How to detect large piles of dirt?

[CoilyGirl]

We are on an old historic house site with tons of junk and construction debris laying around as those house is now being converted into apartments.From pictures of the old house we can see where there were old porches and stairs torn away but there are huge mounds of dirt now where these structures were and pipes and other debris all scattered about.How does one detect big piles of uneven dirt in very little time? The dirt is of course loose and we have very little time.Is it even worth doing or should we concentrate in the yard more?

 

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[Ism]

Personally I have done a couple piles like that. I haven't been very successful but my approach was to go over the surface as much as I could.
The targets would decide if I went in depth. It also depends if disturbing the pile too much would anger the contractors.
Some are so big they are impossible to climb due to the soft dirt.

 

[RobRieman]

Do the top first, the bottom is hard to get to.

 

[SusanMN]

I have detected dirt piles where there had been park construction going on. In some cases the only alternative was to stick my detector skyward as far as I could reach to the top of the dirt pile and run it down. But you have to be careful trying to dig a target so you don't start an avalanche and your arm gets tired really quick. Otherwise I climbed over any flattened piles and hunted the bottom edges of the bigger piles. If they let you back on as construction progresses eventually the dirt gets moved around and new areas exposed.

 

[relicmeister]

Believe it or not using a hand trowel and just a pin-pointer might be effective, although it would take a long time to cover even one pile. Alternatively, I would also suggest a 5 inch coil and high discrim. Good luck if you try

 

[CoilyGirl]

Personally I have done a couple piles like that. I haven't been very successful but my approach was to go over the surface as much as I could.
The targets would decide if I went in depth. It also depends if disturbing the pile too much would anger the contractors.
Some are so big they are impossible to climb due to the soft dirt.

Yeah,that is what I was worried about,didn't want to disturb the ground too much and Susan you are right about the avalanche chance. I decided to just search the lower to middle bases of some of the piles so as not to have to climb up them.Didn't find anything though.Thanks for all the input.

 

[Pointman]

I have the same situation at a abandoned house site, but the only reason why I would consider digging into the piles is because they are the first couple inches of dirt from the yard that was pushed to the side. This was done in the late 80s. The only reason I would probably not dig into the piles is because I had found very little in what is left of the yard to warrant that the piles may have something hidden. It would be a lot of work to break them down to detect.

 

[CoilyGirl]

I have the same situation at a abandoned house site, but the only reason why I would consider digging into the piles is because they are the first couple inches of dirt from the yard that was pushed to the side. This was done in the late 80s. The only reason I would probably not dig into the piles is because I had found very little in what is left of the yard to warrant that the piles may have something hidden. It would be a lot of work to break them down to detect.

That probably is true Pointman,random digging in piles seemed pretty fruitless this afternoon,not knowing what part of the yard the dirt came from.The thing that piqued my interest was that old porches were torn down at some point in time but the area and piles really were too scattered to warrant putting much effort into them after all.

 

[mattysee]

i found a Connecticut copper in a dirt pile last year, yes its worth it

 

[cudamark]

It will depend on the dirt. If it's the dirt from the yard, I'd hunt it. If it's DG (decomposed granite) or planter mix that's been brought in for fill, I wouldn't waste my time. Metal construction debris is always a pain to work around. If it's scrap stuff they're going to dump, I'd move as much of the big stuff away from the search area as I could. Sometimes you still have to use a small coil to work around all the junk signals. Keep checking back to see what the progress is of the site. They might spread things out for you and make your life easier!

 

[Rangerbb]

If there is a good chance of some nice finds in the dirt I would make a classify out of chicken wire and 2x4 wood. Dig dirt, classify it into a pile and repeat could be worth the time.

 

[cudamark]

Maybe if you're hunting for pottery shards or arrowheads but otherwise that looks like a whole lot more work than I'd want to go through at an unknown site. I figure if it won't show up on a detector, I'm not all that interested.

 

[Rangerbb]

Well I guess I will take the time and find the goodies you missed cudamark. haha just messing with ya. Yeah I probably would only do it if I knew it was worth it on a great site.

 

[Diggin-N-Dumps]

Ive done this SEVERAL times.....I always quickly scan the top for anythign easy...then the rest of the time Im using my pinpointer as a shovel gowing thru to see whats in there.

They recently did a improvement to an older simmign pool in my area. And they had all the dirt on the outside. I spent probally 3 nights sifting thru it, and found a Standling Lib quarter and a Merc , just by using the pinpointer

good Luck!

 

[releventchair]

Maybe run edges of area that appeals the most, an reach onto piles a little for first pass. Expand out to most likely former traffic areas or their dirt wherever it is now. Former shade/picnic / sales spots and of course your porches..
My best coin find came from an edge where disturbed earth layer ended. In a filled site ,same as a pile your detectors reach only goes so far into it. Low spots sometimes have less fill on them giving a bit more depth reach.I would stay off tall,loose or big piles till done with rest of site but if source were known would try to keep track of where they end up. Have fun happy good luck hunting both of you. If equipment used left soil in yard after moving it, what pattern of approach and reversing or swinging to dump fits former porches while leaving enough room to maneuver out of and around? Earth moving rhythm and conservation of movement to get er done.Picked up and dumped or pushed. Pushed scratches stuff but leaves a dragged type trail with targets often reachable along trail, to piles.Picked just tire tracks to pile making them edges tempting. If a layer was removed,several inches ,maybe a foot or so, that remaining surface could be sweet as well with stuff now in range from long ago layers.

 

[H-2 CHARLIE]

I tried some fresh big piles on the train tracks they were city back fill or torn up something even a few pcs of red brick in there . guess all the nails and rusty metal came my way not even a penny .

 

[Peyton Manning]

i would try hydraulic mining at night

 

[cudamark]

Well I guess I will take the time and find the goodies you missed cudamark. haha just messing with ya. Yeah I probably would only do it if I knew it was worth it on a great site.

You're welcome to them!

 

[Msbeepbeep]

I would love to detect the piles of dirt at an ongoing construction sight in my downtown area but it's fenced with no trespassing signs all over the place! The piles are a couple of stories high. All I can do is look and wish.

 

[Old Dude]

Common sense says if the dirt was original to the site, detect all you can now and keep your eyes open for when they spread the dirt around and detect again. You never know, they may have scraped all the goodies into one huge concentrated area just for you. If the piles are top soil brought into the site and dumped, waiting to be pushed around at the end of construction, there's always the chance good targets are there too. One problem you will have is with pin pointing. The angle of the slope makes it hard to do this since you have to hold your detector at an angle. If it was brought in, I would probably detect the yard first before any extra dirt is added to what will be finished grade, then hunt again after they bring it to grade. I hope you have luck and let us know how you do and what your attack is.