11/26/11 Privy Dig

[Jim]

Thanks, Rocky. It's nice to know that there are still some good ones out there to be found. We started the day with hopes of 1870s bottles, and it was a 1942 milk that ended up being the dig of the day. We never know what we're going to get in this hobby, and that's part of the fun. ~Jim

 

[JOETHECROW]

ORIGINAL: Jim

30s-40s junk [:'(] All went back in the pit.

Jim,....just got around to reading this...we've dug a couple like this...How do you know till you dig it? Glad you made your buddies day with the milk bottle..Good luck on the next one.

 

[appliedlips]

I know those digs all too well, they are part of the experience as you know. They make the good ones all the sweeter. Be careful in assuming it is a cleaned out older pit however. Some are just new, and didn't ever have the age. I used to make these assumptions all the time and walk off properties, because I didn't easily probe other pits and wrote the one or two off as dipped. What I have learned is, that rough edged stone liners like that one, if dipped will always have evidence of earlier use between the stones. No way to dip it perfectly cleaned, shards and all. I have went back over the years to countless properties I dug early on, and found the better holes, after knowing at the time I had all the pits, yeah right. I have also got away from "rules" in digging. It is not a science. I used to say things like all the holes in this town are woodies, stone liners, etc. All round brick liners in this town are new. Looking back at my experience I have learned that everytime I thought I'd figured something out, I was wrong again. Good luck on the next hole.

 

[Jim]

Thanks, Joe. Rob was quite happy to get that milk. He had never even seen one of them before.

Doug, I was wondering about there being another pit. We probed all over, and didn't find one, but we plan to check again. This area had sewer by 1920 at the latest, and we did find one older medicine bottle broken. The walls were strangely devoid of much other evidence of age, though. The spot we dug this pit at shows up on the 1910 Sanborn map, but it sure seems like there should be another pit there.

I've done the same thing in going back and finding another pit before. I missed a pontil pit one time that should have been quite obvious, after digging an 1880s pit at the same location. Sure enough, the pontil pit was a woodliner, and we had been looking for another stoney like the 80s one was! ~Jim

 

[RICKJJ59W]

At least your flinging fill jim, I haven't been digging for a while I,ll be out there soon,I hope before the freZzzz[]zzzze