How do I find a cache of marbles?

lakelivr · Jan 12, 2012

My dad was born in '33 and when he was a little kid he buried an oatmeal box full of marbles in their backyard to keep his brother out of them.
He still lives in the same house and has shown me the general area he remembered hiding them. I've tried metal detecting the area hoping there might
have been some steelies but had no luck. I wonder if I would feel them with a tile probe?
I live 500 miles away so only get to try a couple times a year.

Tuberale · Jan 12, 2012

lakelivr said:
My dad was born in '33 and when he was a little kid he buried an oatmeal box full of marbles in their backyard to keep his brother out of them.
He still lives in the same house and has shown me the general area he remembered hiding them. I've tried metal detecting the area hoping there might
have been some steelies but had no luck. I wonder if I would feel them with a tile probe?
I live 500 miles away so only get to try a couple times a year.

Before metal detectors, treasure hunters would use wagon rods (re-bar) to locate objects known to have been buried.

Sounds like what you need is an adaptation of that technology: a thin, steel-tipped fiberglass rod used to locate glass or old dumps with.

The fiberglass rod needs to be at least 5 feet long, and should have a T at the other end to assist in probing the ground to a depth of about 1 foot or so. These may be commercially available, but you need to ask in the bottle digging forum for more info.

Good luck in finding your father's marble cache!