If you are just visiting and found the information you were looking for please contribute to the running costs by making a donation.	Forums : : Register : : Log In : : Log Out : : Help : : Calendar : : Search
	My Setup : : Member List : : Contact Admin : : Today's Posts

All Forums >> [Bottle Forums] >> Digging and Finding >> Locating privy's in the woods?

Page: [1]

Login Message << Older Topic   Newer Topic >>

Locating privy's in the woods? - 12/4/2003 10:45:57 PM    Python   Posts: 128 Joined: 11/11/2003 From: Alabama Status: offline Myb grandfather owns a piece of land that goes back to pre civil war and beyond and at one time was the site of a blacksmith's shop. I've found indian artifacts that are somewhere in the area of 5,000 years or older. There are also some old homestead sites in the woods behind his house as evidenced by the decayed and very broken chimneys. Some of the old ironwork from the houses are growing out of trees that are now about three feet or more in diameter. The homesites are easy to find, but the privies are not. The ground is pretty even all the way around due to extensive leaf litter that can go down as much as a couple of feet in some places. There are no house foundations so the orientation of the houses can only be guessed at by the location of the chimneys. there is a relatively new house there (early 1900's I'm guessing) that stands out as a roof on the groundalmost entirely intact and a still standing privy about 50 feet away (I dug the rotted seat out the other day and it was a privy built for two). I know that Andrew Jackson passed through there although I don't know exactly where in those woods he was. My biggest question now is, how do I start looking for the privy? Is there a set distance to start the search? How would I determine the where the back or front of the house was? These homesteads are roughly a mile back in the woods with the only access being a logging road that is only a few years old, and trails that I cut. I would like to save as much time as possible so any help in locating these privy sites would be greatly appreciated. I am just dying to get dirty. Post #: 1

RE: Locating privy's in the woods? - 12/5/2003 8:59:29 AM    treasure rat   Posts: 46 Joined: 11/12/2003 Status: offline dude..you best be working that site alot....privys that i have come across in the woods..like in military camps...were laden with scrap iron signals..but for houses ..most of the time i have run across is not to far from the kitchen door or back door of the house..look for depressions or unnatural growth of shrubs and trees that have been planted....look for scented flowering shrubs as well...they helped to cover odor's...your placement of artifacts will also help in pin pointing..as alot of kitchen trash would have ended up in the back yard...broken ceramics..glass...tin..etc....to be honest with you i would detect first and save the pivys ..you sound like your in a very very hot area (in reply to Python) Post #: 2

RE: Locating privy's in the woods? - 12/5/2003 7:25:07 PM    Python   Posts: 128 Joined: 11/11/2003 From: Alabama Status: offline I went out there once with my mom and we took a metal detector, but we couldn't get it to pick up anything at all other than stuff that was rusted so bad we couldn't tell what it was. The ground around that area all looks the same too. It's heavily forested with almost no undergrowth, and the whole place is so thick with leaf litter that the ground appears to be level all the way around. I can narrow it down to some extent as the site is on a very large hill with sides that drop almost straight down in spots. It is however still quite a large area to search. The other house that still squats there may be on top of the original privy I don't know. I know of another place I'm going to try soon that is the site of an old grist mill with an old house not to far from it, but the house is fairly recent and the mill is so old that oak trees six feet around have grown all around it and even some up through the old creekbed through the wheel. I really want to try the old homesteads though. I guess I will have to hit or miss at it, but if I get lucky I will come straight here with any finds. thanks for the help guys. I have to say this is the best group of any kind I have come across yet. (in reply to Python) Post #: 3

RE: Locating privy's in the woods? - 12/5/2003 7:51:56 PM    Pontiled   Posts: 411 Joined: 8/27/2003 Status: offline Just out of curiosity, what kind of metal detector are you using? Not only should the privy be there, but, around an old house, you may find some other quality artifacts. I was once a merchant for White's and Garret, both make top-notch metal detectors. _____________________________ Mike Russell Author of: The Collector's Guide to Civil War Period Bottles and Jars -- Third Edition (in reply to Python) Post #: 4

RE: Locating privy's in the woods? - 12/6/2003 8:37:38 AM    Python   Posts: 128 Joined: 11/11/2003 From: Alabama Status: offline I don't remember what kind of metal detector it was. I borrowed it from my grandfather. He said it was expensive but in my experience that is by no means a sign of quality. I don't have one myself. Right now I can't afford one, but as soon as I can work it in I plan to get one. The one we were using would inevitably give a signal for a half dollar but alot of times it was picking up something on my shoe! My shoe wasn't even under it! It took some time to figure that out. Apparently, if my foot was within about ten inches of the head, it would detect it. I'm not sure why as there is no metal on my shoes at all. Even the eyelets are plastic. I guess I'll just have to poke around for awhile and see what I come up with. (in reply to Python) Post #: 5

All Forums >> [Bottle Forums] >> Digging and Finding >> Locating privy's in the woods?

Page: [1]

New Messages No New Messages Hot Topic w/ New Messages Hot Topic w/o New Messages Locked w/ New Messages Locked w/o New Messages

Post New Thread  Reply to Message  Post New Poll  Submit Vote  Delete My Own Post  Delete My Own Thread  Rate Posts