Trash dump

[Lovebottles]

Hey, dump diggers! I've found a dump that i have gone to a few times before in the last month. I'm having a hard time figuring out the age of the dump. I know plastic is a sign that it's not that old. I have come across pockets of nothing but little-rusted metal and the soil changes color to orange. Do to the rust? What are signs of older parts of a dump besides older bottles? I'm pretty sure this dump has been bulldozed because the trash is the bank of the creek. On top of the bank is a rocky road. The road is on a 1870s map. I'm pretty lost on dating old stuff because im not that old. Any tips, links and knowledge is wanted.

Thanks.

 

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[Plumbata]

Hard to say without pictures (hint hint), but often modern creekbanks have eroded their way into old dumps, so if you see defined layering exposed then i don't know about it having been bulldozed, at least not entirely. Also, it depends on the plastic; celluloid and rubber products can be found in quite old and worthy dumps so look closely.

Figuring out the oldest spot will take some intuition plus trial and error. Look at the early maps showing the road, then see if you can locate any very early topographical maps for the same area (they may show old, now filled-in contours, ravines/ditches, etc.) and imagine where the most convenient dumping spot for the first wagonloads of junk was. Then start digging test-holes and scratching around and try to build a good mental picture of the layers and ages in different spots. The modern road is probably much wider than the wagon road of the 1870s, so it is possible part of the roadbed lies on top of part of the old dump layers. I've encountered this before and while tempting, it is best to avoid undermining the road!

 

[Lovebottles]

Hard to say without pictures (hint hint), but often modern creekbanks have eroded their way into old dumps, so if you see defined layering exposed then i don't know about it having been bulldozed, at least not entirely. Also, it depends on the plastic; celluloid and rubber products can be found in quite old and worthy dumps so look closely.

Figuring out the oldest spot will take some intuition plus trial and error. Look at the early maps showing the road, then see if you can locate any very early topographical maps for the same area (they may show old, now filled-in contours, ravines/ditches, etc.) and imagine where the most convenient dumping spot for the first wagonloads of junk was. Then start digging test-holes and scratching around and try to build a good mental picture of the layers and ages in different spots. The modern road is probably much wider than the wagon road of the 1870s, so it is possible part of the roadbed lies on top of part of the old dump layers. I've encountered this before and while tempting, it is best to avoid undermining the road!

The road isn't in service anymore but I won't dig around the road. Somebody has taking creek rock to build a wall to hold up the road bank. It's very neat stacking. The surface of the embankment is trash maybe from the 70s. It's not a very safe place because of glass syringes and the bottles for the needles laying around. The most interesting thing that stuck out to be is the clay type sewage pipes. I will be going down there tomorrow morning and taking pictures.

 

[Rookster]

Hey, dump diggers! I've found a dump that i have gone to a few times before in the last month. I'm having a hard time figuring out the age of the dump. I know plastic is a sign that it's not that old. I have come across pockets of nothing but little-rusted metal and the soil changes color to orange. Do to the rust? What are signs of older parts of a dump besides older bottles? I'm pretty sure this dump has been bulldozed because the trash is the bank of the creek. On top of the bank is a rocky road. The road is on a 1870s map. I'm pretty lost on dating old stuff because im not that old. Any tips, links and knowledge is wanted.

Thanks.

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