cistern digging

[lawbrt]

I have dug a few privies, but am still pretty new at digging. A family member owns an Antebellum home built in 1833. To my knowledge, the cistern has never been dug. It's been filled in for a long time. Are there any special rules to digging the cistern? I figure it's worth digging.

 

[lexdigger]

I have dug out about a dozen or so and my only suggestions would be to start EARLY, bring HELP and be prepared to dig a BIG hole. They are a lot wider than privies and can be Packed with all sorts of stuff.
As a general rule of thumb, we usually dig down the side of a wall to find signs of Age. If we aren't pulling out TOC or at least Teens by the time we're down five or six feet... fill it in. I have dug them absolutely FULL of amber cokes and my most valuable bottle dig to date came out of the bottom of a cistern... a rare Poison.
Only other advice would be to examine the overhang of the opening. If it is at all sketchy, knock it off. You don't want that falling in on you and knocking your brains out!

 

[madman]

great info from a master!

 

[VA is for Diggers]

I have dug several here in Virginia; some only have rocks and dirt and tractor parts, others are clean, and a few have the goodies. I would do like lex says and do a test hole, just make sure you have a partner if you are digging deep. The rocks will make it quite difficult and slow to dig; also beware of snakes! Once grabbed one thinking it was a root.! Not fun. My best find was a civil war belt plate that came out of the very bottom of one. Good luck.

 

[creeper71]

ORIGINAL: VA is for Diggers

I have dug several here in Virginia; some only have rocks and dirt and tractor parts, others are clean, and a few have the goodies. I would do like lex says and do a test hole, just make sure you have a partner if you are digging deep. The rocks will make it quite difficult and slow to dig; also beware of snakes! Once grabbed one thinking it was a root.! Not fun. My best find was a civil war belt plate that came out of the very bottom of one. Good luck.

civil war belt plate ? WHICH KIND? US, CONFED, WREATH?

 

[lawbrt]

I did some looking around at the cistern I was talking about. I see where the opening is. It has a courtyard over half of it. I noticed a crack around the courtyard brick. The crack looked deep in the ground and there is standing water down in it. Could that be part of the cistern? If so there is still some water in the thing. The plot thickens.