Questions about digging.

bazinga · Apr 23, 2007

I live in Indiana, so I don't know if it is even legal on private property, if it's not, then just yell at me and I will respect the law.

The land is where my parents house is located. There are two creeks that meet just to the north of our house (maybe 1000 feet)to become one creek. One of the creeks is directly in my parents back yard, just down a hill. The area we live is well above flood level and close to a water source that has probably been around a long time. Pictured below are what I found just laying on top of the ground as a kid growing up. I never went out looking for them. I would just be out playing with friends and look down and see one laying on top of the ground after a heavy rain or something. I can only remember where two were found, but I know they were all found in my yard. My dad told me that the black one was found whole when he tilled the garden and that I broke it when I was younger. I also recall one of my neighbor's dads finding a nice large bluish flint point when he went down to the creek one day.

I tried walking the creek this weekend but had no luck finding anything other than a 1950s coke bottle made in my hometown.

Does anyone think this would be a worthy place to maybe square off a 5'x5' section and dig and screen it all? How deep would I have to go?

Thanks.

The bread bag tie is just there for size reference. Everyone else was asleep and I didn't want to wake them while rooting around for a coin.

irbaddadjoe · Apr 24, 2007

I would say if the ones you found were on top of the ground you wouldnt have to dig very deep. but it also depends on how many times that creek has flooded since you found those pieces . banks of a water source are a great place to look. A lot of time you can dig down until you start finding flint chips and then then you have a better idea how deep .

flip · Apr 24, 2007

I would think the best area would be at the point where the two creeks come together just above the flood plain. Turn over a few shovel fulls here and there until you see flint flakes then work on that area. I once found over fifty good points at a spot like that and most were in the top three feet. good luck

bazinga · Apr 24, 2007

Yeah, the spot of land where I would be digging is the high point above the flood plain where the two creeks meet. I will try and see what happens in the coming weeks.

wildrider · Apr 24, 2007

Dang, I wish I had a place like that to look.

Good luck.

Burt

bazinga · Apr 24, 2007

I just found out it's not legal to dig for artifacts in Indiana. Guess, I'll just dream about it, haha.

Treasure_Hunter · Apr 24, 2007

Don't dig for artifacts, I would do some "landscaping".

There are hundreds of thousands of artifacts stored (hidden) away in museums now, never to be seen by the public.

The government should not have the right to tell us we can't dig on the land that is privately owned by Americans. Even worse then the Florida laws that now makes it illegal to pick up artifacts found in rivers and streams.

I MISS HUNTING INDIAN ARTIFACTS IN MISSOURI'S RIVERS, CREEKS AND STREAMS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

bazinga · Apr 24, 2007

Treasure_Hunter said:
Don't dig for artifacts, I would do some "landscaping".

There are hundreds of thousands of artifacts stored (hidden) away in museums now, never to be seen by the public.

The government should not have the right to tell us we can't dig on the land that is privately owned by Americans. Even worse then the Florida laws that now makes it illegal to pick up artifacts found in rivers and streams.

I MISS HUNTING INDIAN ARTIFACTS IN MISSOURI'S RIVERS, CREEKS AND STREAMS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I agree with you 100%. I hate thinking about all of the artifacts that are tucked away in basements of museums, universities, etc. They should be in the hands of the collector who will enjoy them and proudly have them on display.

It's a shame.

finderofpoints · Apr 25, 2007

Hell, i say dig,dig and dig some more ( just keep looking over your shoulder as you do !!)

Seriously, what and who are we really hurting by simply picking up something that would otherwise be lost forever ?? Man, DIG !!

d2 · Apr 25, 2007

My thoughts exactly dig. Now I aint gonna raise marijuana in my yard or make whisky(naw, I may do that) but I will dig in my yard untill the world looks flat. There is to much bad stuff going on to have someone driving around looking to see how many people are digging for Indian artifacts. Specialy if you live out in the country. Dig, dig, dig and just be quiet about it...d2

Atlantis0077 · Apr 25, 2007

Morning,

And don't forget the repatriation act....that forces collections to be returned to their "tribe or origin"......most cannot be definitely ascertained, but they claim the relics nonetheless. The relics are in some cases then sold to the highest bidder rather than reburied as is the letter of the law. More political correctness gone awry.

Relics are a treasure to be displayed and enjoyed. A link to our past and connection to those we might consider primitive by today's standards, but were artisans without peer and craftsmen unequaled today except by a select few. Hiding them in the basements of museums, reburying them in the ground and otherwise removing them from circulation is a loss to all.

Being a card carrying member of the Louisiana Cherokee Confederacy, I am not insensitive to the wishes of Native American people not wanting skeletal remains to be shown on public display...those should be re-interred in proper burial grounds and cemeteries. Confiscation of relics and what are classified as "grave goods"...a term that cant be easily quantified,is a little more government control than I am comfortable with.

The sad thing is that it all revolves around money...from both sides. If the relics had no monetary value, I grant you few would care one way or the other. Because the trade in relics is now big business, everyone is out for their piece of the pie.

To be fair, because of the trade in relics, many valuable sites are being destroyed by looters. There are ways to deal with those that don't call for a complete moratorium to relic collecting, but these are rarely pursued. Blanket legislation seems the only avenue in today's climate and the public always loses in that scenario.

Atlantis

wirelessworldinc · Sep 1, 2007

Hey it's your property. I say go digging for bottles in the creekbed and well if you happen on an arrowhead, so be it. Keep it. It's yours, who's to say how you found it.

Cannonman17 · Sep 1, 2007

Time to put in a garden...

Of course you'll want to sift the dirt in the garden area to remove rocks and properly condition the soil... and you may want to move the garden from year to year so as not to wear it out.. ::)

Michael Karr · Sep 3, 2007

NO DIGGING IN INDIANA >:(

Better check your laws! or you may land behinds bars. Mike

Cannonman17 · Sep 3, 2007

You can put in a garden in Indiana... ::)

Seriously, some people just want to turn you into a paranoid freak. There aren't people driving around checking back yards for signs of illegal digging.. as long as you aren't going to the local park or well known indian sites and digging fox holes you're not going to get bothered IMO.