Bitters. Then another one and some small non descript medicines. Then I hit it!!!

PARIS....or at least a bottle that says Paris Injection Brau :dontknow:

Never seen one of these before. Not really sure what it was for?? Finished out the pits with some glass buttons and the huge Mace looking glass. If you got hit with that in a bar fight you would feel it from your head to your toes

We tried to concur another pit but ended up striking ash after ash after ash. Nothing in these pits. We did manage to get our fix on muscle pain by digging a 10 footer that ended up with river rocks at the bottom. :'(

But all in all it was a most enjoyable two days. Nothing like flinging several tons of dirt, reaching Paris, and then going for a Fruitista at Taco Bell! Only in America :tongue3:

Hope ya enjoy the pics, and be safe out there :thumbsup:

jgas

jgas · Jun 29, 2011

A few more pics for you die hard pit diggers :thumbsup:

jgas

milk86 · Jun 29, 2011

mighty big hole there

oldmaps · Jun 29, 2011

Your mace looking piece is a spill and the pattern name is giant sawtooth made in the 1830's. Not sure of the maker though, they only made three different pieces a tumbler , lamp and a spill in that pattern. A spill is a holder for a twist of paper or a long sliver of wood used to start a fire or light a candle. You guys always manage to find some great stuff.

allan · Jun 29, 2011

Is that a skull in pic 14 ? Do you have any insitu pics for it lol ?

ottawadigs · Jun 29, 2011

that is really cool!

I have to ask a newb question here as I'm really curious how you know where to dig in the first place.
I know you use the probe but how do you know where to check? I'm assuming its not random

:icon_thumright:

Old River · Jun 29, 2011

Wow, great digs. Congradulations....

halfdime · Jun 29, 2011

ENVY!

steelheadwill · Jun 30, 2011

Great finds!
Love that 'Spill' and congrats On reaching Paris :thumbsup:

drgeorge · Jun 30, 2011

I'm also curious about the skull--as far as I can tell, it looks like it's had the cap removed as in autopsy or for educational purposes (?). Please post closeups!!!
I saw your previous posts and am curious as to whether you've thought about shoring-up your pits so they don't cave-in on you.....??
Great stuff, congrats!!!!!!!!! :icon_thumright:

ModernMiner · Jun 30, 2011

Way to go Guys. Nothing keeps a Hoosier down, unless you are in a big hole of course.

At least you were able to recover some intact pieces this time. :thumbsup:

-Dug-

RvaDiggn · Jun 30, 2011

Awesome bottles! I hope to find some that old one day, I found a trash pit or privy a few weeks ago while metal detecting the neighbors yard down the street, I did removed a few bottles from the 20's-30's. May go down there in a bit to see if they mind me digg'n it back up. There were still lots of bottles down there.

diggin jimmy hoffa · Jun 30, 2011

Another great dig from the bowels of the earth jgas :icon_thumleft:

Can't wait to see the next one

allan said:
Is that a skull in pic 14 ? Do you have any insitu pics for it lol ?

The skull is their pit digging mascot if I remember correctly. I've seen him in a few of their other pit digging posts.

allan · Jun 30, 2011

well it seems to work well lol

ridger12 · Jun 30, 2011

I love the Brown Bitters bottles. I used to dig quite a bit and found very few bitters. When I did find them they were usually broke. I could never figure that one out. If there are ten ketchup bottles in a privy and one bitters, the bitters is going to be broken.

jgas · Jun 30, 2011

Thanks for all the replies everyone. :thumbsup:

As for the Skull, it is indeed our Mascot "SkullDuggery"
As for the randomness( if thats a word), sometimes they are random. But mostly its the research of older maps, common sense as to where I would have placed one and blind luck sometimes. Heck I commented to Don that I just needed and old Lawn Jart to toss in the air and it would hit a pit. Well would'nt ya know that Don walked over in the next yard and poked twice with the probe and found a pit that appears to be loaded with glass....We shall see though.
As for shoring up the walls, we have done this in the past but most pits here are 6 feet or so and I am 6'03" tall, so not too worried. Most pits are fairly hard and pretty safe. Not saying that we are not careful though cause it's not worth getting crushed!!! Thanks again all, I appreciate it. jgas

diggummup · Jun 30, 2011

Nice finds as usual guys, keep up the good work! :thumbsup:

oldmaps said:
Your mace looking piece is a spill and the pattern name is giant sawtooth made in the 1830's. Not sure of the maker though, they only made three different pieces a tumbler , lamp and a spill in that pattern. A spill is a holder for a twist of paper or a long sliver of wood used to start a fire or light a candle. You guys always manage to find some great stuff.

Good ID! Several different items were made in the Giant Sawtooth pattern. From goblets to compotes to salt dips to creamers and sugar bowls as well as lamps and spills and tumblers. Many of the approx. 16 glass companies of that era produced it, such as Boston and Sandwich and the New England Glass Co.. It was produced into the latter part of the century (1860's or so) by various other companies that sprang up. :thumbsup: