YES! YES! YES!

[DiggerBryan]

I went looking for the privy at my Church's parsonage today. The house was built somewhere around 1840-1850, so I was hoping to get lucky. I probed for about an hour and 15 minutes finding nothing. I was just about ready to call it a day when I hit something very hard. At first I thought it was just a stone but then I kept putting the probe in at different places/ angles. I made an outline of this "thing" and it seemed to form a rectangle. So..... I got out the trusty garden shovel and lifted up some of the sod. I scraped away at the dirt and it was a big block of....cement [] But I still think it is a privy. I started finding pieces of glass, pottery and I picked out a handful of square headed nails. ( I think those are the older kind?) Since this was my first possible privy I've found I was very excited at this point. The only thing that got me discouraged was the concrete. I think I read somewhere they didn't use concrete until 1900's? I am a newbie to this, so if im totally wrong on this please feel free to laugh. If this is a privy how do you go about digging them? I read you should always dig with a partner when privy digging and that could be a problem because none of my friends or family dig bottles. Do you guys have any thoughts/ comments? Tips? Thanks!

 

[redbrass_ca]

I am not sure but it could very well be the original well hole that was capped off to prevent people from falling in it. It could also be the lid to a spectic tank. It is hard to say without you providing some pictures

Cheers

Thierry

 

[bigkitty53]

As Thierry says,It could be an old hole with a more recent cap,or it may be the top of the cesspit! How big is the slab Bryan?A church might well have had a two-or-more seater outhouse but the cap footprint should be long and skinny as opposed to a more 'square' shape.If it's small,say 3'x4',it is most likely a (single-seat) privy cap.If it's larger,try to find out in your municipal planning records the location of the cesspit BEFORE you break through the cap![]

Hope this helps,

KAT

 

[Pettydigger]

Hey Bryan, where did you probe this out on the particular lot? 90% of the time the out houses was at the very back of the lot line, usually along the alley ways. An old well or cistern will be closer to the building. Not always but a good rule of thumb where I live. Also try probing at a serious angles around the slab feeling for walls or ashes/layers.Hope this helps a little.

Josh

 

[DiggerBryan]

I went back to the parsonage and checked out the slab of concrete and while I was out there the neighbor happened to see me and walked over. He wanted to know what I was doing and I explained it to him etc. etc. He thinks the concrete slab was brought in when they added an addition on to the back of the house. I guess that they brought in a bunch of fill dirt. He also suggested it could be part of an old sidewalk. I should mention the guy has lived next door for 55-60 years. I asked him if he remembered where the privy used to sit and guess what...........HE DID! Well no he didn't know exactly where it used to sit but he gave me a really good idea of where it was. So I need to get back out there with my probe and start looking. Speaking of probes.... mine must not have been made from spring steal because it's bent already. [] Thanks for the tips/comments/suggestions. I will keep you updated on if and when I find it.

 

[Pettydigger]

Probes made with spring steel is a must Bryan. Go to a local junk yard that sells old car parts, you need the rods that are located under the deck lid of old cars that was used to hold up the trunks. If you open up a trunk on an 70's sedan and look up where the hinges are you will see two rods running across the the top of the back bench seat. They are spring steal, perfect for probe making[]Also the longer the better. Hope you have good luck on your privy finding adventure! Josh

 

[glopf43]

Hello Bryan. Boy, the hunt is FUN isn't it []?!? As far as a probe; there was quite an extensive discussion on them in this very forum (Digging and finding). There are two threads on page 8. One is titled, "Homemade Probe" and the other, "Are you looking for a probe?". Both of these have some good ideas and might be helpful...[sm=rolleyes.gif]!