trash hole

[Durt Russell]

My smallish house was built in 1910, so I assumed there may have been an outhouse on the property for a few years. I probed around the back part of my lot, almost to the alley, and found a spot that was considerably softer than the rest of the ground. My buddy and I unearthed shards of a few different bottles, a chunk of an ashtray, a railroad spike, a buncha burnt chunks of wood, a small glass bead, and about 100 different size nails and washers. Our hole was about 2 feet across. About 3.5 feet down, we hit thick clay that was much lighter in color than the rest of the dirt. This would be "bottom" and when we stop digging, correct? Maybe someone had a fire pit here 50 years ago?

 

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[DiggerDave in Pa.]

Here in Central Pa. some of the privies I have dug had a clay cap in them. Sometimes it was just a foot or so and sometimes it was much more. I would suggest you dig a test hole through the clay or probing into it to see if there is layer under it. If it is a flat layer and rock hard is probably the bottom. DD.

 

[Durt Russell]

Thanks! Didn't even think about probing again, we were taking out little bits at a time with little garden trowels and it was taking forever lol. A couple of my neighbors have already walked over like "What the hell are you doing man?" My buddy and I were getting excited over every little nail or shard of junk, thinking it's a clue that it is indeed a privy beneath. We probably looked like crackheads.