To dig or not to dig?

[WesternPA-collector]

There's an area I've known of for a few years that has these depressions in the ground as if someone had been digging down. They don't seem natural. There is an upward hillside to the right and also a downward hillside nearby to the left. The holes in the ground are the in the flat area. I took photos of two, but there are about four more. There's some small bits of glass in the holes but nothing large. In the area next to the holes, I found some bottles that date to 1890's and early 1900's. All were broken except an 1890 patent Heinz ketchup bottle. Does anyone know if the Heinz bottle is rare? And what are your thoughts about trying to dig here for more bottles? I mainly have only searched for bottles on the surface during my collecting years. I don't want to waste my time but the broken bottles really make me wonder.

 

[Robby Raccoon]

Trash pits often leave depressions in the ground.
You may have always only ever "barely scratched the surface" of what lies beneath our paws!

 

[hemihampton]

In my opinion it looks like someone dug there years ago & what you are finding is there rejects piles of broken bottles they left behind. I'm sure they took all the good non broken bottles with them. I would start digging a new pit in-between there pits & I'd assume you'll find some unbroken bottles. Good Luck. LEON.

 

[slugplate]

I guess the only way to find out is to probe the depressions. Personally, I would not dig unless I knew something was down there. As to your other question, I'm not sure about the Heinz ketchup bottle. There are some crude indicators on the bottle. The embossing and the tooled lip look a little sloppy, which may indicate an earlier manufactured one. Or just a bad manufacturer.

 

[WesternPA-collector]

Trash pits often leave depressions in the ground.
You may have always only ever "barely scratched the surface" of what lies beneath our paws!

You're probably right on that one!

 

[WesternPA-collector]

In my opinion it looks like someone dug there years ago & what you are finding is there rejects piles of broken bottles they left behind. I'm sure they took all the good non broken bottles with them. I would start digging a new pit in-between there pits & I'd assume you'll find some unbroken bottles. Good Luck. LEON.

That is what I was thinking too. There has to be more bottles where they didn't dig. I may give that a try.

 

[WesternPA-collector]

I guess the only way to find out is to probe the depressions. Personally, I would not dig unless I knew something was down there. As to your other question, I'm not sure about the Heinz ketchup bottle. There are some crude indicators on the bottle. The embossing and the tooled lip look a little sloppy, which may indicate an earlier manufactured one. Or just a bad manufacturer.

I'll dig for a little bit, but if I'm not even seeing fragments then I'll stop. I looked up the bottle and it's a number 56 which means it was made from 1890-1895 at the Sharpsburg Heinz glass plant.

 

[GLASSHOPPER55]

The ONLY way to know for sure if there are bottles in those depressions is to probe them. A probe is your eyes and ears underground. Digging test holes blindly is not the way to success. Get yourself a good probe at least 3 ft or more and probe away!View attachment 200883View attachment 200883

 

[WesternPA-collector]

The ONLY way to know for sure if there are bottles in those depressions is to probe them. A probe is your eyes and ears underground. Digging test holes blindly is not the way to success. Get yourself a good probe at least 3 ft or more and probe away!View attachment 200883View attachment 200883

A probe probably is my best choice. It's just not real convenient to be carrying all over the place. I like my shovel that folds up.

 

[GLASSHOPPER55]

A probe probably is my best choice. It's just not real convenient to be carrying all over the place. I like my shovel that folds up.

I have a 3 foot one I carry all over when I'm out scouting. I even strap it to my bike frame when I'm on that. People just think it's my walking/hiking stick. I've done that for years and years and it found me many bottles.