NJKLAGT
Bronze Member
- Oct 18, 2014
- 1,118
- 1,913
- Detector(s) used
- Garrett Euro Ace 350
- Primary Interest:
- All Treasure Hunting
Hey Y'all,
I thought I'd share my first privy dig with you guys, from October 23rd, 2015. Since I shared that repaired transferware pitcher with you I might as well show you what else I found that day. One thing I do regret is not taking enough pictures. But I was having so much fun that I wasn't even thinking, I was just right in the zone, felt like a little child, perfectly content digging through old human excrement.
So this privy was at an old home site. It appears on a map from the mid 1870s, but people had likely been living there earlier. There are some old fragmented foundations and a cellar hole, but all the archaeology has been compromised, the foundations were all bulldozed and the whole place was apparently set on fire - the soil is black with ash within the foundations, burnt boards and beams everywhere, etc. I think the bricks were taken away and reused. There is also a well there, and I would love it if any of you have some tips on retrieving from wells.
I got my dad to make a stainless steel probe about 4 feet long, and I went and walked around what I guess would have been the backyard, now all weeded over and with scattered chunks of iron and brick everywhere. I came up to a pretty big walnut tree and noticed a shallow depression beside it, and though I had no experience with finding privies I had a pretty good feeling about this. I took the probe and went down into it, and it definitely had that sandy ashy feel. I probed around the edges and found it to be much harder to penetrate, and the soil is full of clay here so that helps to more easily discern between what feels natural and what's been disturbed. I also thought I could feel the probe running into some thin bits of stuff that I thought might be glass or china.
So I took my shovel and started digging and once I got about a foot down I knew I was in business. I was getting some glass bits and a bunch of ashy soil. Anyway, it ended up being a nice old wood-lined privy, about 6 or 7 feet deep. I dug through about 3 or 4 feet of clay at the bottom, after the wooden walls had stopped, to make sure I wasn't in a cap - I hope that the wood stopping is a good sign that you're at the bottom. The clay at the bottom was hard like it naturally is and it looked consistent in colour and everything, so I always reassure myself that I reached the bottom. PLEASE TELL ME I REACHED THE BOTTOM! haha
So, these are in the order that I found them from left to right. First we've got a beautiful little paneled bottle, I really like this one. The glass is sooo thin, like a candy or lozenge that has been sucked on so long that you can break it with the weight of your tongue. This thing is a beautiful bubbly lozenge, got a nice wavy whittle to it too.
Next we've got a Depew's Humor Ointment. It's super wavy and bubbly, and it's got a sheared and ground lip. I was surprised to find this, it's my second Depew bottle.
Then we've got a great little chemical bottle blown in the tiniest ever three-piece mould. Goes nicely with my larger three-piece chems from the same era.
Last we've got a stunner. I was gathering my things and packing up to leave, and I was scooping out some loose dirt to have the hole nice and cleared out and ready for the next day (I had already reached the bottom but hadn't bothered trying to puncture the potential cap yet, and I was going to save filling everything in for the next day because I was exhausted). As I was taking a scoop of dirt out I saw a white flash that was immediately covered again by some dirt sliding back down. Right away I was like 'that's some milk right there', and I just had this feeling that it was gonna be whole. I used one hand to hold back the sliding dirt and the other to slowly wiggle this lovely tooth out of the earth, and this is deeeep, right dead center in the very bottom, so darn fun. A Hagan's Magnolia Balm. But yeah it's got a nice drippy lip, it's all strawed out n' wavy, and it just looks so darn good on the shelf, such an interesting contrast with other glass. Climbing out of the hole I remembered this white albino sparrow that I saw on the hike in, it was the first and only case of albinism I've ever seen in an animal, and I just thought that that bird and this bottle were the perfect bookends to such a great day. I was absolutely elated.
There were so many other broken things. Gins, wines, meds, cups, plates, bean pots, fruit jars, a lot of heart breakers. But, I was more than happy with this stuff, and just so happy that I could have the chance to do it. I hope that I can do it again soon, I had so much fun. I'll be sure to take more pictures next time!
I thought I'd share my first privy dig with you guys, from October 23rd, 2015. Since I shared that repaired transferware pitcher with you I might as well show you what else I found that day. One thing I do regret is not taking enough pictures. But I was having so much fun that I wasn't even thinking, I was just right in the zone, felt like a little child, perfectly content digging through old human excrement.
So this privy was at an old home site. It appears on a map from the mid 1870s, but people had likely been living there earlier. There are some old fragmented foundations and a cellar hole, but all the archaeology has been compromised, the foundations were all bulldozed and the whole place was apparently set on fire - the soil is black with ash within the foundations, burnt boards and beams everywhere, etc. I think the bricks were taken away and reused. There is also a well there, and I would love it if any of you have some tips on retrieving from wells.
I got my dad to make a stainless steel probe about 4 feet long, and I went and walked around what I guess would have been the backyard, now all weeded over and with scattered chunks of iron and brick everywhere. I came up to a pretty big walnut tree and noticed a shallow depression beside it, and though I had no experience with finding privies I had a pretty good feeling about this. I took the probe and went down into it, and it definitely had that sandy ashy feel. I probed around the edges and found it to be much harder to penetrate, and the soil is full of clay here so that helps to more easily discern between what feels natural and what's been disturbed. I also thought I could feel the probe running into some thin bits of stuff that I thought might be glass or china.
So I took my shovel and started digging and once I got about a foot down I knew I was in business. I was getting some glass bits and a bunch of ashy soil. Anyway, it ended up being a nice old wood-lined privy, about 6 or 7 feet deep. I dug through about 3 or 4 feet of clay at the bottom, after the wooden walls had stopped, to make sure I wasn't in a cap - I hope that the wood stopping is a good sign that you're at the bottom. The clay at the bottom was hard like it naturally is and it looked consistent in colour and everything, so I always reassure myself that I reached the bottom. PLEASE TELL ME I REACHED THE BOTTOM! haha
So, these are in the order that I found them from left to right. First we've got a beautiful little paneled bottle, I really like this one. The glass is sooo thin, like a candy or lozenge that has been sucked on so long that you can break it with the weight of your tongue. This thing is a beautiful bubbly lozenge, got a nice wavy whittle to it too.
Next we've got a Depew's Humor Ointment. It's super wavy and bubbly, and it's got a sheared and ground lip. I was surprised to find this, it's my second Depew bottle.
Then we've got a great little chemical bottle blown in the tiniest ever three-piece mould. Goes nicely with my larger three-piece chems from the same era.
Last we've got a stunner. I was gathering my things and packing up to leave, and I was scooping out some loose dirt to have the hole nice and cleared out and ready for the next day (I had already reached the bottom but hadn't bothered trying to puncture the potential cap yet, and I was going to save filling everything in for the next day because I was exhausted). As I was taking a scoop of dirt out I saw a white flash that was immediately covered again by some dirt sliding back down. Right away I was like 'that's some milk right there', and I just had this feeling that it was gonna be whole. I used one hand to hold back the sliding dirt and the other to slowly wiggle this lovely tooth out of the earth, and this is deeeep, right dead center in the very bottom, so darn fun. A Hagan's Magnolia Balm. But yeah it's got a nice drippy lip, it's all strawed out n' wavy, and it just looks so darn good on the shelf, such an interesting contrast with other glass. Climbing out of the hole I remembered this white albino sparrow that I saw on the hike in, it was the first and only case of albinism I've ever seen in an animal, and I just thought that that bird and this bottle were the perfect bookends to such a great day. I was absolutely elated.
There were so many other broken things. Gins, wines, meds, cups, plates, bean pots, fruit jars, a lot of heart breakers. But, I was more than happy with this stuff, and just so happy that I could have the chance to do it. I hope that I can do it again soon, I had so much fun. I'll be sure to take more pictures next time!
