Cave Digging Prospect Question?

[catherine1]

I am new to artifact hunting, and one of my first thoughts was to visit the old farm cave. And after finding those cache blades I am hooked. Well Sunday I made it to the cave. It is about a 20 minute walk from the road. And took me quite a while to find it again. We used to go there when I was a youngster. The first pic is the opening. The last pic is the test hole I dug looking for signs of fire/charcoal just inside the opening. The cave is about 30 feet deep around 8 feet wide and 12 feet high at the opening and gradually gets smaller. The black line is about four inches deep and the clay begins at 8 inches. From my initial dig the ground appears to be undisturbed. My questions are how deep should I dig? And what are my prospects of finding anything? The cave is about a mile from the Ohio river and faces the east, with a couple of springs nearby. The back wall of the cave may have spring also as it was wet and dripping.Any advice would be helpful.Thanks Keith.

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Cry Of The Eagle: History And Legends Of The Cherokee Indians And Their Buried Treasure - Grab it through Amazon!

[catherine1]

I had trouble making this posting. The first pic is cave opening. Second and third are the same of the hole I dug. Fourth is another of the first pic. And the last is the 20 ft overhang next to the cave. Keith

 

[bsit1361]

I am no expert on cave digging but that close to the river and large enough to be a shelter would make me get out the sifters. as long as you have permission. Messin with caves that arent yours will get you nothing but trouble. Good luck and show us the goodies

 

[catherine1]

My father owns the land. Or did you mean I need to ask the-----Ohio government for permission. First I will call the Pope. Thanks for your help. Keith.

 

[The Grim Reaper]

Keith, if it's your families property then you have nothing to worry about. It is in Ohio, right? Kentucky has different laws about digging since the Slack Farm incident.

I would say that the black line you can see is the occupation level and I would concentrate on that area first, but there could be occupations even deeper so I would dig it to the hard pan or the sandstone bottom. Rock Shelters like that one were used extensively in our area and can produce some very fine artifacts if they've never been disturbed. Get yourself a sifter and go to town buddy and let us know what you find. Be sure to check all of the Bone and Shell pieces you find for evidence of use as well.

 

[catherine1]

Thanks for the info Steve. I was excited to find the charcoal line while digging. It gives me hope. But it is a small isolated area. And I will only find what they left me. They worked very hard to survive. I do not know if this location will reveal anything, but I am going to give it a shot. I will give a update if I find something. Thanks for the views and your advice. Keith

 

[Treefrog]

manm dig it then if ur dad owns it.... u never know what u might find. i dug for 4 hrs and sifted before i found my 1st point in the 1st shelter i started digging, but look what all ive gotten out of it......

 

[Newt]

I'll watch this thread for pics. I'd be all over that place real soon-like.
Newt

 

[joshuaream]

Keith,

I'm certainly not a cave expert, but something about the inside of your cave looks different than the caves/shelters I've visited in Kentucky & Indiana. The shot with the overhang looks completely natural, but the inside almost looks too smooth, clean and tunnel like. (Maybe it's just the flash.) How tall is the main chamber, how deep back does it go?

Was there any mining in your area? Piles of loose rock outside the cave?

Joshua

 

[catherine1]

Hey Josh, I do not know of any mining in the area. But the inside is about 30 ft deep. I did not go to the back of the cave yet. I will post some pics tonight as I am heading back there today. But it looks completely natural. Thanks Keith.

 

[ShieldJaguar]

Be careful digging in caves, lol. I was digging in a cave in Mexico and got Histoplasmosis from breathing the bat poo.

 

[harker52]

Be careful digging in caves, lol. I was digging in a cave in Mexico and got Histoplasmosis from breathing the bat poo.

Thanks, for that information. I have never heard of Histoplasmosis before. It looks like the fungus that causes the disease can be pretty prevalent in caves east of the Rockies and is even referred to as, "Ohio River Valley Fever."

 

[catherine1]

I went back to the cave and screened about 10 buckets of dirt in a 5x5 area. Just read the bat poop disease warning this morning.Thanks. There are bats in this cave. And I researched the fungus disease symptoms, and will be at the doctor if they appear. Thanks again. Only found one item in the process that was not a flake peice of cave rock. I do not know if it is anything, but it seems to be worked on the blade edge. I think it is just a leaver. But here is the picture.

 

[archer66]

Sorry your pic is so blurry I can't make out even what the material is. Could you resize your pics smaller and try getting more in focus??

 

[joshuaream]

Are you finding charcoal in the mix? You might want to do some smaller test pits spaced over a large area and look for higher concentrations of material. Some areas of a cave will be sterile, some areas will have a lot of material. Don't forget to check along the walls or infront and around any boulders on the cave floor. (Ancients often cleaned caves and the areas along the walls often produce pieces, and anything that is a natural seat now was probably a natural seat then.)

Do becareful with the bats and wearing a filter mask is probably a good idea. Also, some of the bats in the midwest are endangered and, aside from be really helpful at keeping insects under control, there are pretty hefty federal fines/enforcement for disturbing nesting colonies (even on private property.)

Joshua

 

[catherine1]

Josh, I can remember bats flying from the cave when we were children(after we started a fire). And I am sure there are bats in this cave. It is full of the cave crickets. But the only thing that moved in that cave when I was there was a frog who happily hopped to the back of the cave. I hope there are no frog disturbance fines or penalties. I was going to concentrate on the outside area the next time anyhow. Thanks for the info. Keith

 

[Tnmountains]

The drip line outside of the overhang will most times tell you real quick if there is flint. Also if it has a little stream bed outside flip over some of the larger rocks and look for trapped flakes. Everyone has given you good advice. The bats are really hurting here in the east with the white nose syndrom.
Have fun
TnMtns