went scouting this is what I found.

[scavenger]

I was on a buddies property today, he owns a large plot in the only mountainy area around here. I came upon this, it's definately man made. there has never been any farmland here so that rules out a spring. anyway. there are two entrances one on either side of the ridge, they are about 35 yards apart directly accross from each other and it is down about 15 feet in the ground at the deepest point. one opening is 6"x12" and has a large flat rock that is square shaped laying next to the hole, the other entrance is about 2'x 1 1/2'. it is all stone lined, all creek rock, the creek is about 300 or so yards behind this. I also got two shots of the inside of the tunnel, not good but good enough, it is pitch black in there. i'm glad I finally bought a digital camera. what do you guys think it is? I was thinking something along the lines of a civil or revolutionary war bunker or stash site, your opinions are helpful.
Scavenger

 

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[Monty]

Wetgreenie, that instrument scares me! You're not a proctologist are you? That could lend a whole new meaning to "wetgreenie"! Monty

 

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[civilman1]

If you still need a tunnel rat let me know.......

 

[Monty]

Be very careful crawling into that hole. Snakes den up in places like that in the winter and sometimes a small hole opens up into a loooong drop! Be sure not to go it alone. Monty

 

[Ray-King]

Hiya Scavenger,
Well done on finding a nice and curious site. I would second everyone by saying dig dig dig, But also as Monty Said, PLEASE take GREAT care if you do.!! Would hate for anything bad to happen to a fellow treasure hunter, i.e. Bitten, Stung or Stinky. hehehehe. Also it might be an idea to treat it with care, like an old abandoned Mine, possible cave in.!! Also don't go on your own, safety in numbers etc.
Anyway GOOD LUCK with it and keep us all posted.!!!
All the very best of luck and happy hunting too.
Ray King.

 

[southbound]

Whatever you do, do not go in there alone. Take someone with you.Good luck. Vern

 

[Gypsy Heart]

Do you have any photos taken at a further distance that you could post....showing more of the terrain,size etc....Take some lights to really shine in there good...is there water in it.....tie a bolt to a string and drop it in to get a grasp on the depth of the tunnel, from both ends in case one side is deeper...What else is around there? Are there other foundations etc.....I would be all over that place....and sliding right in there...LOL... Just be careful and watch climbing over the top, as it could cave in...Looking forward to seeing and hearing more ...Good Luck !

 

[1liquigirl]

I agree with PGill. Since the creek isn't far, there may have been an old mountain spring which drained it's water through this tunnel to the creek. The area above it, an old road. If you have the means to do this, it's safer to set up a video camera on a remote control vehicle and let 'er rip down the tunnel a few times to get all the view angles. You'd have to be able to see what you're doing as you run the vehicle (as you have to be able to see what the camera is seeing and suggest a computer hooked up to the camera), but maybe there's someone in your area that can rig this up for you.

 

[Bavaria Mike]

Very interesting! I have seen similar channels like that here in Germany, they were used to route water to old mill and hammer sites. Any chance of getting an old map or some other research material? The town's history book might be of help. Good luck detecting it and HH, Mike

 

[thompy]

hey scavenger , I just finished reading a book on Michigan's prehistory's mysteries, dealing with the ancient copper culture people, they believe 1 millions tons of copper were dug out of isle royal and the copper country from 7000 to 2000 years ago, and less than i percent of it has been found in the states, believing it was traded with the Celtics, Norseman, Hungarians, monowins, Egyptians, Crete's and so on. well it talked of the Celts and Norsemen building things such as you have here, all over the north eastern states through to Michigan and Minnesota, could be really old stuff, any copper?

 

[KalamazooHunter]

hey scavenger , I just finished reading a book on Michigan's prehistory's mysteries, dealing with the ancient copper culture people, they believe 1 millions tons of copper were dug out of isle royal and the copper country from 7000 to 2000 years ago, and less than i percent of it has been found in the states, believing it was traded with the Celtics, Norseman, Hungarians, monowins, Egyptians, Crete's and so on. well it talked of the Celts and Norsemen building things such as you have here, all over the north eastern states through to Michigan and Minnesota, could be really old stuff, any copper?

Michigan's Prehistory's Mysteries?? I'd love to read that book! Living in Michigan, I'm trying to stay positive but have yet to find anything other than clad and toy rings since I have begun detecting 2 years ago! Is that the real name of the book - I'm going to have to make a trip to the library this week! I love that kind of stuff.

With the hole - get a big super power flashlight and a strong shovel and call up some people from this board and have yourself an excavation party!!!

 

[Wetgreenie]

Wetgreenie, that instrument scares me! You're not a proctologist are you? That could lend a whole new meaning to "wetgreenie"! Monty

EEewww, funny! I didn't even think of that.
I can see why it would scare you....
Most people don't see the medical version till they reach 50 years old or so.

 

[scavenger]

Just an update, I never did go back and investigate the site any further. There were no foundations or other man made structures anywhere near this site to my recollection. it is on top a very tall ridge and as far as I know nothing else was ever here so really no need for draining water? Anyway, I do plan on getting back there this year once I get my T2 and learn it. I'll go over the whole area with a detector first, afterwards I may go back later and dig a spell. Where would you start digging first, at the entrances? I don't think the tunnel is large enough to crawl into any more. I may be able to dig it out some. I do intend to somehow get some video of further up in the tunnel from either end. Either a remote control vehicle as suggested or just attaching the camera and a flashlight to the end of a long pole and running it up in there as far as I can just to see if it gets any bigger. It is definitely a very interesting site and I am 100% positive it has never been messed with before, no digging or detecting. It's in a fairly remote area (for ohio anyway) and the guy that owns it doesn't and has never let anyone on the property.

 

[snakeyes]

Scavenger I would start digging at the entrance and with all these led battery operated lights now days you should be able to light up the inside like the sun shinning in there. I'm not sure what kind of varmets you have there, but I would be darn carefull about crawling inside. Ive seen remote cameras that plumbers stick inside of pipes you might see if you can find one of those. In any case good luck and HH.

 

[lost hunter]

There must be a squatch in these woods

 

[bonepicker]

neat find,
i am very interested to see how this turns out. what is it?
i do underground utility work/excavating.
be really careful if you go in there, it could cave in on your head or chest, and suffocate you. if necessary, you may want to invest in some sort of shoring.
they rent the kinda cameras that plumbers use to look down drains at rentacenters. they have color screens, and i believe you can get one over 100' long.
safety first.

 

[mikusek]

You could rig up something to blow smoke into one of the holes, then observe if it comes out the other, and possibly from other unseen but connected holes. You might find one that is hidden, large enough for humans to enter. They could be ventilation shafts for a man made chamber. Are they at the bottom of the slope or part way up?

 

[mfitzy111]

wow I'd be really careful about this one if I were you. be extremely cautious if your thinking about going in that hole. other posters have said send a camera in first -that sounds like a good idea!

I'm from an area where there are a ton of abandoned coal mines. (Carbondale PA- one of the early places coal was found in PA and mined extensively) I've seen stuff similar to what your showing in your pic and it reminds me of a vent hole. I wish I had pics of some of the local mine holes from my area- one was a 5-6ft wide hole that went down in to a shaft, it looked like just a sink hole- except you could see the old timber in there supporting the walls up- another area about 400 ft away was the mine entrance- it had about a ton of rocks blasted down on it to seal it, but you could still see the mini rails from the old cars on the ground. from a distance you would only see another rock formation, and never know it was even there unless you started really looking for it...

it would be a good idea to explore the area around this area carefully, the owner might not even know about a closed mine if they closed it before good record keeping and never recorded it on his deed. you know- well you just never know...tread lightly as you search that area- the good news is people might have lost some very cool things there if in fact it was an old mine. (depending on where your located and if it was a union mine, the union mines paid more money to miners- after reading about the red neck army in West Virgina anything you find around there might be outstanding- as miners where usually protected and lived near the mines in camps- paid in script from what ever company they worked- it could be you'll find some very interesting things around that area if in fact it was an old mine!)
I don't know where you are in Ohio - but if your anywhere near the boarder of WV- this might be of interest. from what I've read some of the people in WV were from other places like PA, OH, IN, MI and came there for work because it was one of the most productive mines in history. WV people got the worst deal ever- but that could be a whole other story!
http://www.amazon.com/When-Miners-March-William-Blizzard/dp/1604863005/?tag=treasurenet01-20

I picked this book up when borders when under, it was a great deal at $5- it was a very interesting read, eye opening to see government hasn't changed all that much since then! ...a lot happened back then, people buried their money for a really good reason!

http://www.wvculture.org/history/minewars.html

no chance I'd ever play around in an old unstable abandoned mine. it would be a good idea to check local and see if you can find any mine shafts on any old plat maps for your area - the main entrance could be a mile or more away.

take care, and good luck man... keep us posted if you do find something in there!

 

[Graddick]

They look to small for a person to fit through so they must be for either venting of something or water discharge. It reminds me of the little rock formation on the edge of my grandmother's house that was built as some sort of drainage outlet (or maybe it has something to do with the septic system). However, those big stones on the side makes it look like it is a much more substantial construction.

 

[oldsalty19]

INCREDIBLE.....Found a lot of those places in N. Central, NW, PA while hunting......spookey

 

[fireman4youu]

I seen them before as well. Originally they were used for storage, then during the times of the " Underground railroad " they were used to hide slaves. A lot of the times there were tunnels dug back to the house. Most houses had them, and some times tunnels were dug in between each neighbors to move the slaves. I Have some pictures some where, when I find them Ill share..


Zach