smoking pipe ?

[sawmill man]

Back in the forty's or fifty's my grandpaw and uncle dug out a small cave and walled it up to make a root cellar ,and my uncle sayed while they were digging they found a few clay pipes and other artifacts that were never saved. all the dirt is piled up outside and has never been gone through. my ? is would the pipes be ruined in the outside wet and elements. i know i can save other pieces but clay and bone i dont know. this was done back whene nobody around here saved stuff like this . just wondering. i dont want to hijack the other guys pipe thread so i ask myself.

 

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[Carolina Tom]

Colonial clay pipes won't disintegrate in the ground because they are fired clay, ceramic. I must assume that only broken pieces of the pipes would be found, but hey, it beats a stick in the eye, huh?

If you sift the dirt, you might find, bone or shell buttons, clay marbles, glass or ceramic fragments. All kinds of non-conductive non-sense!

Best of luck to you sir!

 

[Indian Steve]

I sure would set up a sifter and start moving some dirt. Don't used a shovel. If your luck is like mine, you will bust every pipe in the pile. Good Luck and post pictures of anything you find.

 

[sawmill man]

I better clarify myself ,these are not colonial but native american artifacts.( i didint want to get on anyone elses thread). so if these pipes havent been fired there probly gone right.

 

[monsterrack]

The smoking through the pipe would be a low grade of fireing and being that they have been covered in soil for a long time, they will still be there. Just don't get carried away with a shovel to hard and damage something. Keep us posted 😊

 

[Indian Steve]

The pipes should be fine unless they were damaged during digging. If they saw pipes, there could be lots of other stuff. Use a 1/4 inch screen in your sifter.