Kansas Privy yield little Sunday morning.

[barberman]

Its been a few years since I've dug. Ken saw my video on youtube and stopped by my barbershop. My daughter and I assisted Ken and his son Owen in a local privy dig. 1880 Hotel site, not much to offer. I've got lots of permissions. We stopped at the seed layer, Ken probed and said it felt empty. Wondering now if me and my daughter should of continued digging. She really likes digging. Ken gave me a cool book on Kansas bottles written by Johnnie Fletcher. Really a nice book.

I'm really good at dowsing but not so good at probing. My daughter is also a good dowser and we work together, Then I probe. Need some more lessons on probing.

Can someone enlighten me on the "seed layer" and its typical location? I thought the seed layer was on top of the poop pile layer, or are they near the bottom?

My dig from a few years ago.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8v47qaOHTQE

 

[andy volkerts]

Actually the seed layer is pretty much the use layer or the poop layer, all the same, and where most of the bottles are going to be if there are any at all, this layer is close to the bottom of the privy, depending on how long the privy was used will define the depth of the use layer. all ways dig out the use layer as probing will not only miss smalls but will also break what may be there. most privies that I have dug had a use layer of from 1 foot to about four feet max, but that is here out west, some of the deep privies back east can have massively deep use or seed layers. Understand that privy digging at best is a crap shoot (pun intended) and every one is slightly different. You have to be commited and very very patient to be a productive privy digger. It is hard work, and sometimes for little return, but there is no replacement for the excitement of digging a prized whisky fifth or bitters or rare med/cure. I will never forget when I dug up a Evans and O bryan green whisky fifth in Stockton behind the wholesale house on Webber st. fifty years ago, sold it twenty years later for 7 thou pretty rare bottle, so good luck and never say quit......Andy

 

[RIBottleguy]

I have never dug a privy before, but I know rule #1 is always dig to the bottom! Well, after safety at least. The only instance I would not finish a hole is if it got too deep or dangerous.

 

[Bass Assassin]

That's right. Finish it unless it is too dangerous to continue. There is a lot of small bottles/items that you may leave behind if you don't finish it. Some of the goodies like to hide in the corners