Potential Treasure Signs (?)

miboje

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Mar 21, 2016
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Over the weekend, my husband and I were md'ing an old homestead. As we are walking about an area far behind the house, my husband pointed up to a tree directing me to look at a limb that went straight out, then took a 90-degree angle upwards. I have been studying various threads on treasure signs and symbols in this area of the forum for about three weeks, so I was intrigued.

I grabbed my metal detector from the vehicle and headed back to the site of the tree. I went all around it with the metal detector and no hits. I did not think until later to cancel my discrimination and max out my depth. Anyhow, then I noticed there was a medium size rock just under the elbow of this limb. I detected around it and no hits. The rock looked kind of thick, so I decided to move it out of the way. It was partially buried and tilted, so I didn't notice right away that the rock was shaped like a diamond. When I looked down in the depression the rock had left, I noticed a much smaller rock. I pulled that one out, and as I was cleaning the dirt off I realized it was a heart shaped rock! At this point, I had goose bumps all over and my heart started pounding. Could it be? Was this all a coincidence? Both the diamond shaped rock and branch were pointing in the same direction, so I started walking in that direction just to see what else I could notice. About 125' away I came to a spring, which I didn't think too much about in and of itself, however there was a board sticking up just at the edge of the spring. I pulled it out, and it had been cut to a point. I changed my detector settings to all metal and maxed out my depth. The detector eeked out a faint signal just inside the edge of the spring near the board.

I did not notice anything else, and did not go further. Could this be something? My husband estimates the tree to be only about 80 to 90 years old.

Thank you for any insight you can offer!
 

Last edited:

Chadeaux

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Age for a bent tree can be far different from what many "experts" think. Bending trees actually restrict their growth. I've seen trees that my former employer (a forester for decades) insisted could not be more than 60 - 80 years old be cored to the 1700's. Without a core, not able to get the age of a tree.

That being said, if it is a Native American trail tree, it will have nothing to do with treasure ... however, and outlaw or someone else hiding a cache would find it a great landmark to use to leave a marker or pointer.

Be well.
 

scotter1

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Mar 16, 2014
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id be back there yesterday with a bigger coil and shovel
 

RTH

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Sep 22, 2015
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I hope you do find something good around that spring. Even with out the bent tree and other indicators, a spring on an old farmstead is a great place to detect. Chances are that the homesteaders, and possibly neighbors, used the spring for their water needs. The more foot traffic the better your chances.

Coming from an area rich in colonial history, I have learned that it was common for land owners to bend the limbs of trees as property line markers. It is possible that that was what the tree was used for.
 

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miboje

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Mar 21, 2016
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id be back there yesterday with a bigger coil and shovel
Lol....Thank you for the reply and confirmation, Scotter1. We have no larger coils, unfortunately. We do have a 6' spring loaded rod we use to find privies, so we will be taking that and a respectable shovel.
 

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miboje

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Mar 21, 2016
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I hope you do find something good around that spring. Even with out the bent tree and other indicators, a spring on an old farmstead is a great place to detect. Chances are that the homesteaders, and possibly neighbors, used the spring for their water needs. The more foot traffic the better your chances.

Coming from an area rich in colonial history, I have learned that it was common for land owners to bend the limbs of trees as property line markers. It is possible that that was what the tree was used for.
Hi RTH. Thank you for the reply. I did swing the detector around the area that people would have approached and bent down to get water had they been coming from the house. No hits, but maybe whatever was around the edge has drifted into the spring over the years. Maybe that's what I'm hearing with the faint signal - something that drifted in from the edge. The spring is filled in with silt and sand over the years, and looks like it was never "developed" for use like I have seen with many other springs. I did notice there was old terra cotta pipe buried at one edge, as if to keep it drained down to a certain level at all times. I stuck my arm down in there where the signal sounded strongest, and I felt the hole where the water was bubbling up out of the earth. It was COLD!

Sure, it is absolutely possible that the bent limb was some sort of property marker. Had it not been for the shaped rocks underneath the angle, I would have probably just left it as being such.
 

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miboje

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Mar 21, 2016
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Age for a bent tree can be far different from what many "experts" think. Bending trees actually restrict their growth. I've seen trees that my former employer (a forester for decades) insisted could not be more than 60 - 80 years old be cored to the 1700's. Without a core, not able to get the age of a tree.

That being said, if it is a Native American trail tree, it will have nothing to do with treasure ... however, and outlaw or someone else hiding a cache would find it a great landmark to use to leave a marker or pointer.

Be well.
Wow...thanks for mentioning that. I suppose it could be older than it appears. I can't imagine it dating back to the 1700s or even 1800s, but who knows!
 

Backwoodsbob

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Nov 12, 2013
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Another way to slow down the growth is using iron. The priest knew these techniques

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dsty

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Dec 2, 2007
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Sometimes Google Earth shows where holes have been dug using the ground minerals setting on your detector it will hit a null over where a hole has been dug.
 

Backwoodsbob

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Are you talking about lidar images?

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Backwoodsbob

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Never mind, I got it. I'm not that good with a metal detector.

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minuteman2

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Jun 17, 2016
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Miboje,
Have you checked beyond the spring? or to the left or right of the board you found(out some distance)? Using the board as a corner marker. Sounds like who ever set this up had some knowledge of treasure trails. Not sure of the meaning for the board, maybe a marker for in the snow for a home owner who had no clue of the other markers? Could be the spring either is or is not a marker or a false marker, I would look for more stone markers. Just throwing things out there, don't give up! Great Story! Want to hear a happy ending! mm
 

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miboje

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Hi RTH. Yes, it is possible that it was used to mark a property line, but we have found more signs in the area that correlate with what is on the diamond rock under that tree.
We did do quite a bit of detecting around the spring area but came up with nothing. That surprises me because we all know that at one time folks would have, when traveling, gone from spring to spring and camped for the night there.
As of yet, I have not been able to determine the purpose of the stick, but I am betting it is somehow involved with the other signs.

I hope you do find something good around that spring. Even with out the bent tree and other indicators, a spring on an old farmstead is a great place to detect. Chances are that the homesteaders, and possibly neighbors, used the spring for their water needs. The more foot traffic the better your chances.

Coming from an area rich in colonial history, I have learned that it was common for land owners to bend the limbs of trees as property line markers. It is possible that that was what the tree was used for.
 

treasure_hunter_2004

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May 8, 2014
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Over the weekend, my husband and I were md'ing an old homestead. As we are walking about an area far behind the house, my husband pointed up to a tree directing me to look at a limb that went straight out, then took a 90-degree angle upwards. I have been studying various threads on treasure signs and symbols in this area of the forum for about three weeks, so I was intrigued.

I grabbed my metal detector from the vehicle and headed back to the site of the tree. I went all around it with the metal detector and no hits. I did not think until later to cancel my discrimination and max out my depth. Anyhow, then I noticed there was a medium size rock just under the elbow of this limb. I detected around it and no hits. The rock looked kind of thick, so I decided to move it out of the way. It was partially buried and tilted, so I didn't notice right away that the rock was shaped like a diamond. When I looked down in the depression the rock had left, I noticed a much smaller rock. I pulled that one out, and as I was cleaning the dirt off I realized it was a heart shaped rock! At this point, I had goose bumps all over and my heart started pounding. Could it be? Was this all a coincidence? Both the diamond shaped rock and branch were pointing in the same direction, so I started walking in that direction just to see what else I could notice. About 125' away I came to a spring, which I didn't think too much about in and of itself, however there was a board sticking up just at the edge of the spring. I pulled it out, and it had been cut to a point. I changed my detector settings to all metal and maxed out my depth. The detector eeked out a faint signal just inside the edge of the spring near the board.

I did not notice anything else, and did not go further. Could this be something? My husband estimates the tree to be only about 80 to 90 years old.

Thank you for any insight you can offer!

I wouldn't of moved anything that could potentially help you find something. should of posted a pic on here and let someone give you sound advice before you started moving anything!
 

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miboje

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Mar 21, 2016
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Hi MM2 - Yes, we did continue on past the spring the way the tree was pointing. We detected in the area of the spring and came up with nothing. It got quite swampy through the area past the spring. We did come upon a tree whose tip was bent to the ground, but it appeared way too young to be related to the other signs.
Yes, the stick could have been placed there to make the spring easier to spot in snow and just in general.
Not going to give up on this site. There are more stone markers that I discovered later.
Thanks for your interest!

Miboje,
Have you checked beyond the spring? or to the left or right of the board you found(out some distance)? Using the board as a corner marker. Sounds like who ever set this up had some knowledge of treasure trails. Not sure of the meaning for the board, maybe a marker for in the snow for a home owner who had no clue of the other markers? Could be the spring either is or is not a marker or a false marker, I would look for more stone markers. Just throwing things out there, don't give up! Great Story! Want to hear a happy ending! mm
 

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miboje

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Mar 21, 2016
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I wouldn't of moved anything that could potentially help you find something. should of posted a pic on here and let someone give you sound advice before you started moving anything!
AGREED! I had no idea what I had come upon, but for the little bit of reading I had done here on signs and symbols at that time. I know better now not to move anything.
 

hadji009

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Dec 29, 2008
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here u go mobile, keystone_041.jpgresized.jpg this is the fun side.u have turtles and i have gold(oro).
 

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