RIBottleguy
Well-Known Member
This here's a post for those of you who enjoy digging stories. I went on four digs this winter break, three at the same site. I ended up with some nice bottles! At least I was quite content with them. I'll cover the smaller dig first.
A while back I posted two videos from a shallow dump I was digging in the fall. Well, I decided to screw the frost and went out during a warm spell. It was about 45 out, which was perfect for digging. It took some effort, but I managed to break through the frost with my shovel. From there on it was pretty easy. At one point I pulled up a giant chunk of frozen ground that weighed more than 100lbs. I had to break it up to move it! Sadly the bottles were in hiding, but I did find one pretty funny ceramic bottle. It was shaped like a bottle and looked like wood. On the front there was a woman's bottom half in a dress running. Sadly the head broke off, but it was still cool. It was embossed Peek-A-Boo on the front, so I guessed it's some form of 1910s-era risque piece? I gave the dump a weird look after that lol.
The second dump was definitely more exciting. A friend of mine (Mark) from the bottle club invited me on a dig where he had been finding blob beers and a lot of pottery. It was a site on a slope next to the RR tracks. Not my best pick for location, but it was on a slope and there were bottles! Due to the frost he had created a cave of sorts which I was most wary to enter. We spent an hour or more shoveling out the dump to get a nice spacious area to dig from. From there we caved in some of the roof, which was frozen solid (employ usage of pickaxe). The top of the dump was new dirt fill, followed by some larger rocks and new trash. At around 3 feet down the dump abruptly began with ABM bottles from the 1910-late 1920s era. Below it was an ash layer which I estimated dated from 1890-1920. Digging here was easy and exciting. It was my first dump where the bottles were poking out of the walls, not looking up from the ground. Bottles began to appear timidly. I ran into a pocket of Bowker's Pyrox Poison bottles, which were pretty neat. I found about 10 intact ones, some with the glass lid, rusted metal clamp and rubber seal. For those interested one with a remnant label said it was an insecticide. I pulled out a cool amber Wyeth bottle, it was milk-bottle thick with a lab-ish look (see pic below). There were a bunch of Bryant's Root Beer (all ABM), and some common fruit jars. I found two master inks, which surprised me. Sadly nothing great, 32oz. clear S.S. Staffords.
My friend Mark and his girlfriend Gina got some digging in too. He found a nice Roger Williams Brewing Co. blob from Providence, RI with an embossed Jewish star. His other keeper was a lt. blue Sawyer's Crystal Blueing. That was the end of day 1.
Day 2: Curse the cave-ins!
I returned to the dump alone one day. The warm weather had caved in the entire thing, which sank my spirits. I spent more than an hour digging out a small part of the dump. I was rewarded by a bunch of decent bottles. First was a nice John Theroux blob soda from Pontiac, RI, then a BIM crown top soda from Lynn, Mass. I found my own Sawyers and a Hire's Root Beer, which hinted at good bottles ahead. A Sloan's Liniment (Kills Pain) was a cool common find. I almost got a whole half-gallon Lightning fruit jar. I was gifted with yet another master ink, this one a Sanford's Inks and Library Paste, ABM, but amber and with parts of a colorful label intact. I also found a ton of ketchup bottles. The blasted things were everywhere! My last find was a pint Economy fruit jar, which was cool. It sounded rare but it's only worth $5 (sigh). Before I left another huge cave-in erased all of my progress. The day before a sizable chunk of roof almost walloped me, so I was being extra cautious. My long-handled potato rake was perfect for reaching the ash layer while I was not underneath any unstable roof.
Day 3: The best finds
I joined my friend Mark one last time before I had to go back to school. We spend a lot of time digging again, which was draining. Somehow we dug out a good section and found a nice ash layer that was 2-3 feet thick. We started finding some BIM stuff (Burnett Boston), and Mark pulled out a Champion Concentrated Embalming Fluid which he actually didn't want, so I gladly took it. I found a front-embossed clear Wyeth bottle that upon cleaning, found a 100-year old cotton ball inside! Mark found a P & J Arnold stoneware ink, and a beautiful unlisted RI medicine (the Krealin Co.). I stayed a little longer, and was glad I did! I found a ground lip screw cap medicine (Napier Chemical Co. NY) with a very odd name, I think it says "Petrolio". I got a neat little cement bottle (Caulk's Oxy-Phosphate of Copper Cement), and another mini bottle with a flower basket embossed on the side. The best part was pulling out two RI blobs, one was the Empire Bottling Co. and the other Geo. M. Christoph, both from Cranston, RI. I also found a shoulder embossed Worcester blob. I got my own RI druggist too, a Chas. A. Gladding from Prov.
So there you have it, my winter digging spree. It ended fittingly with another massive cave in, that took half a minute for a ton or two of dirt to fall in one tremendous clump.
I'll have pics and videos up soon, so keep your fingers crossed!
The first site before busting through the frost
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkB3Rt8t6_Q
The Peek-A-Boo find
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXSvK3ZlP9w
The second dump, a shot from day 2 after I dug a spot out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfnCmrzHvKo
After a huge cave in, I unearthed a mouse!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cabFcQE9Hmo
A while back I posted two videos from a shallow dump I was digging in the fall. Well, I decided to screw the frost and went out during a warm spell. It was about 45 out, which was perfect for digging. It took some effort, but I managed to break through the frost with my shovel. From there on it was pretty easy. At one point I pulled up a giant chunk of frozen ground that weighed more than 100lbs. I had to break it up to move it! Sadly the bottles were in hiding, but I did find one pretty funny ceramic bottle. It was shaped like a bottle and looked like wood. On the front there was a woman's bottom half in a dress running. Sadly the head broke off, but it was still cool. It was embossed Peek-A-Boo on the front, so I guessed it's some form of 1910s-era risque piece? I gave the dump a weird look after that lol.
The second dump was definitely more exciting. A friend of mine (Mark) from the bottle club invited me on a dig where he had been finding blob beers and a lot of pottery. It was a site on a slope next to the RR tracks. Not my best pick for location, but it was on a slope and there were bottles! Due to the frost he had created a cave of sorts which I was most wary to enter. We spent an hour or more shoveling out the dump to get a nice spacious area to dig from. From there we caved in some of the roof, which was frozen solid (employ usage of pickaxe). The top of the dump was new dirt fill, followed by some larger rocks and new trash. At around 3 feet down the dump abruptly began with ABM bottles from the 1910-late 1920s era. Below it was an ash layer which I estimated dated from 1890-1920. Digging here was easy and exciting. It was my first dump where the bottles were poking out of the walls, not looking up from the ground. Bottles began to appear timidly. I ran into a pocket of Bowker's Pyrox Poison bottles, which were pretty neat. I found about 10 intact ones, some with the glass lid, rusted metal clamp and rubber seal. For those interested one with a remnant label said it was an insecticide. I pulled out a cool amber Wyeth bottle, it was milk-bottle thick with a lab-ish look (see pic below). There were a bunch of Bryant's Root Beer (all ABM), and some common fruit jars. I found two master inks, which surprised me. Sadly nothing great, 32oz. clear S.S. Staffords.
My friend Mark and his girlfriend Gina got some digging in too. He found a nice Roger Williams Brewing Co. blob from Providence, RI with an embossed Jewish star. His other keeper was a lt. blue Sawyer's Crystal Blueing. That was the end of day 1.
Day 2: Curse the cave-ins!
I returned to the dump alone one day. The warm weather had caved in the entire thing, which sank my spirits. I spent more than an hour digging out a small part of the dump. I was rewarded by a bunch of decent bottles. First was a nice John Theroux blob soda from Pontiac, RI, then a BIM crown top soda from Lynn, Mass. I found my own Sawyers and a Hire's Root Beer, which hinted at good bottles ahead. A Sloan's Liniment (Kills Pain) was a cool common find. I almost got a whole half-gallon Lightning fruit jar. I was gifted with yet another master ink, this one a Sanford's Inks and Library Paste, ABM, but amber and with parts of a colorful label intact. I also found a ton of ketchup bottles. The blasted things were everywhere! My last find was a pint Economy fruit jar, which was cool. It sounded rare but it's only worth $5 (sigh). Before I left another huge cave-in erased all of my progress. The day before a sizable chunk of roof almost walloped me, so I was being extra cautious. My long-handled potato rake was perfect for reaching the ash layer while I was not underneath any unstable roof.
Day 3: The best finds
I joined my friend Mark one last time before I had to go back to school. We spend a lot of time digging again, which was draining. Somehow we dug out a good section and found a nice ash layer that was 2-3 feet thick. We started finding some BIM stuff (Burnett Boston), and Mark pulled out a Champion Concentrated Embalming Fluid which he actually didn't want, so I gladly took it. I found a front-embossed clear Wyeth bottle that upon cleaning, found a 100-year old cotton ball inside! Mark found a P & J Arnold stoneware ink, and a beautiful unlisted RI medicine (the Krealin Co.). I stayed a little longer, and was glad I did! I found a ground lip screw cap medicine (Napier Chemical Co. NY) with a very odd name, I think it says "Petrolio". I got a neat little cement bottle (Caulk's Oxy-Phosphate of Copper Cement), and another mini bottle with a flower basket embossed on the side. The best part was pulling out two RI blobs, one was the Empire Bottling Co. and the other Geo. M. Christoph, both from Cranston, RI. I also found a shoulder embossed Worcester blob. I got my own RI druggist too, a Chas. A. Gladding from Prov.
So there you have it, my winter digging spree. It ended fittingly with another massive cave in, that took half a minute for a ton or two of dirt to fall in one tremendous clump.
I'll have pics and videos up soon, so keep your fingers crossed!
The first site before busting through the frost
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkB3Rt8t6_Q
The Peek-A-Boo find
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXSvK3ZlP9w
The second dump, a shot from day 2 after I dug a spot out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfnCmrzHvKo
After a huge cave in, I unearthed a mouse!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cabFcQE9Hmo
