Suggestions?

[Recovering Relics]

Hey everyone.
On Sunday, I am planning on heading out to the old homesite to do some more bottle digging. The house was built in the 1800's and has been abandoned since the 1970's. The bottle dump is huge, it covers a large portion of the woods, and it makes it's way down a hill, and there are some bottles in the stream at the bottom of the hill. On top, there are bottles from the 50's to 60's and in some parts early 70's. I dug down a little and found a 1940's Coca Cola. I know if I dig down deeper there is a chance I will find some older stuff. Does anyone have any tips for me to dig this dump? I don't have much expierience digging in bottle dumps like this one, so any tips would be great. We have found sodas, milks, some cans, and some embossed jars (Bromo Seltzers and Atlas Jars). I will keep everyone updated with what I find. HH.

 

[jays emporium]

Look around the surface for some broken glass that looks older than the rest. Look for colored glass, thicker glass, glass with bubbles in it. If you find some purple glass that is a good sign and means it is older than about 1920. If you can find a concentration of older glass that is a good place to start digging. I would look in the creek first for older glass and then try to figure out where it came from.
When you start digging be sure to wear gloves, thick leather gloves. I dig with a 4 prong potato rake and sometimes a potato fork to move more dirt. Some diggers use shovels but I don't have much luck with a shovel if there are lots of roots and lots of metal. Keep digging down until you are sure there are no more bottles any deeper. The older bottles are normally the deepest.
Don't use a pick-ax to dig bottles, but you can dig a little harder than you did in the video where you uncovered the Coke bottle. Just grab that bottle and pull it out and keep digging for more. Once you get the hang of it you can move alot of dirt by hand in a couple of hours. Don't be afraid to get dirty and sweaty. If that part bothers you then you won't like digging bottles anyway. If you do it right, you'll be so dirty your mother won't let you in the house like that.
Good luck, I hope you find an old part of that dump.
Jay

 

[beendiggin]

I have found that the center of the dump pile tends to hold the older stuff if it exists. I usually stand back away from the dump area, and look at the lay of the land surrounding it. Then I look at how the trash was thrown onto the land. Sometimes I stand off to the side and look at the way the dump rises. Try locating the center of the dump and then start a trench at the vey bottom of the slope. I dig a trench to locate anything that would have rolled down. It's kind of a pain but it's worth it. I know I haven't missed much at the bottom when I trench first. I dig the trench down until I'm satisfied there aren't any bottles there worth having, then I move forward into and up the slope. I remove the overburden of new stuff quickly with a shovel, then I dig slowly and methodically when I get into the older stuff.

 

[jays emporium]

Well, did ya get to go?

 

[jays emporium]

Oh, I found the post in the other section.