A few smaller dumps I've discovered

[BottleDragon]

Nov 18: Was exploring in the same general area, about 0.5 km from the last dump. Followed a stream into a grove of cedar trees where I found several more dumps with mostly 60's and 70's junk, rusted metal, etc. But I did find this shard in the stream...










Hoping this means there's an older dump here. This looks like the sort of area that would have been used for dumping over a long period of time, given the age of the trees and the fact that the land isn't usable for anything else. The area dates to roughly the 1880's.

 

[BottleDragon]

Any guesses on the age?

Not much I can add. The glass has an uneven texture and there are no mold seams visible. The base is marked only with the number 557 and a "C".

I think (not sure) it has a sand pontil mark. There is some roughness, but less than I'd expect... however it was in a stream, so it could have been polished somewhat.

 

[CanadianBottles]

I'd guess 1890s to 1930s as a date range. Likely European. That's not a sand pontil, it's just rough glass from the manufacturing process I'm afraid. When I lived in BC I'd often find pieces or sometimes whole examples of that sort of bottle sitting somewhere in the woods with nothing else around, probably after some logger finished it 100 years ago. I'd always search around for signs of something else but rarely would there be anything, and if there was it would just be a few items, almost always more broken European alcohol bottles with no sign of anything local. These loggers seemed to be pretty consistent in not drinking beer that came in interesting bottles.

 

[BottleDragon]

I suspected it might be European... I know that certain bottles over there were made with the older techniques later than in NA, which might account for the crudeness. It felt like there was some sand embedded in the glass, but it might be just stuck in the rough areas due to laying in the stream for so long.

Well, this area was logged mainly in the 1880's... so this particular bottle is probably not from a logger. I suspect it was more likely a homesteader, which means there still could be a dump in the area... though finding it may prove a challenge.

 

[RCO]

I'd guess 1890s to 1930s as a date range. Likely European. That's not a sand pontil, it's just rough glass from the manufacturing process I'm afraid. When I lived in BC I'd often find pieces or sometimes whole examples of that sort of bottle sitting somewhere in the woods with nothing else around, probably after some logger finished it 100 years ago. I'd always search around for signs of something else but rarely would there be anything, and if there was it would just be a few items, almost always more broken European alcohol bottles with no sign of anything local. These loggers seemed to be pretty consistent in not drinking beer that came in interesting bottles.

I recall reading about this in a local history book , how loggers would leave behind green wine bottles and such in the middle of the forest , seems like an odd thing to do now but back in the days seems to have happened a fair bit . people weren't worried about littering and was no reason to bring an empty bottle back with them

 

[Warf rat]

Excellent

 

[BottleDragon]

I was out following some leads on Sunday and I located a town dump that dates back to 1922. I poked around a bit and dug a couple feet down, but didn't find much more than 1960's shards. I found some broken NDNR sodas: two 7-Ups and one intact slick that I left behind, and a couple of broken ACL's (Coke and Fanta). The only other intact bottle I found was a small corktop pill bottle (TCW Co Type 1)

I've spent several months trying to find the exact location of this dump, so I was quite discouraged. I have no idea how deep I will have to dig to find anything good. The dump is probably 15-20 feet deep at the highest point. I didn't take any pics, but here are some Google images...

View approaching...



View of dump from side of road (note the "No Dumping" sign - lol)

 

[CanadianBottles]

Hmm tough to say if it's worth digging there or not. Usually the oldest part will be closest to the road. I personally wouldn't be digging deep to find a 1930s dump, the number of worthwhile bottles in that era usually doesn't justify the effort. Even for a municipal dump, you're looking at a ratio of maybe 1 in 20 bottles being worth keeping after the 1920s. If you actually have an idea of where the 20s section would be it could be worth it, since the BIM era was still going strong in Canada at that time. That said, my experience with dumps that started in the 20s and continued until the 60s is that the 20s part is difficult if not impossible to find while the 50s/60s section is massive.

 

[BottleDragon]

Yeah, that's pretty much my thoughts. There was lots of evidence of 60's stuff and not much else, including on the fill wall beside the road.

What I do know is that this road didn't exist in 1922, at least not in its present form. The dump was on someone's property and the access was from another street. The path to the dump would likely have terminated before the "dip" in the photo, so the grassy rise would probably be the front edge. Obviously I can't dig in that manicured area, but there is a spot just inside the treeline that looks kind of promising.

I had some trouble digging because the ground was partially frozen, so I'll have to go back when things warm up a little.