To burn or not to burn...help

[Gridwalker306]

So I have a honey hole that has produced mega silver coins, and a ton of other great stuff from 1880's to the present. I have only detected half of this spot, because the other half is the thickest un-mowed grass, nearly four feet deep in spots. I have pictures of turn of the century baseball games played, with hundreds of spectators, and I know other events took place here as well. I was told that it would have to be burned first, then junk collected, then it could be mowed and maintained. I have offered to be the person in charge of lining up the local FD for a controlled burn, and then mowing it forever, if we can get it burned.

My concern is that I don't want to melt the finds before I dig them up! The mowed adjacent sweet spot produces old coins anywhere from 4-10 inches deep, so I imagine this other half would be similar. Has anybody ever burned grass to be able to detect, and if so, is the several inches of earth enough to insulate the finds from the heat?

 

[bevo]

Couldn't you weed whack it?

 

[wvwildman]

burn it off it wont hurt whats in the ground

 

[drbecker]

burn it off it wont hurt whats in the ground

Agree anything under even an inch of dirt will not get hot enough in a grass fire to damage it. Something laying on the ground may be damaged. I woudl go for it.

 

[huntsman53]

It would be much simpler to have it brushhogged, then raked with the same tractor into one general location! Once raked, you can either choose to burn what was raked or load it up and haul it away. If you choose to burn and there is no risk of starting a wildfire, then there may be no need for the FD and the Person in Charge will be more likely to go with it since there is less risk of liability! Also, the raking may remove most of the on top of the ground trash and debris, making MD'ing the new site easier.


Frank

 

[Gridwalker306]

Thanks everybody, I think I'm going to get it burned IF I can. Probably late fall......I'll let you all know how it turns out.

 

[JeromeAz]

If you decided to burn where your at make sure its legal or if you need a permit. Keep you out of trouble and make sure you have plenty of water in case it decides to keep going.

 

[jbnick]

Burning is rather inexpensive compared to bush hogging or mowing costs. Make sure you get any necessary permits and notify adjacent landowners and authorities. The only issue I think you would have with damaging items, other than ones sitting on top of the soil, is if you have a lot of fuels to carry the fire. If it burns exceptionally hot and or for a long time some damage could occur a couple of inches beneath the soil.

 

[NBTexan]

Burn it! I do controlled burns every year on my ranch. I still find great coins in great condition 1 in below the surface.
Grass burns put off very little heat. Good luck!

Air Force & Coast Guard Vet, Garrett AT Pro, Tesoro Vaquero

 

[love2Dig!]

Burning won't effect a single thing under ground. Nothing will even so much as even warm up. Any finds are going to be more than two inches deep most likely. Even if they're not, brush burns are fast and don't have time to heat more than about a inch or so and even then it's so quick as long as it's dry it wouldn't hurt anything right under the surface. Burn it. Problem solved.

 

[JeromeAz]

Burn it! Burning cost nothing, matches are free. I helped a friend burn his two acres full of tall dry grass. We had a lot of hose and shovels. Always right there at the fire with the nozzle to control it. Came close to getting away because of wind so we hosed it and put it out. If it did get away, there goes the neighborhood. Everybody had two acres full of dry grass, with only wire fence dividing the properties. Burning will not hurt anything underground. Its insulated. If it wasn't we'd be in trouble. Even after a forest fire, plants start growing back.

 

[doc-d]

Burn or brushhog......both great solutions........

 

[DFW_THer]

before and after pics please. GPS coordinates a plus.