Dug first pontil pit of the year.......

[cannibalfromhannibal]

Opened up a pit for here was a good size- 6X4X10 foot deep and stone lined. Took 2 days and damn near killed me. Pulling those buckets and digging gives me a workout, and I'm STILL fat! I don't get it. Anyhoo, got nada until about the 8 foot level when I hit a thin use layer mixed with bricks......Got the Hannibal pharm in this level and made the entire dig worthwhile for me. I broke a near identical one a couple years ago in a pontil pit. Only difference is the lip finish. Got another improved pontiled soda, a Grone & Durhold (T) from Quincy, Ill. and a bottle of contention, a J. S. Mason/Phila. Seems it is listed as a medicine and as an ink. So far all I can find are the smaller ones under 5" and flaired lips, while mine is a tapered finish, open pontil and 6 1/4" tall. Anyone know what the story is for this one? Ink or med? Dug a perfect statue of a poodle dog and her pup. Also my first clay face pipe. Also another photograph but is so degraded I can't make out an image in this one. Also an assortment of plain Janes and a couple pontiled slicks. It was fun to dig some embossed pontiled stuff. But 9 foot deep to find anything whole? You guys in Michigan got me jealous looking at those shallow pits!

 

[cannibalfromhannibal]

Pics of the odd stuff......

 

[cannibalfromhannibal]

pics of the clean hoard...

 

[cannibalfromhannibal]

pics of the Mason fresh out of the ground and the Hannibal pharm.....

 

[andy volkerts]

Ive allways said digging privies is a whole lotta work, and that looked like a back killer for sure!!! It shoulda had a bunch of bitters in it for that much digging, but ya gets what ya gets, congrats at least for getting something, as I have dug a few that was completely empty, just, not that big!!......Andy

 

[Bass Assassin]

Great dig Jack. The Mason's and the Hannibal med are great finds. The doggy and clay pipe are really neat as well. Glad to see you post some digging photos.

 

[hemihampton]

Yes, Nice finds. Congrats. Did you dig it all alone? if so thats alot of work, even with 2 people would be alot of work. Luckily here in Michigan they only seem to be from 4-6 feet deep, at least the ones I've dug so far. Our last hole with pontils was at least 4 feet & maybe 5 at most. Our pics on depth can be deceiving because once we get 4 feet down we sometimes just move the dirt around in hole & at the end start filling it in with dirt from the sides. LEON.

 

[cannibalfromhannibal]

Thanks Mark, been digging, just not finding much to post about lately. And Leon, you guys are rippin' it up there in my book! And Andy, I'm so used to pits that have killer criers in them that it is weird to dig so much and even the broken stuff is common. The best 3 bottles I kept were the best the hole had to offer. Just makes me wonder what got hauled off by the dippers......

 

[andy volkerts]

I just thought I would throw this in seein as you mentioned honey dippers, one of the best dumps dug in Stockton was an area used by the honey dippers when they dumpedtheir wagons, was an old creek about a mile out of town back in the 1860s and 70s. Our club found it by going thru old city council records, and coming up with the location by the usage permits given at the time by the council, they described the area by creek name, and landowner parcel nos, which got a fee for allowing the dumping to go on at the time.........Andy

 

[cannibalfromhannibal]

Good info. Andy.......think I will give that angle some investigation. My biggest concern is this big river we sit on the edge called the Mississippi, as I suspect they likely loaded a barge and dumped it in the middle of the river. Hopefully not. Also heard stories of them recycling to the rag pickers....... Thanks again. Jack