How to find dig areas in rocky ground?

[bellamystation]

My husband and I bought an old house on 5 acres in Minetto NY. It’s 2 acres of “yard” and the rest is woods. I would like to dig for artifacts, especially in the woods but there are so many rocks I don’t know where to start. Can’t use a probe to poke into the ground because for sure I’d hit a rock. Any suggestions on narrowing down the dig area?

Also there is a narrow creek on part of it, also rocky, at the base of a steep bank. Only a few inches deep most of the year but runs pretty good in the spring thaw. I want to look around in it for artifacts but not sure how to do it. Just look on the surface or move the stones away and dig in the mud?

Thanks for any ideas

 

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[pepperj]

A few questions:

Do you own a detector?
Do you know the history of the property?
What makes you think there's something along the creek?

Rocky soil is a challenge as you stated the probing idea is hard as one tends to hit so many rocks the wrists take a beating after a while. Locating a dump area the best tools are a three pronged scratcher, a garden fork, small shovel, and a hand tool like a Leache digger. The area seems to have had lots of mills and activity so you might be sitting on a nice piece of property that will take time to explore but worthwhile in the end. There's some references about the town in this link that are interesting.
History of Oswego, NY
Town of Minetto, Oswego County, NY

 

[MrMikeJackie]

Try one of these

 

[Argentium]

Pepperj hit some good points , Welcome to T- net ! You have found a place of learning , and sharing , (and a bit of squabbling )
I like what he gave you with regard to historical links of your area ! that's key to knowing what was where when . If you
don't have a metal detector yet , take your time , do some research , you'll get all kinds of recommendations here from
very experienced folks and from newbies. Personally- I would seek a middle priced detector $500 - $800 for a starter .
You're getting a solid machine without breaking the bank (hopefully) . Talk to anybody who may be knowledgeable of
your town or property - especially old timers !! Even before you start digging , take some nice slow walks all over your
property - look for features - including ( but not limited to) tree lines , remnants of foundations , stacked stones that
might once have outlined a cellar hole or foundation , bits of broken glass or old brick , etc. Have Fun and keep us in
the loop as you get more involved in your adventure . Cheers !

( one last idea - Creeks are people magnets , and always have been - could be goodies on either bank , or in the bed )

 

[bigfoot1]

I live at about 8000 ft in the mountains...EVERYWHERE I hunt is rocky.Its no problem tho...keeps things shallow.Get a tector,the best you can afford and in no time you will learn how to manage the rocky ground....good luck

 

[bellamystation]

Yes, my husband has a detector, has tried it a bit in the woods but no results yet.

All I know about the property is it was bought by a man in 1907, who worked on the railroad who would see it as he traveled along his route, and wanted to build a house there when he retired. Which he did. I don't think there was anything here before that, but don't know how to find out what it was used for, although the man we bought from said the back part of the yard, before the woods, is not too rocky so maybe it was farmed? He had a small garden there at one time.

I just thought about the creek because I keep reading about how stuff washes down (arrowheads, etc) so figured I'd go wading and look. The creek goes under the RR tracks and the stone bridge has a date of 1879 I think. I can't read what the rest says, I need to wash it off or something.

Yes, mills and the RR were here. The old RR tracks border one side of the property, although they haven't been used in a good 35 years or so.

Thanks for links, lots of good info there.

 

[bellamystation]

Pepperj hit some good points , Welcome to T- net ! You have found a place of learning , and sharing , (and a bit of squabbling )
I like what he gave you with regard to historical links of your area ! that's key to knowing what was where when . If you
don't have a metal detector yet , take your time , do some research , you'll get all kinds of recommendations here from
very experienced folks and from newbies. Personally- I would seek a middle priced detector $500 - $800 for a starter .
You're getting a solid machine without breaking the bank (hopefully) . Talk to anybody who may be knowledgeable of
your town or property - especially old timers !! Even before you start digging , take some nice slow walks all over your
property - look for features - including ( but not limited to) tree lines , remnants of foundations , stacked stones that
might once have outlined a cellar hole or foundation , bits of broken glass or old brick , etc. Have Fun and keep us in
the loop as you get more involved in your adventure . Cheers !

( one last idea - Creeks are people magnets , and always have been - could be goodies on either bank , or in the bed )

So far I've just seen the stacked property line walls but I'm still looking around. We need to get out with the detector more, now that the house remodeling is finished. We only tried it a few times last year before we got so involved with the house. And of course the winter and frozen ground put us off too.

 

[Sandman]

Everyone gave good advice. The place where the garden used to be would be a good place to start as it would be free of rocks. Hunting the creek bed for a trap line is fun. Suggest you read all treasure hunting books you can get your hands on to start. I started with this one.

 

[Argentium]

The area where the creek goes under the stone bridge sounds pretty tasty ! and yes you may well find arrowheads , maybe
old bottles in the creek bed ! I'd love to have your problem - vast acreage , and it's all your own land to hunt as much or as
little as you like any time you like - Oh Yeah ! There would have been some activity around that creek over the last couple of
centuries .