pontils waiting - it's torture!

[downeastdigger]

I've been watching this house on the other side of town. It's on a steep hill in a tight neighboorhood. The hill slopes off the side of the house, real steep, with exposed dirt. There was always this exposed brick foundation that I could see, and I assumed was a privy.

I drove by yesterday, and there was a bobcat type back hoe digging away. It was a landscaper, and the town had made the home owner repair the side of the hill because it was dangerous how it dropped off so steep. The back hoe had pulled the brick wall away, and hauled most of the fill from around it. I could see bottles and ash!

I walked up to the landscaper guy, and told him what I was up to. He said , " Oh, no, we didnt see any bottles while we were digging. As he was saying that, I can see a bottle sticking out of the exposed wall. I say " Oh look I see one here", It is an aqua Dr. Fletchers dated 1876, it was cracked, and fell apart in my hands. Next to it I pull an embossed Great Falls druggist, mint. I pull a couple more bottles out of the embankment, he's kind of watching, hemming and hawwing. Then I pull out a bottle that had been broken by him shoveling, it was a fresh break. It was the bottom half of an open pontilled hair/medicine in aqua ! The embossing that showed read Manchester NH on one side panel, and Wilsons on the other. From my book, I believe it is a $150 rare hair bottle. I pull out a couple of more bottles with my hands, one of them a pontilled vial whole.

The guy says he cant let me dig, that I have to ask the home owner, and he's pretty sure she'll say no.

Now, the exposed wall that he opened up abutts the neighbors yard. There is a chain link fence which he dug up to the edge of. So the debris and trash runs about 3 feet deep, and heads into the neighbors back yard.
I cant help but feel that this is a potential large area of 1850s - 1880s fill. Tons of china, stonewear and colored glass in the ash layer that I can see.

So here's the plan. I'm going to try to go to the neighbor, tell them the situation, and convince them to let me dig a squared off section of the back side corner of there yard. In exchange, I will offer them to create a landscaped little garden, with a couple of flowering bushes and black mulch, which I would pay for. I am going to draw up a written agreement. So I may wind up paying $50-$100 landscaping costs, plus labor. I may wind up with a pile of pontilled bottles, or I could wind up with a few common bottles and some broken china.

For me, it's worth the risk. I'll let you know if I get the permission. Wish me luck
Bram

 

[swizzle]

Good luck Bram. I hope you get permission to dig it all. Swizzle

 

[HawaiiGlass4me]

Hope everything goes well. Please keep us informed.

GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[earlyglass]

Ok Bram, Here is my plan.... I hold him down, you dig, we split the finds! Mike

 

[digger mcdirt]

I would probaly do a night dig and smoke it. Might not be the best thing but instead of letting them just get broke etc I would do it. DMD

 

[lexdigger]

Hey Bram, sounds like a good idea! If I were you though I'd also try to get permission from the home owner, no matter what that guy said. Usually when something is tore up that's the best time to try and get permission, especially if you offer to help out with fixing it back up.

"I would probaly do a night dig and smoke it. Might not be the best thing but instead of letting them just get broke etc I would do it. DMD"

McDirt, it's diggers like you who give us all a bad name! Stuff like that is what makes it so hard to get permission anymore. Do you even backfill your holes?

Chris Capley

 

[GuntherHess]

good plan Bram,
If there were more diggers like you we all would find it esier to get permission.
The most successful diggers I know use that same approach.
They always offer some of the finds to the owners , whether asked for or not.
They take the time to discuss the history of the area with people.
It does work. Helps if you have the gift for gab. Wish I did but I dont.

 

[appliedlips]

Bram,

I would not be able to sleep until permission was granted.Wondering how big the total lanscaping bill would be?If they would let you probe the hillside first and if it was worth it let you have at it for a week or so,it might be worth paying a chunk of the tab.Or how about the possibility of renting some equipment to make large repairs,yourself? Sounds like it is in town,and I can only imagine what an untouched 50's dump up that way could produce.Anyway,good luck and let us know what you find.Take care and good luck.Doug

 

[capsoda]

WoW, I though I was the only digger that offered to sod or landscape someones property for dig permission. It works Bram and it is good digger ethics.

Go for it and good luck. A kittle preapproch prayer never hurts either.[]

 

[earlyglass]

Something that has helped me in the past.... Along with my shovel, rake, claw, etc... I have a business card, camera, books on the local history, etc. I explain to the landowner that I am an enthusiast who is gathering information for a book that I am writing. If I have the information, I discuss the history of that land, and what I might expect to find. This is one way to capture the interest of the landowner. If the site is important, it is good to document your dig. And it goes unsaid that the area must be left well groomed.

Mike