Did I Find A Privy?

[quicksilver]

I've been finding some bottles and hundred of shards of glass, porcelain and iron bits/relics at an old, abandoned farmsite. The soil line appears level and most of the bottles/shards were found within 1 foot of the surface. The soil is virtually void of rocks (which raises a red flag to me because we normally have rocks everywhere!) and contains about 6-8 inches of soft material with some newspaper (feels light and spongy-dark red brown). Below this is a lighter layer (yellow-gray). I found bits of coal, which could have been dumped down the privy. I have found some deteriorated wood and tan bricks near the surface on only one side of the hole. I dug down about 2 feet in a 5 x 5 foot square. Should I dig deeper to find more bottles? Is this an old firepit? A trash dump? How deep do rural, privies go? There are no signs of a hole with nicely placed bricks like I have seen on privy websites and in articles. Let me know your thoughts and suggestions.

Bottles From This Site:

1913-1921 G. W. Reinke Plymouth Soda Works bottle

1937 Owens-Illinois medicine bottle

pre-1900 Dr. S. Pitcher's Castoria (80% complete)

1880-1900 Pill/paint bottle

1858 aqua Mason jar (Pat. Nov. 26, 67) shard

Other things:

Genuine Boyd S Porcelain Lids

Pearl/Bone Buttons

Gold-laced porcelain cups/plates

leather shoe fragments

nails

 

[bubbas dad]

i have never dug a privy but i would think you would have to dig alot deeper if it were a privy. you might be right about the fire pit though.

 

[KentOhio]

I find that lots of houses just have stuff buried very shallow over a large area. I don't know why yet. It's like they tossed their trash out the back door and left it there.

 

[swizzle]

PROBE PROBE PROBE!! More Probe Less Dig! Swiz

 

[lexdigger]

Hey quicksilver, I'm no expert, but it sounds alot like the turn of the century privies I've dug. If you dig deeper, the bottles should get older. Not all privies have brick or stone lined walls. Just dig it out to the natural soil on all four sides, and go deep! They used clay caps in privies, and alot of times use layers will be in between these. If you have a probe, it would help to let you know for sure. As long as there is ash, cinders, bone, bricks and shards... keep digging. It could be shallow, or very deep. Some caps can be thick, so you Need to try and probe out your floor every time you work it down further. You can dig a small test hole through the cap to assure yourself if a layer is there, or isn't there. Be carefull, and try to get someone to give you a hand!!! It gets tough tossing that dirt out at six feet deep!!! Good luck! Chris Capley

 

[quicksilver]

Thank you for the info. I dug about 3 feet down and did not find anymore glass. The soil layer was hard, compacted and undisturbed. So, it looks like this was just a trash pile (given the fact that all bottles found were within 1 foot of the surface). I pulled out 15 intact bottles and was wondering if there could be another trash pile in the vicinity. The shards found probably totalled 15-20 bottles/jars, if intact. Is this an average amount for a trash pile at a rural farmhouse in the late 1800's? If this was not a privy, then it could still be somewhere on the property?

Matt