10ft Dig and All By Yourself/What to do?

[rich]

Hey Grit, Be careful of engulfment, wall collapse. If you are going to get serious, protect from rain and rain runoff. Soil density plays an important role in wall slope v depth. A tripod well wheel can aid in debris removal as well as rescue/retrieval if necessary, but must be robust. The tripod will only be useful if you have help on site. The bottles will wash up and look great after being dug up, we don't always fair as well.

 

[GRIT]

Be Great to see those bottles , when washed they look very interesting!! Thanks for your Awesome story. You are very brave digging so deep. Good to let someone know your digging and show them where (like your wife) so she knows and can check all is Ok-and maybe arrange to ring at a couple of very particular times-so she will know nothing is wrong.

Thanks. I don't know if I'm brave or stupid, but I keep digging.

It's been really hot and humid here the past few days. I got out and dug earlier in the week, but think I over did it a bit. It's taken me a few days to recover. I usually don't get out in the heat, but I had noticed the walls had dropped a lot of material into the hole and I needed to get it out as it puts double the work on me when I get back in there. The good thing about that is, it widens the hole a bit more so gives me somewhat of a safety cushion. I'm guessing it's probably 6'+ in diameter.

I have noticed a layering in the soil. There's, maybe, 2 feet between layers of bottles. I'm fixing to have to dig another two feet out now before I find out what's in the next layer. I use my probe before digging each layer so can always tell there is more down there.

I really hope I'm not wasting my time. I get a little jealous when I read the threads here that talk about finding really nice, older bottles just in a few feet. So my life goes.

I have seriously thought about making my hole into a pond. I guess that depends on how much bigger it gets as time goes on. I hope in the end I have something interesting to show my fellow diggers.

 

[GRIT]

Hey Grit, Be careful of engulfment, wall collapse. If you are going to get serious, protect from rain and rain runoff. Soil density plays an important role in wall slope v depth. A tripod well wheel can aid in debris removal as well as rescue/retrieval if necessary, but must be robust. The tripod will only be useful if you have help on site. The bottles will wash up and look great after being dug up, we don't always fair as well.

Thanks, rich. I try to be cautious and am always aware. Never heard of a tripod well wheel. Will have to look into that.

We have a lot sand here in East Texas. On higher elevations it can be quite deep, but varies depending on location. Once you get past the sand, the clay is quite dense and very hard. I think it quite stable when not interfered with. Interestingly, where the bottles are, the clay is crumbly and easy to dig into. That's a good thing. The walls LOOK to be stable, but I'm no expert. I just try to be careful and always alert to unusual sounds in the structure.

 

[sunrunner]

looks like you found a common dump from the 1930s 40s . don't see any milks with the stuff your digging . and not many soda's .

 

[GRIT]

Update: I didn't realize it had been so long since my last post. Sadly, I never really made much more progress into my dig. The hole just got too deep and tossing shovels of sand out of a 12 foot hole is tiresome to say the least. I just got worn out. So that hole sits for now and slowly fills until I decide what to do next.

This past couple of months has had me in and out of doctors offices and testing facilities for some health issues, but things are going better for me and I should be back digging real soon.

But there is some good news. I found what looks to be another dump just behind our pole barn. I never noticed it before, but don't ever recall really looking closely in the area. Or I just plain missed it. I probed the area with my, not so professional probe, and it looks to be about 6' ? in diameter. What really got me excited was another dump right next to it! So now I'm thinking, "It would be nice if I finally found a privy", but will have to wait and see. I hear and feel glass on the probe. No visible signs of glass on top; only old metal cans, rusted to the point of crumbling when stepped on. I DID find another Mrs Stewart's Bluing bottle on top of the ground. So that is a good sign. I had found another one down the hill a ways in a small gully I was digging, but never really got much out of it besides the bluing bottle and a couple of other broken bottles.

So anyway just wanted to give an update for my digging friends on how things were coming along and that I haven't forgotten about you guys.

 

[hemihampton]

Welcome back. Let me know if you find any old Beer Cans. There is one rare Texas Can I'm looking for in Particular. LEON.

 

[GRIT]

Welcome back. Let me know if you find any old Beer Cans. There is one rare Texas Can I'm looking for in Particular. LEON.

Hi, Leon. I have dug up some modern beer cans, but nothing old, as of yet. Maybe I'll find something in this new spot I found. And I still have, yet, to dig out a very deep gully with lots of trash in it. I don't even know where to start there..

Good talking to you again and I'll let you know if I run across anything interesting.

 

[hemihampton]

If you got a deep gully or Ravine to dig, start at the bottom & work your way up. That way your not throwing rejected dug threw trash over un dug virgin spots that need digging. Good Luck. LEON.

 

[GRIT]

Good tip. Thanks.

 

[Bobby algar]

Good luck digging


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