Digging the old outhouse

[pickaback]

We are digging up an old outhouse in our backyard. I noticed near the top was a layer of what looks to be coal ash between four wooden posts about the right space apart. Then there were lots of old items, marbles, beads, bottles, a round 20s-style eyeglass lens, broken china, old tools, etc. I am a little puzzled now, though. At about 4.5 feet down, we found a plastic bag (looks like it held potting soil once) and another layer of coal ash.
Does anyone know why the plastic would be so far down? Do the ash layers mean anything? I've read that outhouses tended to be six feet deep. Is that what other relic hunters have found? How far should we dig?
Thanks.
pickaback

 

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[JakePhelps]

Nice Finds! I would dig until you hit the bottom of it, and metal detect all the soil that comes out of it too. You could try sifting it too, just to make sure you dont miss anything. Yes they are usually 4 to 6 feet deep. As for teh ash layers and plastic im not sure

 

[omnicognic]

Perhaps this privy wasn't filled in immediately after it's disuse, maybe they got indoor plumbing and simply abandoned the out house then used it to dump the ash can?

 

[JakePhelps]

Thats prolly what happened

 

[SHERMANVILLE ILLINOIS]

P,
human waste will dry out and burn.
We did it in Viet Nam all the time, saved us time of digging another trench.
Just pour on flamable liquid and light; did you by any chance come across any melted glass pieces? The fire gets really hot and will melt glass; have found bottles that are not broken but melted on one side in dumps I have dug, meaning that when the dump started to get full they would burn it down to gain more room.

S

 

[pickaback]

Thanks for your replies. There is no melted glass. It could very well have been abanoned, then re-used later. There is another outhouse, complete with the actual building, a few hundred feet away, on a neighbor's property. It was restored some years back and now is just for show.\
How do you know when you've hit the bottom?
pickaback

 

[JakePhelps]

When theres nothin else coming up, no ash, metal, glass, anything. Or some are brick or wood lined.

 

[Noodle]

I stumbled across this cute (and informative) site and thought I'd share it with those who like to investigate old outhouse sites: http://www.jldr.com/ohdigger.html

Enjoy, if you haven't seen it before.

Noodle

 

[JakePhelps]

cool site

 

[dirty detector]

cool site

ditto! i think i know what the holes on the back of my property are lol

 

[pickaback]

Thanks, Noodle. That gives me some more information to "go" on, so to speak.
pickaback

 

[Kentucky Kache]

Great site. Thanks for the link.

 

[pickaback]

Hi all,
Here are pictures of our hole and a few finds. The wooden posts in the hole are circled.
pickaback

 

[tracey]

I really enjoyed that site!!!

 

[JakePhelps]

Great finds!! Doesnt look like you hit the bottom yet

 

[pickaback]

It looks deeper than it is. Its about 4.5 feet down at this point. Not to ask a dumb question, but does getting to the bottom of the wooden posts indicate the bottom? Thanks all.
pickaback

 

[JakePhelps]

The hole usually goes down to the bottom of the posts if not farther...Also check the corners of it as thats where dippers miss.