teeny tiny cellar holes

batfish · Sep 16, 2004

What I try to look for is the dump that the old house used.

So, what you're saying, is a really need a detector [

]

I poked around for about an hour all around this foundation, even scraped the leaf litter off of a few depressions, and found not even a shard or speck of rust. I figure with a metal detector I could at least improve my odds...

What would you recommend? White's XLT? New or used?

woody · Sep 16, 2004

You don't have to get anything as expensive as a Whites XLT, even though I paid over $700.00 for mine brand new.
A used one will work well or even a less expensive model.
Realize that you're only prospecting for metal when looking for the old dump.
You don't need all the extra bells and whistles, unless you want to get into other aspects of metal detecting, such as coins or gold.

I never go out without my metal detector because it doesn't miss a trick.
You find the cans and you'll find the glass right along with it most of the times.
Sometimes the dump is obvious and other times you'll never know it's there, unless you have a metal detector to find it.

It's a good investment, Batfish, especially here in New Hampshire!!![

]

brianwi · Sep 16, 2004

If your thinking of buying a detector for things like this, a White's might be too much. It can be hard to understand at times and doesnt work very well in iron. You'd probly be better off with something simple and cheap like a bounty hunter, or just something like this: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=20097&item=5720512776&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW
Or if you could find the Discovery 3000, that is what i started out with and had a lot of success.
But dont get sucked into buying the "New" Radioshack versions, the older ones are better.

swizzle · Mar 2, 2005

Another possibility for the small cellars. It was sometimes difficult for people to find workers for their mills, so they built several small shelters that provided the basic needs for people staying there. If a person had to travel more then 5 miles to work he might not want to work there unless he has a place to stay much closer to his work site and then on the weekends or when the weather was better he could go back to his family. Jason

Maine Digger · Mar 2, 2005

Have you attempted a search of the area in question via sanborns maps, local historical society,etc. If you could determine how the area was used back when the 'foundations' were built, you might determine their use. Was the area farmed in the past, are the trees new or old growth, is there any charcoal in the soil, ....... I agree with the others, get ye a metal detector, if there was structures on those holes, there should be some remnents of nails..

swizzle · Mar 2, 2005

The 10 foot cellars I'm talking about are part of a settlement close to an old tannery. It's also a part of an old orchard and a paint mine. Jason

Mainepontil · Mar 3, 2005

I dig them all the time here in Maine. If they are pre 1830 you won't get much except pottery fragments, window pane glass, and a ton of brick. I found one about 8" square that was full of 1860 pontiled bottles.

We got about 30 whole ones.

Also a broken citron colored Capt. Bragg Cannon/Grape 1/2 pint flask, $6000 if whole.

With the old town maps we determined it was a blacksmith shop, man did they like to drink expensive bitters!! It's hit or miss though, I'd say one out of ten holes produce good results. A metal detector will help but it will beep all day long. It will take you a while to learn the difference between a nail and a 3' deep buried dump. Many times I get a solid hit, dig 2 feet through nothing only to find an untouched use layer at the 3 foot level. The cheaper ($200-$300) metal detectors are better for locating deep buried dumps. I have a Bounty Hunter and it works great. Get a partner to use one also and then you can cover some ground. We've gone back to sites that have been "dug out" and have located virgin hidden dumps in the general vicinity and they are usually much older.

Sam_MaineBottles · Mar 4, 2005

Hey Joel -Nice bottles there! What's the wording on the stoneware?

Speaking of cellar hole size, I used to live in a typical old 1860s Maine farmhouse back when I was a kid. The house, ell and attached barn were probably 80-90 feet long altogether but the cellar was a hand dug hole under the main part of the house that problaby measured only 15 X15 feet. I'm thinking that some cellar holes were made only big enough to store foodstuffs during the winter. Perhaps these tiny cellar holes being discussed didn't actually represent the actual size of the building built above them - just a thought.

-Sam

Mainepontil · Mar 4, 2005

You are exactly right Sam. Just enough space to store your perishables. Many times the ells were added at a later time. Quite often at a cellar hole you will find glass and bottles right behind the foundation where the ell or barn once stood. It was a great place to throw your bottles back in the day, right under the floor.

The stoneware is a "B.F. HALEY CALIFORNIA POP BEER". It's from Biddeford I believe.

Joel

teeny tiny cellar holes

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